Saturday 24 January 2009

what we did today

Today we were planning to go to Orford Castle again. Bob is supposed to do portraits there on Feb 14, and we wanted to scope it out, test lighting, etc.
But the little ones have their earaches, and it was cold, and Bob’s stomach is still a little queasy from his cure the other day. SO we made it as far as the gas station, and lunch at Burger King, but no further. Bob called it off, and I think it was a good call. The boys were very energetic, so we went to Mildenhall’s community center to the indoor playground. We were there nearly two hours. The children had a blast and got worn out while Bob and I rested and took pictures and read the paper.
Leaving there, we went to Worlington for manure. Oh, yeah, I go out of my way for horse poop.  We’ve seen a sign up before, so knew pretty much where to stop. They had 3 bags, at 40p each; I got all 3. Then we came home and I got out the shovel. Taryn rode her bike, I dug up the turf, and the children (as they woke up one at a time and got out of the van) carried the grass around back to fill in the bare spots. I have never lived in a place where I could dig turf like this. It worked just like the pretty pictures in the gardening books. Unbelievable. Then we covered the dirt and worms (lots of earthworms!) with packing paper and cereal boxes, and covered that with the horse manure, which was clean and fresh. Ummhmm. That’s why I’m doing this now instead of in the spring. I’ve never tried this lasagna or lazy gardening method before, but I’ve heard good things about it. So we shall see.
Bob got our bikes put together and organized the shed a little bit. I came in with the little ones, put William to bed, cuddled Ella, started a load of wash, and was *just* starting supper when Bob came in and said he was wanting to try our local Chinese takeaway. So that will be next, and then maybe I’ll run down to the commissary for milk and fruit.
I think we are beginning to settle.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now how much did that manure cost in American dollars? I dug up part of my plot, put some compost on it and covered it with plastic to try to kill the bermuda. I was a little late doing it.jc

kimba said...

I make that manure US$0.54 a bag.

MamaOlive said...

Yes, Kimba, $0.54 is the result I got at www.xe.com. The bags weren't huge, but it was just manure, not stable bedding.
JC, I don't envy you in trying to kill bermuda grass; that stuff is persistent. I have been chafing here, being the best gardening spot I've ever lived in, and not able to do any up to now. What I can do now is very limited, but at least it's something.