Salvage from the Shed

In this wintry period we are grateful to our neighbour for hiring us.  She has a piece of work in mind and today we started phase one: undertake demolition of old and rotting shed, using brain, muscles and claw hammer. 

We set to work with a will.  When I say 'we' I have to admit that the lion's share fell to my lionhearted husband as he spent his time hitting sections of shed from the frame, bit by bit.  These split and fell to the ground.  I picked them up.

I collected the wood into piles: one for the customer, namely, larger pieces (uprights) that we could recycle as posts for her raspberry cane wire supports, one for the wood recycling skip at our local centre, which is only a mile or so away.  The third was the rotten roof covering.  We shall find a sensible way of disposing of this, as to my certain knowledge, asphalt cannot be added to the woodpile.  And lest I forget - the chipboard floor and roof panels - she told us to allow these to decompose.

Half way our dear lady came out to us with a cup of tea and stories of cats, kittens and life as a Land Girl in World War Two.

We salvaged what we could.  The concrete base is fine, ready for the new shed.  The good wood goes back to her garden.  The rotten stuff gets taken away or breaks down back into the soil.

I hope I can build on her stories for any generation that may come after.

Here's a longer quote from one of my favourite poets, T S Eliot.  From his wartime Four Quartets, the closing lines of The Dry Salvages 

"...And right action also is freedom
From past and future also.
For most of us, this is the aim
Never here to be realised;
Who are only undefeated
Because we have gone on trying;
We, content at the last
If our temporary reversion nourish
(Not too far away from the yew tree)
The life of significant soil."

Bare-rooted bush

A couple of years ago we acquired a mature gooseberry bush: prickly, covered in lichen but sound.  On Monday we had a fresh, new year look at it. 

It was growing well from the base after pruning, but at its heart was a big clump of grass.  Not couch, I thought.  My husband suggested that we remove the grass and move said bush across the plot.

Easier said than done.  Drove spade into our heavy Essex clay, soaked with this season's rain.  Put on strong gloves.  Tugged.  Drove spade in again (husband).  Finally we heaved it out. 

The grass, as surmised, was not couch, but formed a thick mass just above the root system of our bush.  Peering at it, I was pretty sure I could tell grass from gooseberry.  Tugged.  Very little movement from ball of grass except for a few broken stems.  Not thorough enough for husband, who hates this invasive stuff.

Suggested dumping bush in communal water tanks to wash off soil from roots.  Neither a good nor neighbourly idea.

Put on strong gloves again.  Took bush down to the amenity hut.  Washed off soil with the help of a redundant milk pan and a disused bath full of rainwater.

Tugged at roots again.  Success.  Threw grass rootball towards boundary fence as far as possible without incursion into back gardens.

Took bush back to husband.  Some roots looked a bit bashed.  But on the whole it was pretty sound.  Dug hole (husband) down to the subsoil (my insistence) in order to furnish room for bush.  Replanted bush and firmed up soil.   

Remember us, O you fortunate commuters who drive up to the garden centre to load your trolleys. 

Happy New Year from us both.

Cut your own canes

Today we returned to work after five nights away with cherished relations having received an unexpected phone call.

A has limited resources but supplements what she has with bamboos.  A clump grows vigorously in her garden and needed cutting back.  After a quick half hour on the patio we were happy to comply.  

A's garden now looks tidier.  As for us:- 

We spent no vouchers or cash.  We used no machinery, cutting individual canes with secateurs.  We walked to the job and chose what we wanted; whilst the rejects went into A's brown bin en route to our borough's composting facilities.  While my husband took our big bundle home, I walked to our local shops and spent some of the money in the Co-op.

Come the growing season we will use them.  What a wonderful virtuous recycling circle this has been.  Would that life was always this simple.