Saturday 6 August 2016

Attacking the ivy

Hello. A busy day today. I've decided to take down the lilac tree in the back garden. It's too big, and it's snarled up with ivy creepers. They have strangled it and the tree hasn't got much life left in it. It's going to be a hard job without power tools, I am hacking away at it bit by bit. 
Oooh look what I've found. I remember putting Cyril the Squirrel there years ago. Poor chap got swallowed up. 
That's better, he is reunited with his pal.

I took a load of hedge cuttings to the tip this morning, then onto town to pick up a few things. I dropped in at the Arts Centre to see a new exhibition, and found a chuffin great tank in the courtyard. Sculptor Peter Mountain has created a life size US army tank working from data downloaded from a website that supplies virtual objects for the computer games industry. It took him three years to make this entirely from wood, and it took two people a week  to construct it here. It came in flat packs on the back of a lorry. A bit more complex than Ikea, I think, ha ha. It's really amazing. I couldn't get close to it as it is not quite finished and Peter Mountain doesn't want close up photo's taken until he has added the missing parts.



It's been a lovely day today, more work in the garden tomorrow. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

9 comments:

  1. I love little Cyril and his mate. Would love to see more of your garden.

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  2. Glad you have had a good day. Cyril the Squirrel looks very glad to be reunited with his pal! Jane xx

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  3. That wooden tank is amazing, but Cyril and his little pal are nicer! WE have Nutter, our resident squirrel, who comes every autumn and now comes with his family and grandchildren no doubt. He makes free with the walnuts on our tree, but then again we have the supermarket down the road, this is all he has, so we tell him he can have as many as he likes.
    Margaret P

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  4. What an extraordinary thing that tank is! I like to visit my local gallery for each new show too- actually I think I need to go this week for their latest shows. I get terrible allergic rash to ivy, I don't envy you your job there. You're always so busy in the garden, I have a quite big garden but am not much of a gardener and neglect it most of the time. It's winter in Australia of course, and it's quite miserable and cold and not enticing for bad gardeners at all.

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  5. Amazing tank!
    How bringing it down will open up the light in your yard.

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  6. Love the tank. Natalie

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  7. Ivy is terrible for taking over and strangling trees. When we moved here nine years ago there was ivy over the full length of a wall that makes up one side of our property. It was strangling every thing in it's path. It was a mammoth task getting rid of it but we pulled it all out and chopped the stems at ground level and then I would pull or chop any that reappeared. It has now stayed away and the lovely brick wall is exposed and the garden opened up. I now see it as a weed and won't allow any of it in our garden. Well done for tackling this job as I know how hard it is to get rid of it.

    That tank is amazing.

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  8. My brother-in-law retired after working thirty years for the company that makes those tanks.
    We went to a couple friends and family events there. I remember them handing out plastic tank paperclip holders and having a huge sheet cake with an M-1 Tank in frosting on the top.
    joan

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  9. Why not a red squirrel? At least it's native to Britain.

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