Garden and forest

A day of rain and sunshine as such we decided to undertake different tasks. I drew the long straw and headed off to the forest with the dog.

It's a beautiful walk near stoney cross initially along gravel tracks.

Before following the river through the woodlands.

This is one of our favourite walks in the summer as it offers plenty of shade and water for the dogs.

In the summer the river is more of a babbling brook.

Now it was running a lot faster.

The normal fords were a lot more difficult to cross.

Once you walk away from the river there's a climb up onto the heathland. With great views over to the Isle of Wight.

The Holly trees are full of berries which is supposed to be a warning of a harsh winter to come.

Meanwhile Rae had been doing the hard work at home. We had planted a wild garden at the front of the house. Unfortunately the grass had taken over and as a consequence it just looked a mess.

After hours of back breaking work she has dug most of the grass out in preparation for planting yellow rattle. It's a plant that is parasitic to grass which inhibits its growth thus allowing the wild flowers to thrive. It also has a yellow flower which bees and other pollinators like. It's called rattle because the seeds rattle in the wind!

Over 20 bags of dug up grass were removed damned good job Rae😎.

The grass has gone with plants given space and light to grow.

We are bracing ourselves for the next storm. Winds in excess of 50mph are expected along with sustained and heavy rain. At least we will be certain that we are waterproof if we remain dry.