There She Blows

Well, it sure did blow down here but I think we escaped relatively unscathed. Quite a few trees are down, most of them annoyingly, only half-down.

In the garden I have lost only one fence panel on the side that I own and haven’t had the time (or the daylight) to replace it yet. The fence on the other side (where I have just planted the fruit trees) is a mess but to prevent any calamity I have propped it up with various garden tools!

I have had to replace one section of greenhouse roof twice though. Luckily I chose polycarbonate panels, which although a bit prone to being blown off, don’t shatter - also useful if you have lots of balls flying round your garden. I manage to retrieve the panel from next door and the plants seemed pretty unaffected.

At work I have spent most of the time checking for dangerous trees and either making them safe myself or leaving it to the professionals. Getting round the sites gave me the opportunity for some incidental wildlife watching. It was nice to see wood anenomes in flower (aptly they are also known as wind flowers and according to Flora Britannica - wooden enemies!). I was particularly pleased because I had planted some rhizomes on a site where we had cleared rhododendron about 5 years ago and they are now flowering for the first time. 

Among the other things that I saw were: a very mang(e)y fox, some windblown brent geese, a cormorant sheltering well inland, which had no intention of being intimidated by me, dog’s mercury in good growth and a Spanish bluebell in full flower.

I spent today clearing a river. It was as wet in the water as out of it and I got home in my waterproofs only to remember that I had put my work boots on the ground while I put everything into my car. Let’s hope they’re there in the morning. I blame the lack of sleep…………..