Monday 17 January 2022

What the blazes....

       ... grass cutting in January?....


   

     Tis not the normal task that I find myself toiling over at this time of year but the so far mild winter has made it a necessity at one clients where the grass always seems to grow twice as fast as anybody else's lawn that I take care of. I am always surprised at the rate of growth here as it is the most exposed and bloody wind stricken garden that I attend and being that it is here within the confines of the village boundary, the lower temperatures that we generally receive should also curtail its growth, but nope it leaps up faster than a stalk seeded from magic beans! It is not the tidiest of cuts but the length and dampness of the grass dictated the finish, it will improve. 

     The lawn belongs to the same client to whom the hedging work I started last weekend is for. Another four or so hours were spent on the hedge line yesterday morning hoping that the grass would dry somewhat before its afternoon cut (it didn't!). I made far better progress upon the hedge than last week and my shoulder (and knackered knees) although sore today has not given my any cause for concern. Its movement is still restricted in one direction but I am adjusting to this and I can slowly feel my right arms strength returning. I will take more photographs of said hedge line next weekend for your perusal.

     Many thanks for those who commented upon my last post and for some of the ideas about regaining my fitness levels, well apart from the cold water swimming Lulu! hell as if my nether regions are not small enough! I have been looking at adding cycling, some resistance training (at home and not the bloody gym) and Tai Chi to the 'slow running' that I have gingerly started (knees) and I think that this combination will give a good balance between strength, stamina and flexibility, we shall see.

     After yesterdays work I am feeling far more confident about my recovery from the 'Snap' and from tomorrow I am starting to increase my work load. I have been extremely fortunate in the response from last year's regular clients with all of them wanting me back to tend their gardens, so happy days indeed.

     The return to work could not have come at a better time for not only have our scant savings been severely reduced by my convalescence but we have just received a quote for having the 'House in the Rock' tanked, in a hope to cure its ongoing damp problem, ouch! But the work has to done before we can set our stamp on our home and give it some much needed character. As said in a previous post we are aiming to return many Victorian features to the house with a steampunk aesthetic but with a nod to modern living. 

    Well that is about it for this short yet strangely rambling post, stay safe folks.

John t' Gardener

19 comments:

  1. My grass here could do with a cut but I only have only a battery mower and that's no good on wet grass and the grass never dries, it's going to be a problem.
    I'm glad you are able to get working again

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    1. Thank you Sue, it is a relief to be working again for sure. You could invest in a pigmy goat for the grass ;)

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  2. Ya know John, if you quit watering and fertilizing the grass, it'll quit growing. Look at mine last Summer. Although the client probably wouldn't see the humor in that. Glad to see you "back in the saddle again".

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    1. Ahhh but there is the quandary of this particular grass my good man, tis neither fed nor watered yet grows with more vigour than any other that I attend.

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  3. I wish grass was edible. At least it would be useful. :-)

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    1. It is is you feed it to a ewe with lambs

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    2. Oh Cherie, tis indeed edible but a fear than man could not live upon grass alone...

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  4. Are those dwarf apple trees along the lane on the right side of the photo (east side of lawn, maybe?)?

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    1. There are, if memory serves, based upon M106 rootstock that should result in a final height of around 15 foot Joe. I would say that they are in a North Easterly position in regards to the rest of the garden but it is the most sheltered area of the garden hence the location choice.

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  5. It's nice to hear that your regular clientele is welcoming you back. Also, that you have some work to do this time of year! Sounds like you are properly pacing yourself and healing well. That's good news!

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    1. Thank you Leigh, though pacing myself may be damned I fear, as there is plenty of work to be had at the moment and plenty of expenses to be met!

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  6. John, great to hear you are going better and work is coming (if it makes you feel better, I could also be mowing my grass at this time of year). As usual friend, please take best care of yourself and pace yourself (I know you are, but I think are like me and not a patient healer.

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    1. And betraying my complete lack of knowledge of the English language - what, precisely, is getting a house "tanked"?

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    2. Cheers TB, as mentioned to Leigh, pacing myself may well not be possible though I shall endeavour to work with more care.
      As for 'tanking', tis a practice more commonly used in cellars below ground level to prevent moisture encroachment, usual a moisture inhibiting chemical is first injected into the brickwork, said brickwork then covered with waterproof membrane and finally finished off with plasterboard and plaster. The reason tis required here is that the house has been built into to rock side alongside two sides of it.

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    3. Ah, that makes a lot more sense based on what you described. I suppose on this side of The Pond we would simply call it "waterproofing". I like tanking better.

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  7. So glad we no longer have a lawn, despite missing the smell of freshly mown grass. Weeds will no doubt become a nuisance this year, hey ho!

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    1. Hi Dc, I shan't be having a lawn within my own garden (if it ever happens that is). Weeds? surely you just mean plants in the wrong location? :)

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  8. Eh up John t' gardener, a bit of dog piss'll sort that fast growing lawn out in no time at all! Grass doesn't ever stop growing here in Cornwall - but I do stop cutting over winter (my dad keeps going with monthly trims). I am sorry that your nethers were offended by the cold water swimming suggestion. Tai Chi sounds much more civilised :)

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    1. Ahh but thee trouble with dog piss m’dear is that you may at first think thy grass has been dealt deathly, circular blows as turns brown as evidence to the point of pissing, but just wait a mere week or two and those once pissy brown circles will be the most verdant areas of your lawn, like little emerald green isles of taller grass within the surrounding sea of dull, once thought healthy blades. Tis the nitrogen within the dog pee that does it m’dear ;)

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