The Year's Work Draws to a Close

My impending operation (see http://diaryofakidneydonor.blogspot.co.uk/) is now only a week away so the end of the year's work is close for me.  I will be in no position to be able to do anything at all strenuous or difficult for some time, almost certainly into 2014. That will of course mean that any lifting is out but even bending down might be too much for me for a while. These last few days have been concentrated therefore on doing various odd bits which either really must be done now (or wait for another year) or else are things which have a benefit exceeding the time and effort required (i.e. they please 'Er Indoors).

One important thing was to put an insert into the chimney pot for the fire in the third bedroom.  We have twice had an idiot wood pigeon fall down this, presumably by falling asleep and overbalancing (and probably not the same bird).  The first time was before I fitted the secondary glazing; it got into the bedroom and I was able to open the window and shoo it out.  The second time was this summer and I had fortunately removed the secondary glazing for ventilation; this time it was sat just up in the chimney refusing to budge, so I had to open the window, reach up with a gloved hand, grab and then quickly throw whatever I had grabbed out of the window.  It flew off leaving a trail of feathers, but it was not impressed at this treatment!

The difficulty in stopping pigeons falling down was that (a) I didn't want to block off the chimney as it needs to be ventilated, (b) the top of the chimney is about 9 feet above the gutters so it is VERY high and (c) the chimney is rectangular and no-one seems to sell a rectangular vented clay hat.  I therefore made my own device but it looks so odd that I'm embarrassed to add a photo of it. To fit it I borrowed a ladder which reached the fascia and used a long pole with a hook on the end and managed to lower the device into place without falling off the ladder.  Thinking about that now, perhaps I shouldn't have taken that risk as any injury would have scuppered the operation next week.

Secondly, I've had to cut the grass which was only laid a couple of weeks ago.  I thought that this would not be needed again before winter but it was almost 10cm high, so I've done a high trim. It looks as though it has been down for years.

Thirdly, I've been doing various bits in the lounge, such as tackling the plaster which was damaged during fitment of the window (the one fitted in June 2011...).  I've also sorted the wooden poles which form the corners of the plaster on the chimney breast and the window bay.  These had been papered over years ago but have now been scraped clean and given a coat of wood hardener which has brought them up nicely.  Finally, I removed the door and cut a half inch off the bottom so that we can lay carpet somewhen; while it was off I decided to remove the brown gunk (it's not paint or varnish) on the inside, ready for painting somewhen. When all the dirty work is done we can seriously plan to buy a carpet, which will please the other half a lot!

The final job was outside again: the ivy in one apple tree had been ignored as it gave privacy and security (as well as cover for birds).  I realised that it was very high so I decided to remove a lot of this to allow the tree to breathe again and possibly grow better next spring. It's a once a year job for the autumn only so it was now or leave it for another year.  Now I have to dispose of the foliage!

Problems with Tree Identification

I have a wrong tree in my front garden.  It is definitely not the one I wanted and I'm really cheesed off with it.  It might be what it says on my planning permission, but it's NOT what I wanted.

My original vision for the front garden was to plant some semi-mature trees at the front which matched the ones in the churchyard opposite.  In 2011, I noticed that these across the road were blooming with lovely white or pale pink blossom; it seemed that there were at least three different sorts of tree and they bloomed in sequence, so that there was blossom on at least one tree there for about eight or nine weeks.

When I found a landscape designer there were only two things I wanted: one was a good looking plan to get past the council tree officer and the planning department, and the other was the identification of some suitable tree species.  The first was achieved but, on the second, one of the three is wrong.  Now, you might say that two out of three is not bad, but when I pay someone a decent sum of money to give you expert advice, I expect that advice to be RIGHT.  That is what being an expert means, isn't it?

One of the trees was a cherry, and I opted to go for a Japanese Cherry as I knew these have abundant blossom - you know, the sort of thing that is covered in lovely pink-white blossom and always appears in films and photos of Japan.  Another was something odd and it turned out to be an Amelanchier (right) which is a North American berry tree; it had blossom and a few berries last year which would be edible if the birds didn't get them first.


The third tree was to match a tree which, to my eyes, was a sort of apple: it had apple blossom, apple tree leaves and little fruit which looked like the basis of an apple but never grew bigger than pea-size.  My landscaper took one look when I pointed it out 25 yards away and said "that's a sorbus" and so that was what we went for.  She said that in "olden times" a sorbus was believed to keep witches away and that is why they were often planted in churchyards.  I realise now that her knowledge of a superstition was used in her mind to justify her identification, which seems the wrong way round when you think about it.

Last year I was a bit puzzled as my new tree (left, ignore the hornbeam hedge in front) was the same shape as the one in the churchyard  but had some odd leaves (more like elm?) with no sign of blossom at all.  I put this down to the fact that it was only planted in November 2011 and I was just pleased that all the trees had survived the winter. 

However, this year it is quite clear - it is definitely NOT the same species.  I sent a photo (right) to the nursery who sold and planted the the trees and they think the one in the churchyard is a Morus (Mulberry) but I can't find a photo of one of these on-line which looks like the one over the road, so that might be incorrect as well.

Since I know that I described the blossom on the one in the churchyard in some detail to my so-called "expert", I am really severely dischuffed about the entire affair.


However,  I also planted a malus (crab apple) at the rear of the front garden in front of my new wall, and it is flowering very nicely. This photo is from last year, and it is even better this year - I will put up a photo when I finish the pointing on my wall.

Spring has arrived!

One of the tasks here was to sort out the overgrown front garden.  This was essentially completed last November, when the rest of the old trees were chopped down and the roots grubbed up (see this entry), and then the new trees and hedge were planted (see this entry).  You can then, perhaps understand my joy at the arrival of spring and the sight of all four trees and all of the hedge showing a bumper crop of buds.  The cherry was the first to burst forth into flower (photo right), and the rest are following. NB The funny green on the lawn in the foreground is lawn reinforcement netting.

Last spring I observed that the different types of tree in the churchyard opposite blossomed in sequence, rather than all at the same time.  Thus, I chose to have four trees of similar types and hope that my front garden will have a similar tree in blossom to match one or more in the churchyard; it looks as though the plan is working.  For the record the trees along the front are a Sorbus Aria Lutescens (Whitebeam), a Prunus x yedoensis (Yoshino cherry) and an Amelanchier Arborea, with a hedge of Carpinus Betulus (Hornbeam) beside the front wall and a Malus Rudolph (crab apple) nearer to the house.  In fact, the planting was done on 28th November 2011, so they have only been in the ground for four months; this success is probably due to the skill of the people involved and the quality of their trees; they weren't cheap but I really do believe that if you try to save money on this sort of thing, you might just completely waste your cash by getting a result which doesn't meet your desires, so I consider the money was well spent. [Edit: As a much later correction to this, I noticed in the summer that my Sorbus was not in fact the same species as the tree in the churchyard.  My tree supplier suggests that the one in the churchyard is a Morus (Mulberry) so in fact my “expert” was not so clever after all. Grrrr….]

One other aspect of the front garden is that I was worried about what the locals would say.  I need not have worried, as I have had a considerable amount of unsolicited praise, not just from people who know me but from many random passers-by.  (I only have to work in the front for twenty minutes and I can guarantee that someone I don't know will stop and talk to me.)  Most locals are well aware of both how bad the condition of the house was and the consequent amount of  work done to get it to this standard.  One suspects that a lot of people have been observing (and wondering!) as slowly the front of the house was cleared and improved, together with the many visits by delivery lorries (30+?) and the grab lorry (9 or 10) in the last 17 months.  I think the comments I get now are partly due to their relief that I could have done far worse.  This public reaction is also quite a relief for me, as I didn't really want to annoy the long term locals by completely laying waste the garden!

Scaffolding, and the Driveway again

As I write, it has all gone quiet outside.  The scaffolders are here removing the scaffolding, but I think after 30 minutes work they have decided it's lunchtime so they have downed tools.  Mind you, these are probably the same wussy ones who didn't put it up (see "The Rebuild Continues") for fear of a bit of rain, so I shouldn't be surprised.  Why turn up at 12.30 and then stop for lunch 30 minutes later? Why not have lunch first and then