Landscaping

With the completion of the patio area and paths around the newly extended Pennine View, the last few weeks has been occupied with landscaping work. A particularly dry June/July meant that the soil was too dry and hard to be easily worked but early August brought quite heavy rain and with it the ability to rotavate and grade the soil.

There was just enough top soil to grade the lawn from field level up to the new pathway level, some 2ft higher, in the SE corner of the property. The whole area has now been seeded with a rye-based grass which should establish itself during the autumn and over winter.

Whilst I was at it, I also reseeded two areas behind the garage that were used as a storage area and for mixing cement, etc. I've also rotavated and graded the area by the septic tank, which is where we stored the top soil during construction work.

Unfortunately, the local mole population seems to have discovered all this good work and sees it as an excellent opportunity for easy tunnelling and, presumably, a plentiful supply of worms. Not much that I can do about this without doing further damage until the ground firms up. The indigenous rabbits have also been having fun digging holes in my nicely graded top soil. The vicissitudes of living in the country!

Nearly two years after the first thoughts about building an extension emerged, I'm finally getting to the end of this odyssey. There remain a couple of small work items that will be done as and when materials and builders' time are available. Much as I would like to get the outside painted, I now suspect that will be a job for 2015.