Well, that’s one way of putting it!! No, I’m not going to deluge you with floods of tears or waves of malcontent or even blow you away with forecasts of doom and gloom. For once I’m feeling buoyed up with the opportunity presented to the family by the weather that has caused such destruction across the country.
Although (thankfully) this quiet backwater in deepest darkest Dorset was spared the worst of the storms, there was some localised flooding and a fair number of trees have been lost. We suffered a little damage, some flashing around the chimney needed to be replaced. With that done, cheers Steve!! we thought we had seen the last of it, but no, the wind had one last blow. It took out it’s frustration on the garden, or to be a little more specific, Nikki’s Greenhouses!!
I’m not going to bother describing it, I’ll let the photos do the talking.
- Part way through the clear up
- First site cleared
- Some of the glass
- Scrap Aluminium
Surveying the damage and very quickly coming to the conclusion that both structures were write-offs Nikki and I have decided to clear the site and invest in a Poly Tunnel. This plan has two benefits. The first, Nikki will have 250 sq ft of growing space compared to the 160 sq ft of the combined greenhouses. The second, is that Nikki has suggested I can use some of that space for the storage of my machines and tools while my shed, which you will recall is in serious need of TLC, is demolished and a Workshop constructed in it’s place. Everyone’s a winner!!
The Chicken Run has not been forgotten or even relegated down the list of jobs needing to be done! But, we will have to sit down and work out a careful plan of action as I would hope that this re-modelling of the lower half of the garden will be the last one. My mind is buzzing with ideas and I have no doubt Nikki’s purse will suffer a cardiac. I am thinking about things that will help to make life a little easier. For example we already have power and water at the bottom of the garden and during the build of the Tunnel and Workshop both of these will need to be relocated. Perhaps putting a tap within the chicken run may make cleaning and watering easier. With the correct use of breakers and waterproof switches and sockets, Nikki can have power within the tunnel for lighting and propagators etc.
I’m looking forward to making a start. However I will admit (and this is a first) I am going to need help, I know there is great satisfaction in doing something yourself but I guess there is not much point in busting a gut, or in my case what’s left of my spine, to build something then not being able to make use of it!! Yes, okay Nikki, you were right, I heard you the first time!!
See!! I’m being positive!!
I have not spent the winter months sitting idly by doing nothing. I have devoted some time to directing my prodigious cranial power toward finding the best method of creating the pens I will produce with the chunk of Victory oak. I will use the vacuum method to stabilize the wood with a form of resin. The wood becomes immune to the moisture and temperature of human hands thereby protecting the wood and giving it the lifespan of modern man made materials. I now need to look for the equipment needed for this process. Happy days!!