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MID. 2010
The first half of 2010 was quite wet and as we had been reliably informed
by friends weeds grow faster than anything else....... we have learned this first hand and have an on-going battle trying
to keep things manageable. Behind the barn we had quite an impressive crop of nettles, because we are so close to the water
course we aren't allowed to use weed killer so have to either strim, cut or pull up the nettles. For speed we have always
opted for the quickest method strimming but in July we decided to take the bull by the horns and try to tame at least
a small area which will become the hardstanding area for the water butts to harvest the rain water from the barn roof
and in readiness for the vegetable patch eventually!!!. We hand picked as many nettles as we could and then turned the soil
over to remove as many roots as possible, laid polythene, yellow drainage pipe ,gravel membrane and then type 1 stone
to improve the land drainage.In the process we found an unusual insect that was pale blue & black, our friend Clive found
it in one of his encyclopedias and it turns out that it was a rather rare 'specimen' called Rosalia Alpina we
hope that it is very happy living under the willow tree(see misc photos).
The spoil from the foundations will be put
in the hole and then top soil to make into our vegetable patch (just like the TV programme 'The Good Life'
but without the animals!!! )
| Weeds back of barn |
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| Allan (Jans Dad) & Jan strimming at back of barn |
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| dismantling pond |
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| Before |
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| in progress |
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| preparing for the rain water butt & veg patch!!! |
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| Remote controlled land survey machine |
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| Drilling in progress |
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For peace of mind because we have a high water table and alot of granite on
the land we commissioned a geotecnique survey so we were 100% sure the correct foundations were being used, it wasn't
cheap but we did get a 28 page report in French!!!! - mostly high tech graphs and diagrams but the builder understood.
A friend who is a Frenchman living in Spain very kindly helped us understand by translating the important parts for us
via Skype. When the drilling machine eventually arrived (a day later than expected) it intrigued us, we didn't
know what to expect but it arrived in a large white van and was expertly remotely reversed down 2 ramps by Cyril
while Karine was measuring the land to pinpoint the exact places required for drilling. We had an appointment arranged to
see the construction company so couldn't stay and left Marion & Allan (Jans parents)in charge of the proceedings
& refreshment making. All in all it took about 6 hours the only evidence they had been were bore holes, they
had left a message that everything appeared OK. That evening we had our neighbours wander over for a drink, we entertained
ourselves by dropping stones down the holes trying to work out how deep the holes were then the stones hit the water.
!!
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 & Jan strimming at back of barn)
