Saturday 19 June 2010

SUCCUMBED TO A STRIMMER (AND OF SLUGS)

I have done it - got out the dreaded strimmer after 8 months, put fuel in it, changed the blade for the cord head, little bit of grease in the gearhole, pulled the starter lead and it fired!!! Now on with the gear - eyeshields, earshields, harnesses, wellies, gloves and off I go.
Actually it is not too strenuous - but I had forgotten that the grass strimmed needs to be raked off and carried to the heap - hard slog. R is a godsend on her knees with shears clearing the stream (with no water in).
AND I haven't strimmed any shrubs or trees by mistake - yet.
This morning I cut a mixture of catmint, alchemilla, white campanula, penstemon and Stachys (Lambs' Lugs) and R arranged them at Church for Sunday as it was her turn on the flower Rota.

Now you might ask why the picture of some frosty bottle bottoms.

These are down by the veg. beds and not evidence of secret drinking. They are the remnants of slug bait - jars sunk into the beds and part filled with beer so slugs can do the old Butt of Malmsey thing and die happy - yet DIE! I find that Black Sheep seems to be a very good beer.

Last year despite every trick I could muster slugs and snails proliferated - I even found them munching away at the top of the runner beans, seven feet off the ground. But last year was WET!
This year is abnormally dry after a cold winter and the thrushes are going hungry. Sorry birds but I don't care, my hostas are pristine, my lettuce are actually growing, not shredded stumps. I have caught a few slugs but not many.

Of course when I have filled up the jars there always seems to a little bit left in the bottom of the bottle.

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