Make Hay (Honey) while the sun shines.

Today the crabapple blossoms are falling to the ground due to the rain. 

Hopefully yesterday's perfect weather allowed the pollinators to complete their work.

 By mid morning the whole tree was humming with the sound of various bees.

Similar to birdsong, the pitch of a bees hum can identify it's species.

The buzz of a bumblebee being far deeper

than that of the honey bee.

The Kerria was also attracting it's fair share of pollinators

Spending a few minutes hiveside can render a diverse pallete of pollen colours,

In my view, the most spectacular is the blue pollen from Scilla sibirica.

Eggciting Times at Stonewell Farm

New arrivals galore today. First we had a pair of Orioles, the female alights on the perch provided

 and then drinks her fill.

The male shows off his acrobatic skills by hanging from the central support

 and drinking upside down.

 Our second arrivals were a pair of Canada geese. First time for geese on our pond. The little mallard arrived last week with a mate, this morning she was all alone, but the drake was back this afternoon.

The last arrival is a little chick that was hatched by Sooty the duck. Sooty decided to make her nest in the hen house and has been sitting for 30 days. Ducklings hatch after 35 days, chickens hatch after 21 days. A hen must have laid an egg in Sooty's nest 21 days ago. Fortunately we have a broody hen, so all is well at Stonewell Farm.

Spring Walling Workshop

Last Weekend we had eight participants at our Spring workshop.

I usually spend the first hour discussing safety and how to use various hammers, chisels etc.

Then we set the A frames and lines.

 The build was a continuation of the section built at the Fall 2018 workshop.

With the added difficulty of a cheekend. 

On Sunday they had the confidence to tackle a right angled corner.

 Carefully chosen face stones require little or no hearting. What hearting is required is tightly packed.

Vertical, or as seen here, horizontal capstones complete a wall and give it a finished look.

 A section of wall that a professional would be proud of, let alone complete stone novices. Well done Lady and Gents.

It is worth repeating that while this stone is angular, it is not regular like bricks and careful choice of each stone is needed to keep the joints tight. Once learned, one can build with almost any stone.

Our next workshop is on the 28th and 29th of Sept 2019

contact Andrew Pighills 860-575-0526

andrewpighills@englishgardensandlandscaping.com