So he put in a wooden border and reshaped the slope a bit ...
... and covered it with weed matting.
Then we replanted the orangeberries, which we split up even more, and also added seaside daisies, viewed by many as a noxious weed, but I like them and think they could well do a useful job here.
And then there were the brambles! I officially finished clearing the mammoth slope of blackberry, though of course I have just cut them down and I'm sure their offspring will come back for many generations. Anyway, it was a big break-though when I reached the fence ...
... but there were still some over to the left ....
... but yay, a few more sessions and a bad back later, I made it!! Yay!!
Yes, lots and lots of photos but then it is a huge area and it was a mammoth task. Dave has calculated that it will take 40 cubic metres of mulch to cover it before we replant it and fortunately we chanced on an arborist who will provide us with mulch at 1/5th of the cost from the composting centre. Bring it on!
And then it was back to the fence for Dave, and a mere 200 or so battens to attach. Still they soon appeared ...
... even the additional ones along the wooden fence at the bottom.
Then the paddocks gained water ...
... at which point, I discovered I couldn't have the sheep I wanted until the end of the year. So it was quite fortunate when some neighbours dropped by to see we would have 2 of their alpacas for a while! Spirit arrived early in the day and seemed quite pleased to meet Bev and us ...
... while Charisma took a bit more convincing (ie they couldn't catch him!)
Anyway, they soon settled in and have saved us finding someone to mow the slope. Dave built a sheep shelter and tried to convince me the alpacas could sort of back in, but having seen how they drop to the ground to lie down I don't think they'll be trying that. But we subsequently discovered that they never used their shelter back home anyway.
And then there was my next great horticultural disaster. After some failed attempts at germinating some tree lucerne seeds, I noticed lots of seedlings had sprouted under the trees after some rain. We want these to plant in the pony (or alpaca) paddock so I potted up a hundred or so over a few weeks. They seemed to be growing well ...
... until I noticed some were greyer and some were greener. And the green ones looked rather healthier.
Mmmm, very strange and I had a vague idea this was not good. And a quick google confirmed my doubts. The green ones were GORSE!! No! Of all things, not gorse. So I had to throw out over 30 very healthy gorse seedlings and find a few more of the real thing to take their place.
And finally in the last few days of the month, Dave turned his attention to my (bramble-free) slope. We had planned out a route for a track and decided to put in some steps rather than zigzags down the steepest bit. This all sounded very difficult to me but, in a flash, a staircase appeared! Sometimes things take a while but sometimes they don't!
And a highlight (literally) of the month was the perigee moon, which stunned us from perfectly clear skies in both the evening ...
... and the following morning.
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