It's a three ball day today! (That's good)

Operation Back Wall resumed today. The blackbird which halted earlier progress has disappeared without producing any chicks. I suspect the jackdaws may have something to do with it - it's a tough world out there. Shame, but it has allowed me to carry on pruning and weeding to expose the wall.

In the process I found no less than three tennis balls - from three different decades by the look of them.

Yeah! It's stopped raining long enough to take some photos.

The roses that were ravaged by the deer last year are making a come back! We moved the poor things - some of them mere sticks - to the back garden once it was deer-proof. It's great to see them flowering again. This "silver wedding" is stealing the show at the moment.

Google is watching you!

I was in Homebase the other day and saw a dining table and six dining chairs in the same range as this. It was lovely, but I decided it was a bit big for what we needed so left without buying it. When I got home I was browsing online for something completely different when this set popped up on the screen - all the things I liked about the ones in Homebase, but smaller and at an really good price. I decided it was meant to be and bought it.

But how spooky is that - I saw something in a shop and Google knew I wanted something like it.

One recycled wall

The wall that was demolished in the back garden has been recreated in the front garden ...

Rain has made it difficult for Orson to complete this - there are still a few stones to fix on the top right - but hopefully it will be finished tomorrow. Looks as if it's always been there!

Narrow escape from deer destruction

First thing this morning there was a deer in the front garden! It looked as if it, and possibly friends, had been there a while. The pheasant bush has been nibbled (see footprints) but thankfully the tastier morsel of the rose beyond the fence was safe.

In its panic to escape it managed to squeeze round the fence into the back garden, but with me on its tail, it didn't pause long enough to eat - just went flying through the back hedge. The gap and the back fence have now been made safe - thank you, Orson!

Narrow escape (for us).

Wonderful colours!

We're begining to see what the parterre beds might look like when they grow up. I took this picture before yesterday's rain - but they have survived pretty well.

And we're done!

Wall by Orson, turf by Bob and pots by me.


And we've found time to sit, briefly, between showers.

Nearly finished!

Just some turf to lay and a drain cover to sort out and the patio will be done. Our table looks a little insignificant in its new home. Think we may need to invest in some new patio furniture.

(The mummy blackbird is still sitting on her nest. Looking a bit soggy after last night's rain (rain!!!!) but determinedly doing her job.)

Blackbird halts Operation Back Wall

So there I was, bent double inside the rhododendron bushes, clearing the undergrowth and chopping back dead branches to expose the lovely wall. I stood up and found myself nose to beak with a blackbird, sitting on her nest. The clearance will have to wait until her eggs have hatched and the chicks have flown.

Step 6: Painstakingly point all the cracks

What a job! Poor Orson has, almost literally, worn his fingers to the bone. (Patio looks great though).

Step 5 (continued)

The 7m x 7m square is now ready for grouting.

Question: Can we fit 100 chairs on a 7m x 7 m square patio (with a central aisle down the middle)?

Answer: Hope so!