Not exactly summery yet. . . .

. . . but James saw FIVE swallows down the fields today. There's been none around the farm building yet. And when they do arrive, they may have a bit of a shock. The old workshop that some used to nest in, is now a sparkling new classroom, with no open windows. No panic though, there's plenty more building with easy access.

And more good news - a cow has had twin heifers!

All we have to do now is wait

Last week we began work on the lane. As anyone with a low slung car will know (e.g Arthur) it was very rutted, with deep channels and irregular humps and bumps. So the first thing to do was to level it.

The excavated spoil was loaded into trailers and taken down the fields to improve the road down to the wood etc.

Then on Monday we started concreting (when I say "we", I mean a local contractor).

 



These photos don't really do them justice, they levelled and smoothed in between loads and sometimes had time to sit and wait for the next wagon.

 

By yesterday afternoon there were just a few finishing touches to do.

 

 

And now it's just a waiting game. We laid about 100 cubic metres, 7 inches deep, reinforced with wire mesh and fibre (?),  and it has to have time to set properly. So it's "No Entry" until the 1st May. We've locked the gates top and bottom, and even put a big bale in front of the bottom gate. The cow track in the field alongside the lane is actually a much better surface than the lane ever was. But not as good as it is now of course.

 

A worrying Comment

Last year we knocked down an old woodshed and built a new small toilet block.
This year we knocked down an old workshop and built a new classroom.

On Saturday night when the family was winding down in the sitting room, grandson Chris slowly looked round and said "I wonder what we can knock down next?".

A not so long and winding road

Today marks the start of our latest project ("do you never stop?" I hear you cry). The lane at Strickley is not so very long and not so very winding, but it is very bumpy. Heavy rain tends to wash it away and low slung cars have to negotiate a bit of a slalom course to avoid grounding. Since we put in a cow track last year it doesn't get as "muddy", but it's not ideal. So, we have decided to concrete it. Contractors are coming today with a big digger to scrape and level and next week the concrete begins. It will be seriously deep and will have to be not driven on for 2 to 3 weeks. So, if the gate is shut at the bottom of the lane, drive up the cow track - probably a better surface than the lane at present. James will have to do some extra manoeuvring and reversing with the feeder for a while, but it will be worth it.

I'm hoping to get loads of photos, but here's some to start with.

First one from the 1940's

 

And then some from the 1970's when the lane was widened for the milk tanker.

(apologies for the quality - take from old slides)

 

 

and finally, one taken this morning

 

 

 

 

Wildlife at Strickley

Fox on the run.

Taken 23rd March at 17:59 in the wood.

I don't know if it was the same one, but a not-so-wily fox was found in the slurry pit this morning.
 

A Chilly Easter

When I was a young girl, way back in the Fifties, I always has new clothes for Easter. I wore them on Easter Sunday whatever the weather. It can't always have been warm, but looking back I can't remember ever it being freezing cold. With the temperature struggling to stay above freezing this was not an Easter to be showing off new clothes, unless they were fleeces and thick jumpers. But with two woodburners doing there bit and lots of bodies to give off heat we kept warm and entertained.

On Saturday we celebrated the completion (almost) of the classroom. We had a bit of a party with games and prizes left over from Henry's birthday Do. I had planned for two games outside, and on Sunday we were not discouraged and wrapped up well. If you've ever been to a Strickley Party you will probably have played Fruit Bowls. This Easter we played a variant of the game - Egg Bowls. We all decorated hard boiled eggs and tried to get them nearest the "jack". Bumpy concrete and ovoid bowls made it a game of luck rather than skill. The other game, involving money and a bucket of cold water was a success despite the weather but we were glad to get back inside.

And finally, last night I was most chilled of all - relaxing in a huge bath of bubbles, drinking gin and eating an Easter Egg, with the setting sun pouring through the window. A fitting end to the holiday.

Latest weather statistics from Strickley

Latest weather statistics from Strickley. Only 10 days of rain in March, and not many inches (some was melted snow)

 

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