Week 18 Dry Weather Continues
Week 18
On Monday we took Ellen to Heerenveen train station at about lunchtime - and she is such a good tourist/traveller that she had booked in to her top floor room (no lift) and visited the Begijnhof......and done a Canal Cruise by the end of the day!
The Begijnhof is the only inner court in Amsterdam which was founded during the Middle Ages, and therefore lies within the Singel — the innermost canal of Amsterdam's circular canal system. The Begijnhof is at medieval street level, which means a meter below the rest of the old city center.
On Sunday we had visited a couple of (new) Tulip Farms not far from our place.
The obligatory clogs and tulips...
Walking across the heath
...and a Remembrance Day Ceremony complete with bells.
Footy ABC News "they"
I heard a podcast from America (it might have been England) using "they" instead of "he" or "she". I thought "that sounds awkward, but OK, so it has come to this...."
Then, while I was listening to the footy, the half-time news had a story about a girl who died in a car accident - the word "they" was used instead of "she" - even on the ABC News. I must be too old if this is the new "normal".
I just looked at my opening sentence of this week...
On Monday we took Ellen to Heerenveen train station at about lunchtime - and they are (is??) such a good tourist/traveller that they had booked in to the top floor room (no lift) and visited the Begijnhof...
oh dear...
Meadow Birds
(another view of the weather)
Whilst we are rather enjoying the unusually dry/warm weather, meadow birds are having difficulty...
from a newspaper article...in Dutch and Frisian (the latter always pleases me if I can understand it)
In Frisian "dat it yn 'e boaiem noch wol wat tafalt, mar foar de fugels is dit niet goed"
"There is still some sediment in the soil, but this is not good for the birds"
In Dutch ...door gebrek aan regen verdroogt en verhardt de boven grond, waardoor weidevogels en hun kuikens - het is broedseizoen - moelijk bij hun voedsel kunnen komen
Due to lack of rain the top soil dries out and hardens, making it difficult for the meadow birds and their chicks to access food during the breeding season
It goes on in Frisian "Wy halde it in 'e gaten. Ek it brangefaar wurdt grutter. Je moatte altyd al hoeden mei fjoer weze, mar no hielendal."
"We're keeping an eye on it. Also, the fire hazard increases. We always have to consider it, but especially now."
The article finishes up by saying that some local councils are giving residents 225 litre rain barrels - or subsidising the purchase.
Around the Farm
Early morning out with Otherdog (still minding a client's dog)
It starts to get light at about 0430 hours and I'm usually out by 0600 (depending on the weather!).
All hands on deck to place the greenhouse cover...
The moles have been causing a bit of damage, so we set some traps - under the buckets so the cats and dogs can't get to them... we caught one, but we never know if it could be just one that does so much damage?
Repairing the rotary hoe
Heat gun, cold chisels, WD 40, crow bar and in the end I had to use the angle grinder to cut one end off...
...and then a 1 hour return trip drive to get the new parts - at least they had them and they were only €12,50 each (very surprised at that - that's the price he said - I may yet get another surprise when the bill come in)
...and it was all so that I could get my pumpkins in the ground! I'm only doing a small patch this year as we will be more active in and around the greenhouse so that the clients can be involved without having to walk very far.
My research indicates that hügelkultur beds act like self-watering and self-composting systems, potentially reducing the need for irrigation and fertilization. They can also help with water retention and may even extend the growing season due to the heat generated during decomposition.
Some of the fence posts were rotted but there was enough left over to make a table - again all recycled!
The fencing project continues...(some things take a while)
Comments
Post a Comment