Whoops!

In a mad moment (we get more than our fair share of these!) we decided to take the old water tank down today - it is a spectacular blot on the landscape and highly visible from our vantage point in the mobile home!

in all it's glory!

first we have to cut the pipes off

this could be tricky

we're going to try and pull it down, without collapsing the well, or pulling down the gable!

one big heave should do it!

success

look what I did!

roadrunner is under there somewhere

it was quite a thump - must have been half a ton of soil in there

so heavy it crushed this galvanised pipe

beautifully preserved pipework

a Red Kite drops by

More Felting!

The second felting session of the week, and more adventures into the magic that is wool fibre


Some really creative panel work today - looking like a fusion of paint, tapestry and clay!

magnificent!

looks like an Elm Burr!

Pots

Felt Workshop 26 July

Elaine hosted another great Felt Workshop today, with four friends from North Down coming south for the day.


The weather was spectacular and we had visits from 4 Red Kites at the same time!

creative mix!

Despite the distractions, great work was done with a really amazing collection produced.

colours galore

familiarisation pieces

sumptuous flowers

work to be proud of

you can feel the heat in this one!

beautiful dreamy tones

vibrant spectacle case

lovely swirly handles!

Weather Data for June

Follow the link to the right to download weather data for the year so far, month by month, collected from our weather station here at the Turnip House or click here.


June was predominately COLD - with less that half the days getting above 15 degrees C

see the MetEirann report here:

‪ExcelIsFun's Channel‬‏ - YouTube

Found this really great site for those who know just how great Excel is.....

but don't know how to unleash it's awesome power!

‪ExcelIsFun's Channel‬‏ - YouTube

screen shot of Excel How to videos

The Big Butterfly Count

Today it is  once again warm and sunny


So we're out in the garden doing the 

It's a great reason to stand about in the sunshine! give it a try!
There is a great identification chart on the site: http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/

be careful to make sure that it rotates and shrinks the image when you print it. It didn't for me the first 2 times!

Furby

Furby the Cat

Third dimension

Time to add some height to the garden - not least because 

• a) we need some wind breaks (we're not a mile form the Windy Gap for nothing!) and
• b) Elaine has 26 runner bean plants to plant!

In keeping with our reuse recycle plans, we're using bits and pieces salvaged from the farm to add interest. They are fascinating artefacts in themselves, and they 'belong' here.


there are a number of gates that could do with a new purpose, and plenty of metal - corrugated tin, wire mesh poles etc.

green beans - very tasty, but still involves double digging!

Ready to plant out

Concrete reinforcement rods - great stakes

Raw materials

almost ready

the finished framework

Planted Out

One of our many gates - staked out at the top of what will be the 'green lane'

The start of the trail

Turnip House Courtyard: before and after

Thought you might like to see another before and after picture:

Gardens Like Rain!

We had brilliant surprise when we got back - the lawn man had laid our turf! It looks great, and not only did he do an excellent job of fitting it around the stones (Don claims he used to be a carpet fitter!) He came up every night we were away to check that it had enough water- fantastic service and professionalism.


No need to worry about watering today!

we're proud owners of a real lawn!

an abundance of blooms

sun glints

Tropaeolum speciosum like a red waterfall in the front garden

stormy weather on Donard

Our 'Dobbies' flowerbed is thriving!