Soon after I came downstairs for breakfast, Gill told me some interesting news: the duck is on its nest. This story goes back about two weeks. We have an area just outside the conservatory which is nearly always in the shade, it used to be where a coal-house stood, and it has a concrete base. I put a load of leafmould in there and planted ferns: it's our fernery.
So, a couple of weeks ago, we saw a pair of Mallard ducks investigating the area, and they pushed over a mushroom log. I removed the log, to let them continue their interest in the area. A few days later, I found 5 eggs in a roughly formed nest, which had been partly covered over with some fern fronds. But the duck was nowhere to be seen. The eggs were cold. I told Gill and we were saddened that they'd been abandoned. Then a few days later, another 5 eggs appeared! But still, no duck. At last week's City Farm event, I asked if anyone knew if wild duck eggs were edible and could I eat these abandoned eggs, and would they have a chewy embryo in the centre?
There was fortunately a duck expert there, who said that ducks laid eggs over a period of days, and they remained viable(and edible!) for a long time if kept cold, but in 'suspended animation'. They start developing when she starts sitting, and she will incubate them for about 30 days. I was advised that she wouldn't be able to look after 10 chicks, and up to half of them would become 'rat food'. However, I'm not a huge fan of eggs so I didn't do anything with them. And today, the incubation has started! Exciting.
Not sure what happened with the rest of the day... I did some work outside, Chris my Permaculturalist friend rang me and asked if I'd like some wood he'd just cut (he's a gardener) or he'd take it to the Council green waste recycling skips... well of course I was happy to have it. He thought it was Witch Hazel, and it had trunks up to 15cm in diameter. He brought me a car-full. At 11.30 Radio Leeds rang up and asked if I knew that Leeds was going to get trollybuses? Would I like to comment on that on the Radio live at 12.40? So they rang back an hour later and asked my opinion. I had a meeting at school at 1.30, and assorted parenting duties later in the afternoon. Before tea I de-twigged the branches, and cut up the thinnest sticks with loppers. The rest I think will cut easily with the bow saw.
A Freecycler in Burnholme contacted me... I'd responded to his offer of some wood, as he's having an extension built, so I cycled round and picked up a trailer-load of kiln-dried timber offcuts. Nice.
Gill had made a lovely tea, a stew, broccoli on the side, and garlic bread. I did a fair amount of post-meal tidying and sorting... the usual.
Showing posts with label logs delivered by car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label logs delivered by car. Show all posts
I had a nice morning with the family and dealt with various phone calls and things around the house. Late morning our eldest made a cake with Mum and youngest helped me with some hedge processing in the garden.
In the afternoon, Gill took the boys into town and I went to the University to attend a lecture by Professor Uta Frith about how autism helps us understand how our brians work. I had got the room number BO20 in my memory, and hadn't sussed that it was in the Psychology block. I asked someone if they knew where BO20 was and they told me it was in Biology, where all the room numbers start with BO, apparently. I went looking round Biology but didn't find the room. I eventually found someone in a 'help' office and after another 10 minutes looking through the University website, they found the lecture... in BO20 in Psychology. But by this time I would have been at least 15 minutes late so I cycled home.
But I made good use of the time, I popped into the old chap on Windmill Lane who wanted help removing a cherry tree trunk and asked him if he'd like me to do it in ten minutes... he was delighted so I cycled home, picked up my chainsaw and went back to him. The job was actually much easier than I thought it would be. The difficult job was getting the log to the front of the house, but I walked it end over end. He offered to drive the thing round to mine, I accepted as I don't think my trailer would have coped with such a heavy and long load. I don't do that very often.
I cycled home and cooked some pasta and had the remains of the tomato and trombone squash thing, and Gill and the boys arrived home, having eaten something in town.
At 7pm I set off for a long-arranged meeting with Di, a new Transitioneer, who wants to start a Huntington and New Earswick Transition group. I popped in on my friend Keith on the way, to pass on a message from two of my friends from long ago who want to be in touch with my old partner, and Keith said he'd pass on the message. The meeting at Di's was good, her neighbour Angelica came too and we had a good talk through what would be a good way of starting a local Transition group.
I left soon after 9.30 and got home at 10ish. A bit of a fraught evening as I have a dilemma about what I'm doing this next weekend. I have arranged to do one thing and now there's a chance to do something else... decisions decisions...
In the afternoon, Gill took the boys into town and I went to the University to attend a lecture by Professor Uta Frith about how autism helps us understand how our brians work. I had got the room number BO20 in my memory, and hadn't sussed that it was in the Psychology block. I asked someone if they knew where BO20 was and they told me it was in Biology, where all the room numbers start with BO, apparently. I went looking round Biology but didn't find the room. I eventually found someone in a 'help' office and after another 10 minutes looking through the University website, they found the lecture... in BO20 in Psychology. But by this time I would have been at least 15 minutes late so I cycled home.
But I made good use of the time, I popped into the old chap on Windmill Lane who wanted help removing a cherry tree trunk and asked him if he'd like me to do it in ten minutes... he was delighted so I cycled home, picked up my chainsaw and went back to him. The job was actually much easier than I thought it would be. The difficult job was getting the log to the front of the house, but I walked it end over end. He offered to drive the thing round to mine, I accepted as I don't think my trailer would have coped with such a heavy and long load. I don't do that very often.
I cycled home and cooked some pasta and had the remains of the tomato and trombone squash thing, and Gill and the boys arrived home, having eaten something in town.
At 7pm I set off for a long-arranged meeting with Di, a new Transitioneer, who wants to start a Huntington and New Earswick Transition group. I popped in on my friend Keith on the way, to pass on a message from two of my friends from long ago who want to be in touch with my old partner, and Keith said he'd pass on the message. The meeting at Di's was good, her neighbour Angelica came too and we had a good talk through what would be a good way of starting a local Transition group.
I left soon after 9.30 and got home at 10ish. A bit of a fraught evening as I have a dilemma about what I'm doing this next weekend. I have arranged to do one thing and now there's a chance to do something else... decisions decisions...
A nice day with the family. I woke quite late but got busy in the kitchen after breakfast, and it was a peaceful and very productive day.
Gill had cut down some overhanging Lilac and cut back an overenthusiastic willow, and she wanted me to dispose of this cut material. I cut off the smaller branches and shredded them, and put the larger sticks aside to be cut to a stackable length for kindling.
I then got busy further down the garden, pruned the cherry tree... cutting the long branches back to half their length to make it easier to put the net over next year. I also cut several lengths of hedge, including one which had got very long and needed work with secateurs not the shears. I shredded all this to help it rot down more quickly. I have several sacks of this mainly woody material to add to heaps and tumblers which have the mainly fruity and veggie material on them, to help with aeration and carbon-nitrogen balance.
We harvested some potatoes from the woven green sacks where they've been growing all summer, very satisfying. I also picked some Jack Edwards Climbing Pea Beans and some broccoli and a small crook-neck squash, all of which Gilly melded into a lovely meal.
At one stage during the day I got my emails and there was a Freecycle offer from John Bibby, my friend who has had quite a bit of tree work done in his garden, offering a trailer-load of willow sticks. I replied and asked if he had any of the other wood left, the pear, laburnum and better-to-burn wood, and he replied and suggested I cycle round and pick some up.
So when I got there there were quite a few of the good-to-burn logs there, and John suggested that I fill his car up and he drive a load round. I was only expecting to take a bike-trailer's worth, but he was happy to be rid of the stuff as he wanted to clear his garden. So I loaded his car, and my trailer, and I cycled back and John drove round 20 minutes later, and I unloaded his car. I must now have one of the best collections of logs in York! And a heck of a lot of work to do!
Our eldest was also busy today, preparing for his younger brother's birthday tomorrow. He has made a complicated map of the garden and cut it up and hidden the different bits in various different places, so that when all of them are put back together it reveals the whereabouts of some buried treasure. This treasure is the birthday present. So there was various help needed with this task, including keeping his younger brother unaware of the preparations. A fun task.
So, a hard working day, good moods all round, productive, happy.
Gill had cut down some overhanging Lilac and cut back an overenthusiastic willow, and she wanted me to dispose of this cut material. I cut off the smaller branches and shredded them, and put the larger sticks aside to be cut to a stackable length for kindling.
I then got busy further down the garden, pruned the cherry tree... cutting the long branches back to half their length to make it easier to put the net over next year. I also cut several lengths of hedge, including one which had got very long and needed work with secateurs not the shears. I shredded all this to help it rot down more quickly. I have several sacks of this mainly woody material to add to heaps and tumblers which have the mainly fruity and veggie material on them, to help with aeration and carbon-nitrogen balance.
We harvested some potatoes from the woven green sacks where they've been growing all summer, very satisfying. I also picked some Jack Edwards Climbing Pea Beans and some broccoli and a small crook-neck squash, all of which Gilly melded into a lovely meal.
At one stage during the day I got my emails and there was a Freecycle offer from John Bibby, my friend who has had quite a bit of tree work done in his garden, offering a trailer-load of willow sticks. I replied and asked if he had any of the other wood left, the pear, laburnum and better-to-burn wood, and he replied and suggested I cycle round and pick some up.
So when I got there there were quite a few of the good-to-burn logs there, and John suggested that I fill his car up and he drive a load round. I was only expecting to take a bike-trailer's worth, but he was happy to be rid of the stuff as he wanted to clear his garden. So I loaded his car, and my trailer, and I cycled back and John drove round 20 minutes later, and I unloaded his car. I must now have one of the best collections of logs in York! And a heck of a lot of work to do!
Our eldest was also busy today, preparing for his younger brother's birthday tomorrow. He has made a complicated map of the garden and cut it up and hidden the different bits in various different places, so that when all of them are put back together it reveals the whereabouts of some buried treasure. This treasure is the birthday present. So there was various help needed with this task, including keeping his younger brother unaware of the preparations. A fun task.
So, a hard working day, good moods all round, productive, happy.
Both boys off to school today... I came down and sat bleary-eyed on the sofa until the house was empty, and then had breakfast, did my e-paperwork and then when Gill came back she persuaded me to come back to bed. We are very lucky to have this time... the low income and only working part-time does have it's upside.... plenty of time to do what we want to do...
But I couldn't stay in bed all day, much though that has some attraction, as I was expecting a visit from either Rowena or Adrian who have done a clear-out and found a stash of wood, much of it only fit to burn. So I did a load more work out the front, slicing the pear, apple and lilac logs from John Bibby, and splitting them and stacking round the back. It's a huge job... I'm only half-way through and I've already got a really good stack of split logs, perhaps 2m x 2m and nearly as high as me.
Adrian came after lunch, with a load of planks and other structural timber, and a whole lot of very dry and mostly all logged to the right size Leylandii chunks. I split these with the maul... they are easier when wet.
At 3 I went to school to pick up our youngest, and cycled with him on to the Millennium Bridge and up to BikeRescue where the 'Specialised Rockhopper' reconditioned bike was waiting. Our little boy was delighted with this... it was £65, but well worth it as it is a good make, 18 gears and will last for years. I put his old bike on my trailer and zoomed off after him, as he is now twice as fast as he was!
Got home well before what time I told Gill I expected us to be back, and I continued outside for a bit, cutting the front hedge and putting some of it through the shredder. Then tea which was cauliflower and macaroni with the tomato and leek soup on top as a sauce..
I then had an appointment at the allotment with a bunch of University students who have an allotment but don't know about composting, and I had offered to do a talk going through the basics. There were about 8 of them, on a rather weedy allotment but with plenty of lettuce, strawberries, onions, potatoes and a fire area in the centre with pallets around it to sit on. I did a basic run through of what composting was, what kind of materials biodegrade, the conditions needed, some stuff about landfill and my composting ops here. I answered a few questions. Then we went to look at the existing composting areas, showing them evidence of a rat in one pile. They gave me some lettuce as a thank you for the time.
I went up to my half plot and did some clearance, opening up a path up one side using the hedge shears, and worked til 10.15 when it got too dark to continue...
A lovely chatty evening with Gilly, and feeling positive as we looked at photos of Randall and Annie's baby on Facebook. Ahhhh...
But I couldn't stay in bed all day, much though that has some attraction, as I was expecting a visit from either Rowena or Adrian who have done a clear-out and found a stash of wood, much of it only fit to burn. So I did a load more work out the front, slicing the pear, apple and lilac logs from John Bibby, and splitting them and stacking round the back. It's a huge job... I'm only half-way through and I've already got a really good stack of split logs, perhaps 2m x 2m and nearly as high as me.
Adrian came after lunch, with a load of planks and other structural timber, and a whole lot of very dry and mostly all logged to the right size Leylandii chunks. I split these with the maul... they are easier when wet.
At 3 I went to school to pick up our youngest, and cycled with him on to the Millennium Bridge and up to BikeRescue where the 'Specialised Rockhopper' reconditioned bike was waiting. Our little boy was delighted with this... it was £65, but well worth it as it is a good make, 18 gears and will last for years. I put his old bike on my trailer and zoomed off after him, as he is now twice as fast as he was!
Got home well before what time I told Gill I expected us to be back, and I continued outside for a bit, cutting the front hedge and putting some of it through the shredder. Then tea which was cauliflower and macaroni with the tomato and leek soup on top as a sauce..
I then had an appointment at the allotment with a bunch of University students who have an allotment but don't know about composting, and I had offered to do a talk going through the basics. There were about 8 of them, on a rather weedy allotment but with plenty of lettuce, strawberries, onions, potatoes and a fire area in the centre with pallets around it to sit on. I did a basic run through of what composting was, what kind of materials biodegrade, the conditions needed, some stuff about landfill and my composting ops here. I answered a few questions. Then we went to look at the existing composting areas, showing them evidence of a rat in one pile. They gave me some lettuce as a thank you for the time.
I went up to my half plot and did some clearance, opening up a path up one side using the hedge shears, and worked til 10.15 when it got too dark to continue...
A lovely chatty evening with Gilly, and feeling positive as we looked at photos of Randall and Annie's baby on Facebook. Ahhhh...
Spent most of the morning on the computer, doing washing up, preparing fruit for drying and various other domestic stuff. With the Euro elections approaching, there's a lot of political stuff winging its way around the web, and I found this. I thought it might be fun to see if it predicted my Green intentions. But I couldn't get it to tell me which way to vote. I wonder if others can?
I responded to a Freecycle offer of lots of logs; my friend John Bibby has a neighbour who's taken down a large horse chestnut, an apple, a pear, a huge laburnum and some softwood. I agreed with John that I'd cycle round at 5pm, he'd get his car ready to take some logs over to mine, I'd load and then unload the car, and he'd take me back to pick up my bike with a trailer full. Sounded like a good plan.
I did a bit of work in the garden but it was too hot. I cycled down to Country Fresh with three carrier bags of very mature compost, and picked up a sack and two boxes of compostables plus a bit of shopping.
Came back and tried to make some space in the front garden ready for the log arrival, but my chainsaw is being difficult and only working now and then. I think it has a loose connection, so will have to get it serviced.
At 5 I cycled over to John's and we did two loads, only a small percentage of the large volumes of wood they've got. Arrived back after 7 having done two car-loads and a bike-trailer load. I did a bit of chopping with the chainsaw which seemed to be back working. Weird!
Gill had made Brazil nut sausage things, and cooked some cauliflower, and I was absolutely ready for this.
Later, I spent quite a bit of time doing the York in Transition diary on Facebook.
