Keeping busy

As you can imagine, since Amy has moved on to pastures new (no pun intended), it's been a busy time keeping up with essentials like mowing and strimming.

While Matt was off for the Easter break, I decided to help out with a large litter pick. It was then that I came across some broken fencing on St Faiths Road. Unfortunately, the post had rotted through at the base and became unstable (as often happens).

Just one of the many ongoing maintenance jobs...

Thankfully, Matt has since replaced the post and reinstated the fence line (his first job back!).

Changing the subject, I've noticed a lot of caterpillars lately. 

The first time was during a walk near Quaker Lane. The hawthorn/blackthorn hedgerows were covered with Lackey Moth caterpillars; they had eaten their way through the leaves and spun silk webbing over parts of the plant.

The second time was at Repton pond. Matt and I had taken some woodchip over in the jeep to cover a small patch of ground.

The small box plants along the border were not looking too good. Unfortunately, this was the result of box tree caterpillars, they had eaten most of the leaves and spun webbing in a similar way.

A couple of the culprits! 

The moths are native to East Asia, but arrived in Britain around 2007 before becoming more established by 2014.

It was decided to remove most of the plants as they were virtually bare (not a pretty sight!).

These few still had some leafage around the base, but may be stripped later unless treated... 

The Victorian cottages on Church Street with their lovely intricate box hedging, look like they have fallen foul to this insect.

May 2024 began with a couple of warm and sunny days. Ideal weather for cleaning and oiling the wooden sculptures.

There are twelve sculptures in all. I managed to revitalise ten of them before I decided my back needed a rest!

The bases were particularly dusted with soil and a few had bird droppings. So, a good clean was necessary before applying the oil. 

The barn owl (above) and the buzzard (right) are two examples of my handiwork.

The grass is now beginning to shoot up all over the park. Matt has started opening up trails again on the mower. 

I also ended up on the mower, as a relief from all the bending earlier (must be my age).

Bye for now, I'll be back again soon.