29.04.2022 A hedge in time...

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 Friday 29th 44F, bright overcast with some sunshine promised. Up at 7am after waking at 6.00. My back hurts again. 

 Still lots to do on the front hedge. 3/4 of the clippings have gone so far. One trailer full will clear the ground from cutting away the front of the hedge. I still have to take the entire top off the hedge. That will double the volume of clippings all over again. At least 5 or 6 trailers full. 

 It is going much quicker now I have made a big gap in the hedge for easier access. I don't have to push the heavy trailer manually onto the field. I can park it where the double gates used to be and drive away when it is full. Just keeping busy. 

 A longer walk again. Just over an hour. Across the prairie by the spray tracks up to the woods. Then back around the other side via the marsh pond. A cold westerly wind again with sunny periods. Saw a dark hare. Which dashed off. Two Whooper swans flew over. 

 The walk helped with my bad back. Though I'm not having a good day today. Reality keeps intruding into my thoughts.

 After morning coffee at 9.30 I spent the morning clearing more cuttings from the hedge. Then delivered one trailer full to the recycling yard. The image shows the hedge cut back but not yet topped.

12.15 Another trailer full is ready to go. The area in front of the hedge is now clear. The field has gained about 4' from removing the overhang of beech hedge. Previous neighbours made it difficult for us to reach the far side of the hedge to clip it each year. So the hedge has just been getting fatter and taller for years. We inherited the hedge as a skinny little thing when we moved here 25-26 years ago. Always assuming that this was the legal boundary.

12.30  I am starving! So I have stopped for an early lunch. 

 A cool tulip was soon gone over in the bright sunshine.

13.30 Another full trailer delivered. Then it was back to clipping the top off the hedge by hand using the loppers. I had to work from both sides to reach the middle stems.

15.30 Bright sunshine. I can hardly believe it but the beech hedge is 99% finished. Just a few thick branches which need the chainsaw. Two more full trailers should complete the job. I am too tired and aching to go on for the moment.

 18.30 53F. Yet another full trailer of hedge trimmings delivered to the recycling yard. The image shows the hedge cut back by about 4' and topped at about 6' high. Only the extreme ends need sawing to height. The outer face of the hedge will take some time to recover and show some leaves. It is probably the wrong time to be cutting it back anyway. It was not yet in leaf so I went ahead anyway. The experts say August is best. Just to save you looking it up. 

 There is now a small drainage ditch 5' from the hedge. The entire 200m of the shared, gravel drive runs downhill to our gates. So we dug a trench to take the run-off safely down the edge of the field to water the hedge and the trees beyond. Before that it would run past our house and flood our parking area in heavy rain!

 For years the ditch was at the foot of the hedge where it was safe. Now it is an invisible hazard for anyone walking on the field. I had better warn the owners. Fortunately the electric fence [almost] marks the position of the ditch. The fence posts could be moved slightly. To bring the fence directly over the ditch. That would save any worry about anyone breaking their ankle.

 Dinner was a bit odd tonight: A hot, salmon pasty, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and mini "snack" carrots. Half a tin of Heinz tomato soup and a bread roll to follow. All washed down with a small can of organic beer. 👍

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