Most of the free time we would have had is now taken up with harvesting our fruit and vegetables, and then either cooking, preparing and freezing or (with the fruit) making it into jam or jelly to sell. We’ve managed to make one batch of jelly using up the crabapples that survived, and three batches of jam using our pears and damsons; now all just waiting to be labelled and stored.
On Thursday evening I started our now-annual autumn routine spraying our fruit trees each week for three weeks with nematodes – a biological way of controlling the codling and plum moth larvae inhabiting our orchard. This will be the fourth year we’ve sprayed the trees and each year we’ve seen a decline in the number of fruit spoiled by the larva so it definitely works. The results are a good incentive to keep going – it’s probably one of the jobs I like the least as you have to mix the nematodes with water and then spray the trunk, main branches and then the ground under the tree branches – all while ‘agitating’ the spray bottle so the nematodes don’t settle; and trying to avoid the spray falling back onto your face. You’re also supposed to do it in damp conditions and in the evening as the nematodes can die in sunlight and in dry conditions. That doesn’t give you very long between finishing work and dusk, especially if you leave it later in the year. Still – one down, only two to go…
And because we weren’t bored enough with our own harvesting, on Saturday we also went over to Dalwood Vineyard with our neighbours to help out with their harvest. Each year Dalwood Vineyard run harvest days where volunteers pick whichever grapes are ready. This weekend it was the turn of the Solaris and Mad Ang varieties with about 25-30 volunteers working their way up and down the vines snipping off the grapes into crates that were then taken and loaded onto a tractor and trailer. It took about 4 hours to clear the vines, after which the vineyard managers put on a BBQ and drinks. We’ve said every year that we wanted to help with the harvest – this year we finally made it! We’ll definitely try and make it again next year – it’s lovely to have a successful vineyard almost on our doorstep, and it’s more a labour of love as a part-time venture, so it’s nice to be able to support them where we can.
After sanding down the beams in the Cow Shed last week, John found time during the week to wash them. A much-needed job – the water that came off them was completely brown and he needed to replace it after each beam. All those years of dirt slowly disappearing. The next stage is to treat them – then the building is ready for the builders to come in when they get a gap in their schedule. We’re excited to get properly started!!
Sunday saw another changeover between guests (our last guests left on Saturday and the next ones arrive on Monday). As we had a little extra time, we replaced the anti-tip catches on the furniture in the master bedroom. Somehow all four catches on the wardrobe and dresser had snapped which is really surprising since they’re made from thick plastic. Fortunately the catches had snapped in a way that would have still given some support if anyone had tried to tip the furniture – but we didn’t want to run the risk and so attached fresh catches to both. If it happens again then we’ll need to explore metal catches as it’s just not worth the risk. As difficult as it is to lose a weekend day to a changeover, it’s very rewarding to see the house clean and tidy again, and ready for our next visitors to enjoy their break here :)
Ley Farm Cottages 