Saturday evening saw Lovely Hubby erecting the old chicken fence around his now flattened 'molehills'. He was about the start properly smoothing the area, but then he came in for some lunch and in the thirty minutes he took off to eat his dinner (and the forty five minutes he then had for a nap) Mr Mole ... the real molehill maker .... erected two new edifices to mole life in the previously flattened ground.
Losing the will to live he decided to put the fence up to keep the dogs from walking wet dew ladened soil into the kitchen every morning ... I think Lovely Hubby must have heard the slight use of swear words and banging of doors first thing on Saturday when they did just that!! I think we will leave it for a week and see how many new real molehills appear before we sow the new grass seed.
On Sunday someone decided the new fence was the perfect place to sit to observe what we were up to ....
... he stayed there for ages, long enough for me to firstly stand and admire him from the conservatory and then to risk dashing into the other room to pick up my camera.
Not even a lazy cat cooling off in the shade on the patio was enough to scare little Mr Robin off.
Sue xx
Robins can be so tame can't they Sue - i love them, although they can be quite fierce in the bird world I believe.
ReplyDeleteAs to moles - have you a mole catcher in the area? If so it might be worth employing him - there are various tricks of the trade which might work.
We have a regular Robin visitor. He's very tame. Moles are a real pest.
ReplyDeleteDigging for my mother resulted in a robin coming and sitting on a bench 18 inches away from me, didn't sit on my spade though as I believe they have been known to.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have moles in Australia, but I remember reading about them on two other blogs. I can't remember which now as it was a while ago but I think one used marshmallows and the other used a certain type of mouthwash that the moles don't like the smell of to get them to move on.
ReplyDeleteTime, I think, to finally say hello. I've just spent several days reading your whole story right from the beginning! I've really loved reading about all you have achieved - no half measures with you and LH! How brave to take on a wet wild Welsh hillside, and how generous to share it all with your readers.
ReplyDeleteI particularly love the way you write about all your animals and their stories, they are all such characters - yes you've even had me shedding a tear for chickens. I am now stopping and talking to all the hens I meet on my walks around our (French) village. To my surprise, they talk right back!
I want to say thank you, Sue. Not only have I jotted down lot of tips, but I am also now clearer in my mind about what I should / shouldn't try to achieve. It's as if you've 'cured' me of unrealistic dreams:
Polytunnel, proper orchard, pigs, (goats?), shooting rabbits, solar panels - not feasible for us.
A few raised beds, a cold frame, a soft fruit 'orchard', a chest freezer eventually, a few hens - completely feasible.
Guaranteed no pesticides and a good saving compared to the shops. That's the other thing that inspired me about your blog - the money saving aspect. We are not well off currently, through no fault of our own. Your blog has given me inspiration to get through this tricky time, which I estimate will last a year - in fact I came across it when I typed 'frugal' as a google search. Imagine my delight when I found a blog describing how my long-term passion for gardening, organic food & the countryside could be part of our solution - not just an expensive 'hobby.'
Yesterday, as I struggled to free the neglected rosebushes and half-strangled shrubs from thick ivy, ripping it out of the earth and sometimes even the lawn, I spotted a small robin following on behind. At one point, it came to within about one meter of me as I knelt quietly. I love robins. They remind me of England. I guess he approves of my pesticide-free gardening plans.
(We also have moles!!)
Thanks again Sue. I look forward to reading on. I'd love to 'take a walk' through your woodland. You walk your dogs around the paddock and at the seafront at Llandudno, but do you have any other walks in the countryside around your home? I'm remembering the lovely posts about your walks along the long driveway at Jointers farm.
Vicky x
RIP Sophie, Archie, Charley. I did cry…
Firstly well done on your mammoth reading venture ... and welcome back to the present day.
DeleteWe also walk the dogs along a back lane on the way to Llanrwst, it runs parallel to the main road but far enough back to be pure countryside lots of things for them to snuff and discover, and also along the riverbank in Llanrwst past the delightful old tearooms I have blogged about before. It's too steep for Suky, and possibly even me at the moment, on the hillside we live on to wander up the lanes.
Was it you who left two kisses for Charley the other day? If so ... thank you 😊
Your robins are so much cuter looking than our giant red breasted birds.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
The garden is neglected because we had rented the house out to people who didn't take care of it. V x
ReplyDeleteThat must be so upsetting. Hopefully you will get control of it again soon. There will be many plants that survive a period of neglect, a bit of TLC and it will be fine once again 😊
DeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteI love your wee visitor, he made me think of my Dad and his wee friend. Whenever Dad was out in the garden, especially the veg patch, the robin would appear. He seemed to be eagerly waiting for Dad to turnover the next clump of earth so he could bug hunt. Whenever Dad stopped for a cuppa or a smoke, the robin would come and sit on the spade handle. He became so tame that he would let Dad feed him by sitting on his hand. My Dad loved Robins so much, especially that one, that the order of service for his funeral, had a Robin sitting on a spade handle on it!