Saturday, April 05, 2008

Didn't escape unscathed!!

I didn't end up getting off quite as lightly with the storm damage as first thought.

Linseed is a fabulous thing, great for oil and for all those natural hormone type additives in bread and other foods....but not so great when its stubble all blows up against fences in winds that my husband assures me were more 150 kmh than 100kmh!



Some of our fences were blown over with the force of the stubble hitting them. The front end loader on the tractor could only remove the stubble close to the fence, not on it, so the kids and I had to work on getting the stubble off the 1 1/2 kilometres of fenceline they were on....I did a bit of this with them, then remembered why my neighbor had 7 children....here are 4 of them helping my two to get the whole rest of the job done in under an hour! $35 well spent I would say! These pictures only show the end of the job, at the beginning you couldn't see any wire or posts.

Instead I went back to working on my sadly neglected front garden. It has had to look after itself over the Summer, with no water to spare, and I have decided I am sick of fighting the elements so I have ripped it all out,


and am studying the space for a while to come up with some nice, low water requiring alternative. It's the entire South facing side of my house, so it gets little or no sun. The Hydrangeas, Arum lilies, shrubs and acanthus had loved it...some of the time, and looked nice....3-5 months of the year-not really a satisfactory arrangement. There is the whole other side of my front door to ad to the above pic.

There are a few more issues if you are thinking of making a suggestion...well, the main issue is this

....impossible to keep out so don't tell me seedlings would be the go...I have been there...and cried over that!!

She is "helping" me dig out the hydrangea!

So here it is today, after all my joints ache...and my carpal tunnel is playing up-a blank canvas, almost like reaching in the stash cupboard. There are even edging pavers under the edge of the dirt and lawn there somewhere, I have to dig and find them next! I only left my 2 now pruned iceberg roses because for some reason they love the position.-but I don't want them the whole way along the house.What to plant?

We had quilter's last night. Chris has her Kaffe Fassett ready for the longarmer.

I worked on my Spring swap but it isn't quite ready for your opinion so instead I will show you what I made for my friend Helen, who was my birthday buddy this month. They are from Ric Rac's tutorial on her sidebar, very quick and easy fabric containers, I will make them again. And the pot holder is from the 'Tracey out of my head pattern'! (that one was cheap!!!)

Have a great day, Tracey

16 comments:

Andrea said...

Well done for dragging the neighbours kids in to help ! Looks like a lot of hard work. I think you need to rest now and read some blogs or something -lol ! I can't seem to get motivated on my spring swap - :-(

Ruth's Place said...

Looks like lots of hard work!

Love the pot holder, very cute.

Chocolate Cat said...

Love the fabric containers, we also have a very empty front garden at the moment while we think of what to do!!!

Needled Mom said...

That does look like it was quite a job. I agree with the reasonable price of $35. Sounds like a deal to me.

Chickens and gardens do not do well together. I cannot imagine that you have anything left.

Loved your projects - especially the potholder. Very cute.

Jodie said...

Tracey, you are so busy !. Love the idea of getting the neigbours kids to help.
No garden advice here at all, wait for Annie to stop by, she is a garden whiz!
Glad you liked the buckets.

Annie said...

Oh Tracy, I feel like having a little cry for you. I too am quite depressed about my poor old garden with no water and things dying in front of my very eyes. I've done NO gardening this holidays which is quite remarkable for me, but I have done lots of sewing to keep my spirits up. I will have a good hard think about yours and get back to you.

Unknown said...

Tracey - go for mediterranean plants like lavendar which can cope with the dry. Looks like the linseed stubble was jolly hard work - thank goodness you could import some labour force

Sweet P said...

Smart move to hire the neighbor's children - a great $35 investment.

Jodie said...

Wow... You sure have been busy!!! Thank goodness for kids, can you imagine if you had to do that fence clearing job all by yourself?? $35 is pretty good cheap labour if you ask me.. LOL!!
Gorgeous fabric buckets, gotta love that Jodie over at Ric-Rac she's one clever cookie..

Jodie :)

Clare said...

I agree with Anne - lavendar. Sensible you to bribe the kids - money well spent!

Libby said...

Oh yes - lavender is an excellent suggestion. It grows well all while being totally neglected by me *s*

loulee said...

He, he, he. What are kids for? I'm sure they enjoyed it even if they did need payment.

As for your garden, Hunney says put a slab down and paint it green!

South facing, so it's dry and shady. I'm sorry but I'm stuck on that one.

atet said...

I'd say money VERY well spent! I think I'm finally getting caught up a bit on blog reading! I can't believe I haven't gotten back here since Easter! EEEKKK!

Greenmare said...

wow you poor dears! What great memories of the "old days" the kids will have to bore their own kids with! ;-) And good job you on helping to teach them and the neighbors about the value of money for hard work! your fabric containers and potholder are wonderful!

Liz said...

Hi Tracey, Looks like a job for Jamie Drurie!! Too bad they don't have that show anymore where you can write in and a lovely group of people come and do up the backyard for you :) What about concrete or paving and seating and just some pot plants suitable for your climate. A low care/maintenance garden outdoor entertaining area type style would be good. That is the type us quilters need so we have more time to quilt.
That was very freaky weather you had down that way. :0
I think mother nature is telling us all something.
Glad you had no other damage but a shame about all the work tidying up. But I'm sure the kids didn't mind :)
Kind regards from Liz

Finn said...

Boy, what a job! And what frustration it creates, but an excellent idea to hire the extra kids and get it done!!
Gotta love those 'dumb' clucks...what else could posess us to keep them...LOL
Great little projects you show...love the containers, will have to check that out, thanks! Hugs, Finn