The year begins with a slightly dismal series of events.

 

The beech tree behind Man: A Passerby milestone which had developed a distinct lean due to earlier storm damage finally gives way. It splits at its base where it was already bifurcated and parts in two directions. There was a lot of careful clearance to get all of this down safely and avoid not only the milestone directly beneath it but other adjacent works. The area will need to be further tidied and perhaps the stone moved a little further down the path to improve its setting. For the time being ‘A Passerby’ rests by a gnarly uprooted stump.

 

Further up the woodland a few other precariously leaning or diseased specimens are cut back or taken out. The space left will help improve light levels. The grass paths here get very worn (just by the turn of the Top Pond) so hopefully a virtue gained out of necessity. The Golden Head of Apollo is temporarily relocated as these works are completed. This little area where he sits (or rises) can also be reconsidered with new planting at his base.

 

To get rid of all the accumulated waste from these works there are a couple of substantial bonfires which make quick work of all the fallen wood and brighten the spirits. Apart from some of the larger logs which are stacked together out of the way to form habitats, there is nothing really worth salvaging.

 

Spring bulbs are beginning to pierce through – the first few winter aconites and snowdrops are starting their cheering display. There is still quite a bit of leaf litter for them to work their way past or around, and so those more formal areas where they are clumped together – especially near to the Front garden and Siegfried Linie – keep getting regularly tidied.

 

The roof of the Woodshed at the front entrance has collapsed in on itself and the whole structure is in danger of giving way, so is no longer fit for purpose. It is effectively being held up by its contents, and will need to be replaced or removed to make it safe. Again in many ways this allows for another area to be reconsidered – the woodshed storage structure itself can be moved elsewhere, opening up the possibilities of a prime space at the front entrance to the garden to be reused, reimagined.

 

The most notable and unfortunate occurrence this month though is a flood inside the cottage. Frozen pipes in the attic burst and water found its inevitable course to come seeping through to the kitchen and rooms below. A real sickener to discover when the door is opened first thing in the morning. We are still assessing the extent of the damage and response to this, though hopefully most things will recover. 

 

And so we move on as ever, framed by time, the seasons, the elements…