April arrived and the place was really looking rather nice - at least from a distance. Without much encouragement, the kikuyu grass had taken over much of the section and, with the help of the mower, seemed to be keeping the brambles and gorse under control.
And then we had a rush of blood to the head and bought the section next door which was in much the same state that our section had been in almost 2 years ago although maybe even more brambles and gorse. What were we thinking!
We have no particular plans for it as yet and will continue to let the sometimes resident horses continue to visit. It will prevent anyone building a house right next to our driveway, as had seemed likely a few months back. And yay, the previous owners mowed it for us which improved the appearance a wee bit.
Anyway, that was a wee diversion from the main focus of the month which was to build a woodshed. For some reason, we decided to place it just where we had already installed the washing line so that had to be re-sited at the same time. Dave had clearly learnt a few tips from Neil, our builder, about preparing foundations and even reused the same boxing materials.
A very helpful man brought exactly the right amount of concrete ...
... which gave many hours of fun to Dave ...
...Bev ...
... me ...
.... and of course the cat, who seems to sneak into all the photos in one way or another.
Bev, in particular, discovered new talents
... and helped produce a fine set of pavers from the excess concrete.
And then she departed and we were left to erect the shed on our own. It looked a bit tall and thin at first ...
... and then a bit short and fat.
But things soon progressed ...
... until we had quite a nice woodshed.
This in turn meant that the piles of wood scattered around the section in various stages of drying could all be stored in or around the shed
... and the previous area where it had been kept could be cleared and prepared for transformation into a wonderful flowery gully. Well, one day maybe!!
Anyway, within a few days, the wood was all chopped and stored and should last us all winter.
We planted the slopes by the site of the future grow tunnel with some orangeberry plants in the hope that they will grow big and stabilise the slope and provide us with lots of yummy fruit. That might be just a bit optimistic though.
Having finished the shed, Dave then finished the irrigation system that he had left when the ground became too dry and hard.
And I converted the kitchen curtains into some rather more convenient roman blinds...
... and also made a pretty blue duvet cover for the blue bedroom.
At the end of the month, a freak storm hit and left its mark on all the crops in the veggie patch and toppled the chook house but fortunately did little permanent damage.
And then Joanna decided it was time to travel again but just had time to plant the first of our new flowering cherry trees before she went. We hope she will remember to come back and see it in flower.
