A Prickly Job
While Sue was inside making medlar jelly, I continued the job of pruning the gooseberries. Today I was thinning out the top growth, cutting the leader branches back and cutting the laterals (side branches) back to two buds. Gooseberries form on old wood and where last year's laterals meet the leader branch. The cut back laterals will hopefully form into fruiting spurs in the future.
If it all goes well, I'll get plenty of large, easy to pick gooseberries.
This took me quite a while, but Sue was kept busy by an unexpected mini-emergency. The red warning light had been glowing on the fridge freezer for a few days, seemingly for no reason... until today, when a small puddle of water appeared on the kitchen floor. Somehow Sue managed to squeeze most of the food into the other already full to bursting freezers.
With those jobs done, it was time for a long dog walk along the river. We went further than we ever have before. I never understand how the dogs are happy to laze around all day yet they have such limitless energy when it suits them.
Raspberry management
There was still time for me to tackle the raspberry canes when we got back from the river. I just needed to tidy them up a little and to take out the old stems from the summer fruiting varieties. These are easy to identify as they have the remains of flowering stalks on them.
The remaining stems are those which grew afresh this year and will produce fruit next year.
Autumn fruiting raspberries are treated differently.
All their growth is cut back over the winter (best done later in winter) and their new canes spring up next year, fruiting later on in the same year.
The light was falling as I finished this job and I was interrupted by a strange squealing sound. The closest I could think of was the squeal of a rabbit when our cat has caught it, but Gerry and the dogs were inside. Maybe it was a stoat kill?
An unlucky blackbird
As I approached where the strange commotion was coming from, somewhere near the bee hives, a sparrowhawk exploded from the ground carrying a still struggling blackbird. The poor thing had probably just flown al the way over the North Sea only to meet an untimely end when it was looking for a safe roost for the night.
While Sue was inside making medlar jelly, I continued the job of pruning the gooseberries. Today I was thinning out the top growth, cutting the leader branches back and cutting the laterals (side branches) back to two buds. Gooseberries form on old wood and where last year's laterals meet the leader branch. The cut back laterals will hopefully form into fruiting spurs in the future.
If it all goes well, I'll get plenty of large, easy to pick gooseberries.
This took me quite a while, but Sue was kept busy by an unexpected mini-emergency. The red warning light had been glowing on the fridge freezer for a few days, seemingly for no reason... until today, when a small puddle of water appeared on the kitchen floor. Somehow Sue managed to squeeze most of the food into the other already full to bursting freezers.
With those jobs done, it was time for a long dog walk along the river. We went further than we ever have before. I never understand how the dogs are happy to laze around all day yet they have such limitless energy when it suits them.
Raspberry management
There was still time for me to tackle the raspberry canes when we got back from the river. I just needed to tidy them up a little and to take out the old stems from the summer fruiting varieties. These are easy to identify as they have the remains of flowering stalks on them.
The remaining stems are those which grew afresh this year and will produce fruit next year.
Autumn fruiting raspberries are treated differently.
All their growth is cut back over the winter (best done later in winter) and their new canes spring up next year, fruiting later on in the same year.
The light was falling as I finished this job and I was interrupted by a strange squealing sound. The closest I could think of was the squeal of a rabbit when our cat has caught it, but Gerry and the dogs were inside. Maybe it was a stoat kill?
An unlucky blackbird
As I approached where the strange commotion was coming from, somewhere near the bee hives, a sparrowhawk exploded from the ground carrying a still struggling blackbird. The poor thing had probably just flown al the way over the North Sea only to meet an untimely end when it was looking for a safe roost for the night.
Monday 20th November
A New Car - sort of
A New Car - sort of
A dreaded trip to the dentist. And bad news. My dentist has left and I have someone new. This is a lot for me to cope with.
When I made it home safe and sound, I decided to clean the car to take my mind off things. My car must have wondered what was happening to it. Layers of dirt and moss and lichen which had been protecting the paintwork from the elements were gently wiped away.
By the end I felt almost as if I had a new car!
When I made it home safe and sound, I decided to clean the car to take my mind off things. My car must have wondered what was happening to it. Layers of dirt and moss and lichen which had been protecting the paintwork from the elements were gently wiped away.
By the end I felt almost as if I had a new car!
