Ancient herb-stones and elephants

Next border's finished!  Yep, we've finished the building part of the terraced herb border and here it is.  Towards the top are little stone walls going across just to stop the soil all sliding downhill.  We now need to get some ericaceous compost and horse muck to put in the top two sections for the blueberries.  Then the next bit is going to be a bit rockery-like for the rosemary, etc and, surprisingly,  the bottom bit has turned out to be quite good soil.  There used to be a path up the side of the house with a little wall to the side and the bit this side of it ended up being a real dumping ground for us.  Because we used what is now the lounge as our builders yard/workshop, it was handy just to empty the last bit of mortar or plaster outside the door.  We used old sacks of cement that had gone hard as steps for quite a while and all sorts of other bits of stone and wood got dumped on the pile, so all that had to be cleared.  Once we'd built the walls we forked over the soil in the bottom bit and found all sorts of bits of metal, toys bits of clothes and bottles (a really sweet little bottle which is in almost perfect condition as well as broken bits of a bottle with Castle Hotel, Oswestry on the side - shame that was broken).  So we weren't the first to dump stuff there.  
Buried under the middle of the bed was the remains of the old wall so we managed to get some sizeable stones out including this one which took absolutely ages to get out as it was buried quite deep.  We could just have left it because I'm sure herbs don't need that much depth for their roots, but once we started we had to finish and I'm glad we did.  It's a bit difficult to see from this picture, but it is a perfectly triangular wedge shape and is bigger than it looks.  We've always thought some standing stones would be nice in the garden and so we decided to stand it where it was (rather than lugging it around!) and I'm now calling it our ancient herb-stone - I don't think there is really such a thing, but it sounds quite authentic!  Not quite Stonehenge, but it looks quite good.

Last week we went to see some friends the other side of Oswestry who said they had a bit of timber Bob may be interested in.  Well, yes, but not really just a bit!  They had some very straight Ash which will be perfect for legs for things and some nice straight Cherry.  So we ended up with a trailer and boot full. They have planted an orchard of heritage fruit trees and so we had a tour trying the various apples straight off the trees - when they said they'd get a bag so we could take some home I thought they meant a carrier bag, but they meant a farm sack!  So we ended up with a kitchen full of apples and I spent the afternoon peeling and cooking them for the freezer.  I also made some juice from each type and we had a juice tasting session which was interesting - all very different.  The courgettes went into a courgette cake and some apples went into a crumble-pie.  The wood is in a pile and Bob was amazed at how beautifully it split - just like in the books!   This week we went back to get some more wood (they are trying to clear a shed so they can concrete the floor) and ended up with more apples!  I get the feeling they are a bit overwhelmed by how much fruit they have and are quite glad to give some away so they don't have to peel and stew it!

The route to see these friends takes you across country past the Old Racecourse and when we got to a little crossroads in the middle of nowhere it was all cordened off by police with police cars and flashing lights all over the place.  One of the policemen came over to explain that we couldn't get through because of 'that' (pointing to a little post box on a post).  He was obviously not impressed!  Apparently some youths had posted a firework and blown up the post box, but because all their calls are co-ordinated centrally in Worcester, the Bomb Squad from Birmingham had been alerted and were on their way and no-one was allowed near until they gave the all-clear.  He was really disgruntled about the waste of time, money and resources but said it was because the whole country was on heightened terrorist alert at the moment.  I guess they have to be careful, but a little post box in the middle of nowhere is not really likely to be a prime terrorist target for bringing the whole country to a standstill is it?

Yesterday we had a Green Deal Assessment.  Because we have solar tubes on the roof, we should be able to claim a payment from the Government for 7 years.  They just don't make it easy though - surprise, surprise.  You have to have this assessment done which to a degree I can understand - they have to be sure you actually have the product you're claiming for and also that you have done everything you can to make your home energy efficient.  For Building Control sign-off you have to get, and pay for, an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) which tells you how energy efficient your house is and how you could improve it.  Ours came out at a C which is as good as it could be for the type of house and much better than most of the old cottages you see for sale.  Now wouldn't you think we could have used that to support our claim for the Govt payout (especially as it was done by a Govt employee)?  Oh, no, no, no.  You have to have another one done, and pay for it again.  It's all people making money and just not a joined-up system at all.  So, we forked out again and the girl came and spent 2 hours measuring, photographing and questioning and when she sends her report, we can file that along with our solar tube installation certificate on some website and then, hopefully, get a bit of money back from it.  Watch this space!

We also had a visit yesterday from the lady who did our bat survey right back at the beginning of this project.  She was really excited to see the house finished as she was there when we started taking the roof off in the snow and doesn't usually get to see the finished property.  She was even more excited when we told her about the bat that has taken up residence under the eves of Bob's workshop.  She brought a colleague from the Small Mammals Conservation Group because they have discovered evidence of doormice near here which, again, they were very excited about.  She thought Ben might be interested in getting involved if he's around when they are doing their surveying - all good experience and I'm sure he will be interested.  They had a look at our bit of woodland behind the top barns and declared it perfect habitat for doormice, if they can find it.  So, anyway, one of our next projects now is to make and install some doormice boxes.  When we were knocking the hole through the wall for the stairs, we found a hoard of nibbled hazelnuts in the wall and wondered if it had been where building had stopped for the Winter and doormice had overwintered.  The nuts had a very round hole in one end which we thought was characterisitc of doormice.  I managed to find the shells to show the chap, but he said they were from woodmice which is a little disappointing.  Again though, they were really excited to think that those nuts were nearly 200 years old and he's going to send us some photos of a doormouse hazelnut so we know what to look out for.

A few days ago we had a visit from an elephant!  Can you believe it?  Well, actually, not quite.  Having seen a Hummingbird Hawk Moth a couple of weeks ago, Bob found an Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar making its way up the drive - quite impressive I'm told, but it had run away before I got home from work.  We'll have to look out for the moth next year - they're pink I think!

As well as the apples we have been given, we
have quite a good fruit crop of our own.  This is a tiny
pear tree, but has loads of fruit.

and this is the plum which is so laden down that the chickens
can just help themselves from the ground which they are quite
happy about!