The weather has been our main obstacle this week. My allergies have been second. We've been leaving the house as early as we can, but I don't think it's early enough to beat the heat. Around 12.30 we are completely done and I down a cheese string and try to remember why we are doing this.
Our to-do list this week included removing the layers of metal sheeting that was buried under the former compost area. Once we fought through the soil to retrieve the sheets, we then spent the afternoon trying to level off the area. The next task was to tackle the greenhouses.
When I first wrote about the greenhouses I had discovered a bird's nest at the back, with little babies inside. We had to down tools on that one for a few weeks until careful observations revealed that the birds had gone. Our neighbours had been checking in on the nest on the days we weren't there. I was still dubious and a little afraid that I had exposed them to preditors. We concluded that the mum had walked them off into the neghbouring forest garden. The bird song next door is rapturous, so I am hoping this is true.
Once we had the all-clear on the nest, the other half got to work on removing all the brambles behind the greenhouses. There was a debate on whether we should keep the metal frame greenhouse, as it had been in the family for 40+ years, and was still in decent condition. After much deliberation, we found a new home for it with the neighbours, D & H.
After dismantling the glass and clearing the weeds (the weeds are endless) we could get in between the greenhouses and do more clearing. Just when the thought we were on top of the rubbish, we uncovered our combined body weight in glass. Of course S, the previous occupant, kept every single scrap of glass he could get his hands on. There was smashed glass for days, which we had to pick out of the soil, heat beating down on us. Great big frames of double glazed windows, which is exactly what you need in a vegetable plot.
Speaking of S, he made a visit to the street this week and noticed we had been active in the garden. He claimed he stopped growing on the large patch of the land because there were constant weeds. That's not really an excuse for the state he left the garden in. He'd also been quizzing the neighbours on what we have been up to, to which H responded, "They have done a great job removing all the shit that was left there." S retorted "I just need to collect my stuff."
You can't beat a bit of community spirit.
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