What are we doing in the garden 2024

I cannot stand the noise of leaf blowers and how long they go on for, can be a few hours every weekend for the whole of autumn. My oak leaves get raked up twice a year, once when half have come down and then when the bulk of the rest have come down. Raking is generally done when the leaves are wet and claggy and they go straight into dumpy bags.

 

@On the Levels What a treat , wine made by you with your own grapes, such a shame that your harvest is reduced but hopefully this will be a vintage year for you .What sort of wine does it usually make , dry? I used to make pea pod wine which made a lovely fresh dry wine and it was a triple whammy - eat the peas , turn the steeped pods into wine and the spent pod mash went into compost , so no waste !

 

Continued to work in the neglected area, found the usual broken glass, a possible frisbee and a number of carpet tiles. Work ceased when i tried to push the end of a pruned branch through the back of my hand.

 

@Robert Bowen we make many wines through the year starting with primrose. Used to do dandelion but it failed too many years so gave up. Then elderflower, if glut gooseberries, blackcurrants, elderberry (none for the last 2 years as weather hasn't allowed them to develop probably), then the white grapes which usually we can get up to 20 bottles of a semi dry wine. We also have black eating grapes and again if a glut after bottling, jamming, freezing we make wine. We have also , again when in glut, made apple, pear and quince wines. We give many away to family and friends but only when we have tried a sample to make sure it is OK!

 

"an eiderdown of leafage"! That is the most fantastic description, @Robert Bowen!

 

Oops!

 

Been working in a dark corner of our new garden. I have noticed that in many places the "hedge" is two trees thick, and this corner was no different. A dead or dying tree, between the boundary fence and the visible greenery.
I investigated the corner, and found a (dead) fallen tree between the dead tree and the fence. Said tree, from the property behind me, has come down straddling the fence between myself and neighbouring gardening. I spoke to my neighbour, who was not aware of the fallen tree. Mind you, it's taken me almost 10 months to notice it.
Fallen tree, which is definitely dead, unfortunately has several nests in it, two of which are still occupied, by blackbird chicks and robin chicks. So, we can't even move the debris.
And guess who owns the fence that is the one most damaged!! What's more, it happened before we moved in, and neither we nor the surveyor noticed it.

Edited to add:
I can't cut down MY dead tree, because it is also holding up this fallen tree - with active nests.

 

Yes, I was reluctant to get one because of the noise, but considering I have to put up with everyone else's strimming, power washing (that seems to be a hobby among the young men in my street, they can spend hours at a time power washing one car) and dog barking, I decided I'm entitled to make a bit of my own racket.