Third year meadow.

Hi,

Very much appreciated; thank you @CarolineL. It's kind of you to care for my well being and I fully agree health is top priority. I've seen so many people retire then shortly after die because they simply gave up thinking retirement was it and they no longer needed to do anything involving work; they had no hobbies only living for their jobs so once they no longer had a job they no longer had a life; it's sad really.

There are many interesting hobbies to be had; lots of money isn't always needed just a bit of get up and go rather than being bored.

I've never fully retired from heavy work; leaving my heavy very stressful job I'd occupied for 24 years I danced with joy as I skipped down the works yard for the last time. Our Yorkshire winters last around nine months each year usually with another three months bad weather. I've always enjoyed hobbies but I fancied doing something totally different requiring new skills so I adopted vintage radio restoration; I don't recommend this as an hobby because it's highly dangerous but I then progressed for the next ten years; in 2009 I was honoured to receive top award for best restoration from The British Vintage Wireless Society. I also had over ten articles published in the society's high end "Bulletin",

BVWS Bulletin Volume 34, Number 4 (Winter 2009) - British Vintage Wireless Society


Here's a 1957 TV/radio I fully restored.

A bush radio I restored.


Here's the TV shown above but as I bought it; I wanted a nice interesting challenge.


Yes the same TV re-veneered and french polished. I learned so many new skills from scratch transformer and coil winding; veneering; french polishing etc.

I've wandered off topic again but I like to encourage others to try new things and to leave their comfort zone; it's surprising what you can do if you try. I make all the mistakes but I learn from them; I'm as stubborn as they come and never give up once I start something until I've succeeded.

This morning I found our patio littered with rubbish from the gutter; the birds had been busy so just another job to do; I've now cleaned all the gutters out.

Amy should be collecting all the conifer logs shortly then the conifer job is put to bed and onto the next urgent job to be done. Maintenance never lets up here on the bungalow and in the gardens; I'm never ever bored.

The hedges need trimming again so I'd better get off my backside.

Kind regards, Col.

 

You're so right @Retired , it's important to keep yourself occupied both mentally and physically

 

Love the veneers Col @Retired - and very impressed by french polishing! They look beautiful.

 

Hi,

Yes it's important never to give up and stop doing things in retirement @Bluejayway Too many only have their jobs at work in their life spending a lifetime doing it but have nothing else of interest like a hobby; they don't usually last long.

Many thanks @CarolineL for your kind words; veneering and french polishing are just two of the new skills I learned during retirement but I also learned many more like Tig welding aluminium and metal spinning both these very difficult for a novice; I've been arc welding for over 60 years but Tig welding is much more difficult.


Metal spinning isn't only very difficult to learn but also dangerous; I managed to fracture a rib due to the large pressure needed against the tool handle; the metal spinning tool measured 42" long but I didn't give up so now I can metal spin.

I fully restored a scrap Suffolk Punch petrol mower only to find after the rebuild the petrol tank leaked the tank see on the right. This prompted me to learn Tig welding aluminium; the new tank is seen bottom left and I also made a spare tank just for the fun of doing it; another difficult skill learned.

Over the years I've heard many comments about what I do; I don't have the tools; I don't have the workshop; I don't have the skills etc. I wasn't born with any of these. I always smile and think to myself they can't do as I do because they won't even try.

Anyway I'm off topic again and might upset a few members. The wildflowers are now rapidly fading being past their best with spent flowers; I can rub the seed heads between finger and thumb watching hundreds of seeds cascade to the ground; I'll wait a few weeks in order for the seeds to fall naturally then I'll strim the lot; go over with the mower to mulch then rotavate everything in before the bitterly cold weather and frosts arrive. Next March I'll rotavate once again and broadcast more new seeds which I'll buy as usual from;

British Native Wildflower Seed, Plugs & Bulbs

Creating a wildflower meadow/garden doesn't require much skill; it just requires some bare ground and a lot of work in preparation; even a small garden can have a beautiful wildflower display; Meadowmania are extremely helpful if contacted as to questions about soil type and most suitable seeds. The first four years I bought a sunshine mix of wildflower seeds but these included a selection of grasses; at the end of the growing season I found the grasses very troublesome indeed taking over at a rapid pace; I now buy a mix excluding grass seeds and now I'm over the moon with the result and very little grass to worry about.

Logan kindly suggested I try adding Yellow Rattle seeds in order to control the grass so here's the details;

Yellow Rattle Seed (2024 Harvest)

I'm knocking off now after a heavy day painting and reinstalling metal railings; I made and installed all the steel work about eight years ago; I made a wooden jig allowing accurate arc welding so the four railing sections were identical; I can remove these sections and even the posts if I wanted to but because the weather has been warn & dry which is rare I only removed the four sections and painted these in the workshop; I used a mini 2" roller and paint brush to speed the job up.

It's surprising how much time these jobs take.

Worth it though to do a top job.

Kind regards, Col.