neglected blog

It has been ages since I took time out to update the blog, primarily because there are no dramas to report. All ticking over very well, guests happy and abundant, and despite it being August the sun has been shining- the daffodils are blooming and the nights frosty.

Ness has been busy in the garden hacking and chopping- the theory is that we remove all the potentially snakey areas before the slithering creatures reappear.The rockery is being graveled ( allegedly the slitherers do not like the feel of sharp gravel on their bellies, though I suspect this is an old wife's tale), the proteas have been pruned ( lots of dead flowers this year, probably due to something we did wrong ) , new proteas have been purchased as part of our proposed spring restocking programme, garlic, potatoes and broad beans are growing.

The termite riddled sleepers are being slowly removed in the garden and we are replacing the raised bed borders with metal ones plagiarised from a design conceived by a local fencing chap. James made us 3 prototypes from recycled old fencing that he has removed ( he is in the middle of a massive re fencing project at Ormiston) and Ness has had 20 x 6 metre lengths delivered so we are going to learn the art of metal bending using an angle-grinder.

The problem with using wood as a replacement is the expense and the fact that termite-proof wood is impregnated with arsenic making it far from touchy-feely organic when used as a surround for vegetable patches. We sourced plastic sleepers made from 100% recycled plastic bags, which are light and look fab but the numbers involved made the cost prohibitive. So we are going for a new look which we are calling rustic/industrial chic.

From Protea Farm 1

A little imagination is required to picture the above frames in situ, but I am sure they will look pretty good.

Alpacas are happy and skippy, and the Wailers are starting to look pregnant so the clock is ticking for the as yet unstarted fencing project.