June 2007 - Land Clearing

I have just spent several days clearing the land of rubbish and debris: old paraffin bottles; plastic flower pots; plastic sacks; old glass bottles and jars; broken pottery; lots of bits of coloured plastic string and rope half buried in the soil; rusty garden machinery and all sorts of other things which had been thrown (or fallen) into the woodland dell beside the stream. There is still a massive orange empty gas container lodged between a couple of tree trunks which is too heavy for me to move. The ancient trees in the woods and local spirits of the land seemed to breathe a sign of relief once liberated from all this clutter, which was so out of keeping with the natural wildness of the place.













The barn is also full of forlorn looking objects including piles of faded newspapers and children’s books with very dated black-and-white pictures; as well as several old tractor tyres and quite a few old-fashioned gardening tools, some of which are still
usable. Sorting it all out will take some time, especially since my priority has to be getting the main buildings into a habitable condition before the winter.

The farmhouse itself has a good roof and solid walls, but apart from these, just about everything requires attention! The kitchen, bathroom, living areas and bedrooms all need major work as do the gas, water and electric systems. We eventually locate the site of the borehole beneath a mass of brambles and install a new ultra-violet water purifying system. I have already planted a few evergreen laurels, some white rhododendrons and a mature viburnum to screen the large LPG tank, which is situated on the north side of the house, since these will take a few years to mature. Renovating the structure of the buildings and planning the new kitchen has taken up a lot of time this month: but spending time indoors has been OK since it has been raining almost every day!