Off On Tour.

Hello everyone, this is just a quick post to let you all know that I won't be posting anything for a while as me and Vicki are going on a coach trip to Spain and won't be back until late on the 16th. Below is a link to the tour that we're taking if anyone wants to take a look.

http://www.leger.co.uk/Tours/esa/Barcelona_and_Spectacular_Spain_-_All_Inclusive

Best wishes,
Bob.

Festival of the Plough (Balance Plough).

Here is another look at something from the Festival of the Plough. This plough is called a balance plough and is used in conjunction with two stream engines, one at each end of the field, the plough being winched back and forth between the two. You will see one at the far end winching the plough towards it, the other engine was behind me paying out the cable and waiting to pull the plough back after its run down the field. I know what you mean Matron, I think it will be a while yet before we go back to this way of farming, even having worked on farms or been around them all my life I still find it awesome how much work the modern farm machinery can do. I did see the balance plough on the TV and it was interesting, especially having only just seen one in the flesh so to speak. You’re right about the weather too Fireweed, the great British summer was a wash out but the autumn has been as dry as a bone, hardly a drop of rain for six weeks.

Festival Of The Plough.

One Sunday during my break we visited a local showed called The Festival Of The Plough. My parents were staying the weekend so it was nice for us all to go out for the day, especially as it was really nice and sunny. As you will see from some of the pictures the show is a mixture of things, mostly from the past. Apart from agricultural equipment there are all manner of other old machinery such as cars, trucks and motor cycles. There are a couple of marquee selling crafts, one hosting a chicken show, another with models (the non human kind), there was even ferret and terrier racing, not in the same location I might add. Anyway take a look at the pics below.

Here and old guy is dancing his heart out.

It was a great day out for dogs, there being almost as many dogs as people!

Here we see a thrashing machine at work being powered by a stream engine.

There were donkey rides too.

My dad, mum and Vicki (In the big hat).

One of the big stream engines.
And a little stream engine being put to good use, can anyone spot what that good use might be? There is a clue in the picture.

New Series - Castle Howard.

MY CASTLE HOWARD PICTURE FOR TODAY
[Click] on the name above for a link to their website.

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
So that I can post the readings on the same day as the blog post they are of the previous 24 hours up to 6 pm today.
Temp Low: 18C
Temp High: 28C
Rainfall: 0mm
Cont. Days Without Rain: 3
Dry Days This Month: 9
Wind Level For The Day 47
Pressure: 991.3
Weather: Mostly overcast.

2009 Highs & Lows
Min for the year: -5 C (4th February)
Max for the year: 35 C (1st July)
Most rain in 24 hours: 39mm (5th June)

MY WORK BOOK

Subject -See to the sheep
Location-Field
Categories -Misc
Start -Sat 15/08/2009 07:30
End -Sat 15/08/2009 08:30
Duration -1 hour
Message -Helped the farmer go through them and treat for maggots.

Subject -See to the greenhouses
Categories -Glasshouses
Start -Sat 15/08/2009 08:30
End -Sat 15/08/2009 08:45
Duration -15 minutes
Message -Opened the vents.

NOTES
1) As you will see at the top I have come to the end of my Haddon Hall Pictures so now I will do a series on Castle Howard in Yorkshire. A few people have got confused thinking that Haddon Hall etc. Is the big house where I am the gardener at so I will just explain that my ‘Picture For Today’ used to be just random pictures that I had taken over the years so instead of dodging around from one place to another all the time I decided to do a whole series of pictures from one place at a time, for instance I am now going to do a series on Castle Howard. The pictures were taken on the 15th August ’09, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them for you.

COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING

Fireweedmeadow The Apricots are grown in the conservatory so are protected from the worst of the elements although by all accounts they can be grown outdoors, especially if you have a warm wall to grow them against, you would have to protect the early blossom against any frost though. When I get the peach tree it will go against a warm wall outdoors as they are a touch hardier I believe. I’m glad you find my blog good to navigate. I do it this way then if you just prefer to read what I’ve been doing, maybe as a reference to what you could be doing in your own garden, or if you leave a comment and want to find what me answer is it’s easy to find without having to wade through a load of words that don’t really interest you or don’t have time for. As for how many gardens I work with there is just me and my Tommy who tends to be a bit of a part timer and also as you will see from the notes above I don’t garden at Haddon Hall but at a different big house. I can’t say where or give details as its privately owned so I am limited to pictures of my work rather than showing off the gardens or property.

Matron No I didn't get to eat any of them yet as the family are here so I feel obliged to leave things for them until I think they're going to waste - the fruit or veg that is - not the family!

Shady Dog.

MY HADDON HALL PICTURE FOR TODAY

Can anyone spot the ghost?

TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
So that I can post the readings on the same day as the blog post they are of the previous 24 hours up to 6 pm today.
Temp Low: 16C
Temp High: 26C
Rainfall: 1mm
Cont. Days Without Rain: 0
Dry Days This Month: 6
Wind Level For The Day 27
Pressure: 1000.1
Weather: Warm and sunny after a wet start, quite a stiff breeze blowing most of the day..

2009 Highs & Lows
Min for the year: -5 C (4th February)
Max for the year: 35 C (1st July)
Most rain in 24 hours: 39mm (5th June)

MY WORK BOOK

See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Wed 12/08/2009 08:00
Wed 12/08/2009 08:20
20 minutes

See to the greenhouses
Glasshouses
Wed 12/08/2009 08:20
Wed 12/08/2009 10:00
100 minutes
1) Water round.
2) Took of some dead flowers.

Shopping
Garden Centre
Misc
Wed 12/08/2009 10:00
Wed 12/08/2009 10:30
30 minutes Went for some weed killer.

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Wed 12/08/2009 10:30
Wed 12/08/2009 10:50
20 minutes

Strim round
Courtyard
Public Gardens
Wed 12/08/2009 10:50
Wed 12/08/2009 11:50
1 hour

Mow the grass
Courtyard
Public Gardens
Wed 12/08/2009 11:50
Wed 12/08/2009 12:45
55 minutes

Stake the chrysanths
By the seat.
Public Gardens
Wed 12/08/2009 12:30
Wed 12/08/2009 12:45
15 minutes

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Wed 12/08/2009 12:45
Wed 12/08/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Spraying
South Front
Main Garden
Wed 12/08/2009 13:30
Wed 12/08/2009 14:00
30 minutes
Sprayed the weeds in the south front gravel.

Spraying
All Hard Surfaces
Walled Garden
Wed 12/08/2009 14:00
Wed 12/08/2009 14:30
30 minutes
Spraying weeds.

Spraying
North Front
Public Gardens
Wed 12/08/2009 14:30
Wed 12/08/2009 15:00
30 minutes
There were some brambles growing in the rock garden that I cleared out last winter so I sprayed them with brushwood killer as I couldn’t get the roots out from where they are growing.

Tidy up
veg garden
Walled Garden
Wed 12/08/2009 15:00
Wed 12/08/2009 17:00
2 hours
Pulled out any old stuff past it’s sell by date and did some weeding. Also planted a few lettuce.

Tommy staying cool whilst guarding the cabbages.

Clean and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Wed 12/08/2009 17:00
Wed 12/08/2009 17:15
15 minutes

See to the bins
Hall
Hall & Pumpend
Wed 12/08/2009 17:15
Wed 12/08/2009 17:30
15 minutes
Put out six black bins.

NOTES

COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING

Sara, I’ll go with the poor bit but as I’m sure you know if you have a dog you’re never lonely. My dogs are my best friends and if that makes me a sad case so be it. The thing about buses and coaches is an interesting one. I tend to think of a coach as a posh bus. For instance when you go on a local journey you go by bus, as a rule they are just basic work horses. When you go on a longer trip you go by coach which has more luxury. The one we’re going to Spain on is a Silver Service coach which is a notch above the average coach. It has less seats so more leg room, The seats are recliners and there is a lounge at the rear where you can get refreshments etc.

Merle It is very busy in the garden at the moment, with just seven working days until the open night I am pushing all the time to achieve the best possible result even so things are slipping off the end of the calendar, hopefully I can drag them back on next week.

Jeanette, I will be over in September! Are you near to Bathhurst cos I could pop on over and see the race, that would be truly mega. I might disappear over to Merle’s place too cos I really fancy some of her home cooking. It sounds so good I’m sure I can smell it all the way over here!

The Hooke ‘n Crooke™

Last week I got a comment from an helpful guy call Scott at Holdredge Enterprises, LLC. It was about a couple of hoes they have on sale there. Of course Tom and I can’t recommend them because before Tom can give them his T-Rusty seal of approval we have to work with the product for a while so that we are sure that what we tell you about it is right and proper as we wouldn’t want you to go wasting your money. However I have looked closely at these tools and read what it says about them on the website and I have to say that I would be interested in trying one as the design looks good to me from what I can see of it and it’s not dissimilar to my favourite hoe. Anyway as I did a series on hoes I thought I would pass this on to you so here is a link to their site so you can check it out for yourselves. This is a company from the USA and I don't know if they ship abroad or not.

http://holdredgeenterprises.com/

Below are a couple of pictures of the hoes they offer, one is a hand hoe and the other a long handle hoe.

A Fruity Tip.

This is a little tip that I’m going to show you that makes life easier for me when picking fruit, Raspberries in particular. It doesn’t work so well with fruit that you pick while bending over, taller Black Currant bushes are another thing I’ve used it on with great success.

What I have in my hand is an ex-army ammo pouch.

This one clips on to my belt (which is covered by the shirt) that I wear all the time to hold up my trousers.

You could find something along the same lines to do the same job at a hiking store or similar. I like this one because I don’t need a separate belt also its pretty stiff canvas which as you can see doesn’t crush anything you put in there.

Then when you have it full all you need to do is take it off and tip the contents in to something larger and then set too and refill the pouch – hopefully many times over because I think most of us like our fresh soft fruits.

I’ve used this method for many years and find it handy not having to use one hand to hold a tray or whatever, it leaves both hands free for picking the fruit.

Fish & Chip Night.

As you can see my cup overflows with summer rain.

So I spent all day titivating the conservatory plants.

Vicki has just called to say she is on her way home with dinner which on a Friday is take-away fish and chips so I must not linger any longer, however tempting your company may be its nought compared to fish and chips.
Take care and have a great weekend,
Bob.

Newby Hall

MY NEWBY HALL PICTURE FOR TODAY

MY WORK BOOK

See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Thu 16/07/2009 08:00
Thu 16/07/2009 08:20
20 minutes
Checked and counted them.

See to the greenhouses
Greenhouses
Thu 16/07/2009 08:20
Thu 16/07/2009 08:55
35 minutes
Checked round and watered anything in need.

Cut the courtyard lawns
Courtyard
Public Gardens
Thu 16/07/2009 08:55
Thu 16/07/2009 09:45
50 minutes

Cutting the lawn
North Front
Public Gardens
Thu 16/07/2009 09:45
Thu 16/07/2009 10:15
30 minutes

Break for tea
Home
Misc
Thu 16/07/2009 10:15
Thu 16/07/2009 10:35
20 minutes

Mowing
Lawns
Main Garden
Thu 16/07/2009 10:35
Thu 16/07/2009 12:15
100 minutes
Took off 2 box full of grass.

Clearing up
Veg Garden
Walled Garden
Thu 16/07/2009 12:15
Thu 16/07/2009 12:45
30 minutes
Raked up all fallen apples and plums ready for mowing after lunch.

Pick up the grass cuttings
Misc
Thu 16/07/2009 12:30
Thu 16/07/2009 12:45
15 minutes
Picked up all the clipping from the mornings cutting.

Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Thu 16/07/2009 12:45
Thu 16/07/2009 13:30
45 minutes

Mowing
Lawns
Walled Garden
Thu 16/07/2009 13:30
Thu 16/07/2009 16:45
3.25 hours

Picking fruit
Veg Garden
Walled Garden
Thu 16/07/2009 16:45
Thu 16/07/2009 18:00
1.25 hours
Picked some Raspberries before the rain spoilt them.

Put away the tools and close the greenhouses
Potting Shed
Glasshouses
Thu 16/07/2009 18:00
Thu 16/07/2009 18:15
15 minutes

NOTES
1) I took off more grass this week than any other cut so far this year, by rights grass growing should be starting to slow down now.

2) As I have no more pictures of Barnsdale Gardens for my picture of the day I will now show you some of Newby Hall where Vicki and I visited last March.

COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING SHED

sara I tell you what, I had to burn some boxes from the hall once and I was standing there watching the fire when there was this almighty bang and something whizzed past me and hit the chicken pen. I nearly jumped out of my skin. On further investigation I discoved an exploded spray can. So you never know when you will be standing next to a bomb fire.

weaver of grass I try and compost what I can, I would like a big shreader so I could put loads more stuff on there then.

Lazy Bob.

Hello everyone, I had a good day today. I started off by doing some potting up because it was raining or at least it was to wet to make a start on the mowing. I start potting on some cuttings and then there were some pot plants in need of climbing the potting up ladder and to finish off I saw this Rosemary plant I had raised from a seedling and I suddenly got the urge to try and train it as a standard. I can’t recall having seen one as a standard although if it can be done no doubt it has and if it can’t be done for some reason then I guess I’m wasting my time trying.

The Rosemary, it may appear to be just a stick but I dream of a great future for it!

As things had dried up by tea break I cut the main lawn and all the public lawns. Mowing the lawns always seems to be a bit of a challenge one way or another, (which is what I enjoy), usually because it’s such a close call trying to get it all done in the day, last week of course there was the tremendous heat to contend with, wrestling with big bertha on the main lawn had me sweating cobs as she is definitely a heavy metal kinda girl. This week the challenge was to get done what I had to do before the next shower brought things to a halt. I got the main lawn cut but ended up finishing the courtyard with the rain bouncing down. Thankfully it was now time for lunch so I was able to get a change of shirt. This afternoon I spend sitting out in the sun in the deck chair in the potting shed yard listening to music picking off black currants.

I always used to pick them straight off the bush but someone told me you can prune off the shoots with the currants on and pick them that way. I was a bit dubious at first, it seemed too easy but it seems to work, the fact that I was picking off berries today proves it as I did the same thing last year, and I’m not boasting when I say this but since I came here the currant bushes have improved no end so I must be doing something right. Of course you have to be sensible, I don’t wade in hacking the whole bush down, I do prune back to a new shoot and all the usual stuff. If I remember right the currants are produced on new shoots put up for the base of the plant so removing the old wood with the berries on encourages the new shoot so I think that’s basically how it works. Anyway I enjoyed my lazy afternoon in the sun. By the way red and white currants grow different to black currants so don’t try this with either of them or you would probably have no fruit next year.