Hagg Leys Farm

Category: top field (Page 2 of 2)

Dry stone wall finished!

May 27, 2015 /

Well, after 2.5 years we have managed to finish the dry stone wall along the side of the orchard and the top field.  It was November 2012 when I finished building the first bit of “test” wall – I did this after attending a weekend dry stone walling course.  I did keep a record of how many days that we spent dry stone walling, but lost count at around 20.  I suspect that we have spent between 50-60 days over the last couple of years rebuilding this wall.  We have worked on other walls around the property during this time as well as building the retaining walls in the patio, so we haven’t been doing nothing.

The finished wall is around 110m in length.  The wall was in pretty bad shape when we started the project and the vast majority of it has been taken down and totally rebuilt – we have only managed to keep around 3-4 metres of the original wall.

The wall isn’t perfect, but then dry stone walls never are!  They are a reflection of the quality of the stone that goes into it.  This wall contains the well rounded gritstone that made up the field boundaries, but now contains additional stone left over from the building work or some of the demolitions.  While the wall in the orchard is largely straight, the one along the side of the top field has quite a few wiggles in it – mainly due to trees.  We still have some stone left over from the building work, so I suspect there is some more dry stone walling to come.

It is just over 110 metres from the gate around to the far Ash tree in the distance.

It is just over 110 metres from the gate around to the far Ash tree in the distance.

It is just over 110 metres in length and the original "test section" of wall is in the far distance next to the furthest tree. With each metre of wall containing around 1 tonne of stone, this has been a bit of a labour of love over the last couple of years.

It is just over 110 metres in length and the original “test section” of wall is in the far distance next to the furthest tree. With each metre of wall containing around 1 tonne of stone, this has been a bit of a labour of love over the last couple of years.

 

The fields on this side of the wall don't belong to us so for now we have just had a bit of a tidy up.

The fields on this side of the wall don’t belong to us so for now we have just had a bit of a tidy up.

You can see the wiggles on both sides of the wall. Plus we also have a fair amount of stone to move before we can start moving right up to this wall.

You can see the wiggles on both sides of the wall. Plus we also have a fair amount of stone to move before we can start mowing right up to this wall.

The bit of wall to the right of the original test section (it is a slightly paler colour) looks a bit of a mess! I think I might have to have a go at rebuilding that bit. If only for vanity's sake.

The bit of wall to the right of the original test section (it is a slightly paler colour) looks a bit of a mess! I think I might have to have a go at rebuilding that bit. If only for vanity’s sake.

 

 

Modifying the outbuildings

September 15, 2014 /

We have been wondering for a while about the best place to keep the new John Deere mower.  We had thought about building a tractor shed – you don’t need planning permission as long as it falls within certain constraints – but to get one that was big enough and looked half decent was just too much of a challenge.

Then Jo came up with the idea of widening the door in the end of the existing outbuildings.  This is only currently used to store logs and this could easily be moved to an outdoor logstore (and might be better off outside anyway).  The building is probably a couple of hundred years old and is built of a single skin of stone.  Bits of it look very precarious.  However, we are in the process of widening the existing door and installing a new steel lintel above the opening.  The steel will be completely hidden from the front thus maintaining the look of the building.

There used to be a normal sized door and window here. Once reinstated it will be a 6ft wide door capable of housing the new John Deere mower.

There used to be a normal sized door and window here. Once reinstated it will be a 6ft wide door capable of housing the new John Deere mower.

The new lintel consists of an I beam with a steel plate welded to the bottom. From the inside you will see the back of the I beam, but you will not see any of the beam from the front. The stonework will be replaced exactly as it was and the edge of the steel plate will be lost in the pointing between the courses.

The new lintel consists of an I beam with a steel plate welded to the bottom. From the inside you will see the back of the I beam, but you will not see any of the beam from the front. The stonework will be replaced exactly as it was and the edge of the steel plate will be lost in the pointing between the courses.

First cut for the top field

July 24, 2014 /

Well, it has been almost a month to the day that we sowed the grass seed in the top field.  Today’s the day to get the lawn mower out.  According to most of the gardening books, as soon as the grass gets to about 3 inches long, you should cut it taking just about 30% off.  This works well with our lawn mower on the highest setting.

It took a good couple of hours to cut the grass.  The lawn mower is only small and although the field is largely flat, there is still around an acre to be cut.  Today, the temperature is around 28C, so it is hot work pushing a lawn mower around. I can’t helping feeling that a push along lawn mower is not the right tool for the job!  But it is the only one we have. Ideally, we could now do with some rain, but I think we are going to have to wait until Sunday for any rain.

We have just run the lawn mower over the new grass. It was about 3 inches long and we just took the top inch off. It was sown 4 weeks ago to the day.

We have just run the lawn mower over the new grass. It was about 3 inches long and we just took the top inch off. It was sown 4 weeks ago to the day.

The grass is starting to thicken out. We are not short of sunshine at the moment, but a drop of rain would be handy. There is some forecast for the weekend.

The grass is starting to thicken out. We are not short of sunshine at the moment, but a drop of rain would be handy. There is some forecast for the weekend.

New grass in the top field

July 14, 2014 /

It has been two and a half weeks since we sowed the new grass in the top field.  It seems to becoming on in leaps and bounds.  No doubt the mixture of sunshine and showers recently has helped!

We seem to be costly picking up stones that are coming to the surface, as well as old clumps of dried out grass, but it is looking better by the day.

From what I can tell on the internet, the grass should be cut for the first time once it reaches 7.5cms and then it should only be cut to remove no more than 30%.  The grass should be watered straight after.  I think the grass is only around 5cms, so we are going to leaving it for a couple of weeks and then cut it just before it rains.  Hopefully this will increase the growth even further.

Sunshine and showers are great for growing grass! It really does look green in these photos! It has taken 2.5 weeks to get to this stage.

Sunshine and showers are great for growing grass! It really does look green in these photos! It has taken 2.5 weeks to get to this stage.

New manhole cover for the soakway

July 14, 2014 /

When we bought the property, there seemed to be a lot of manholes around the place that didn’t have proper covers.  The covers were either old bits of plywood or large slabs of stone.

The rotten plywood covers (mainly on the septic tank) have been replaced with proper cast iron covers.  This left us with one manhole in the top field that covered the access to the soakaway.  We have no idea how old this soakway is, but when we tested it (by scientifically throwing about 40 gallons of water down it), it seemed to work.  Rather than digging a new one, it made sense to reuse it and the rainwater from three drainpipes on the new extension flow into this soakaway.

This was originally covered by a large slab of stone and was covered by soil. We found it when we were digging the foundations for the extension.  We have had to lift the height of the manhole so that the new cover is at ground level.  This entailed an extra row of concrete blocks on edge.  Then we were ready for the new manhole cover (and frame).   This was cemented in and once it has all set, we will back-fill around the edge to bring it up to ground level.

The new frame in place. These seem to come in a number of different sizes, but never the right ones! This was the nearest fit. Next job is to cement the frame into place.

The new frame in place. These seem to come in a number of different sizes, but never the right ones! This was the nearest fit. Next job is to cement the frame into place.

Frame now cemented in place. It won't take long for it to go off on a day like today.

Frame now cemented in place. It won’t take long for it to go off on a day like today.

The frame has been cemented in place and the lid put on. As soon as this is all set, we will fill in the area around the manhole and reseed it.

The frame has been cemented in place and the lid put on. As soon as this is all set, we will fill in the area around the manhole and reseed it.

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