My spade has snapped in half.
I've done lots of digging over the past couple of weeks and I've enjoyed it - the weather has been fairly mild and the ground is quite soft. There's also been plenty to do - firstly, putting in a new fence as some of our original fencing needs replacing (and here is the old fence being tested out and found wanting, I think!)
Next, we've planted a Hornbeam hedge around the (new) beehive area - and to make sure it actually gets established, it has to be protected from rabbits (so I've used some spirals) and the sheep (so a temporary fence has been put in).
Finally, I've been moving some rose bushes. Years ago I decided to change an area of perennials to a rose patch, but as I never managed to change it completely, it's remained half and half. This hasn't really worked (for a start, I get ripped to shreds by thorns every time I'm gardening around the perennials) and I've now decided to move the rose bushes to a separate area. And it was while I was digging up roses that my spade snapped.
With all the recent digging, I felt as though I'd worn the spade out - and the final straw was the deep and tangled root ball of the largest rose bush.
The spade was now useless, but I don't like to just throw things away and buy new if something can be fixed. So I took it to the Blacksmith...
I must admit I'm fascinated by a forge; I love to see the fire and the old tools and the traditional way of working. The forge I visited probably isn't my nearest one - but it's my first choice. I get such friendly and good service there. The building is also centuries old, and it's amazing to think of the changes that have taken place in a smithy over that time - from shoeing horses to modern welding...
A couple of days later - my spade is ready and it looks gleaming and brand new. Here I've propped it up against our mistletoe so that it looks a bit festive...
And now it's back to more digging, under the eye of the local wildlife...
Hope all your preparations for Christmas are going well!
Wendy
I love that picture of the Wren - absolutely beautiful...and the Robin too. So pleased you've got your spade back; it looks like an extremely good one and worth mending!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I am a bit attached to this spade, so I'm glad its had a new lease of life!
DeleteThe little Wrens are gorgeous, aren't they? I think we have at least two or three here at the moment - there's lots of singing from the hedges.
What a superb job the Blacksmith has done in repairing your spade :) I love the robin and wren photos :) I seem, as always!!!, behind in getting ready for Christmas this year but somehow it always seems to come together in the end :) Hope your preparations are coming along well.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm a bit old fashioned in that I don't like throwing anything away that can be mended, so I'm glad we have such a good Blacksmith here.
DeleteI'm behind with Christmas preparations too - and more so than other years, for some reason. Must catch up!
Such a clean spade so certainly worth saving and an amazingly tidy Forge too. Love your picture of Jenny Wren.
ReplyDeleteThe forge seems to be a bit of a treasure trove for old tools - I'd love to know how old some of them actually were.
DeleteI think the Wren is one of my favourite birds - such a clear, beautiful song.
What a fabulous Blacksmiths Wendy, and a superb job he has made of your old spade.
ReplyDeleteLove your little Wren, you did really well to capture him on camera. They always remind me of little wind-up toys when they bob around on the ground.
I would love to find out more about the forge, but I feel guilty about keeping the Blacksmith from his work with too many questions. I'll ask a few more each visit!
DeleteI love your description of a Wren. I was very lucky to get that photo - they are usually too quick and hidden for my camera.
Your photos of the wren and the robin are wonderful! Good to have your trusty old spade mended by the blacksmith. His forge is so evocative of another age:)
ReplyDeleteA Blacksmith has such an ancient trade - I find the history fascinating. And they would have been so vital to a community at one time. This Blacksmith is second generation and his son will start next year - so this will continue the trade here.
DeleteI love forges too. Years ago we used to ride across the fields to our farrier's forge and wait while the horses were shod. Your spade looks fantastic x
ReplyDeleteI imagine taking your horses to the forge must have felt like a link with history. There seem to be a few Farriers working in this area - I often see their vans on the road (there are plenty of horses around here).
DeleteThe new spade has pride of place in the greenhouse at the moment!
Somehow a spade and a Robin just say "winter" to me - many years ago my friend's father, determined to set up the stereotyped photo of the Robin perched on the spade handle, with a snowy scene behind, carefully set the whole thing up including camera in a self-built "hide" ready to capture any landing bird life. He sat there for hours, finally needing to go indoors for a "comfort break" and needless to say the very second he turned his back, down flew the bird in question!
ReplyDeleteThat is wildlife photography! I can imagine I would wait hours for a photo of the Robin on my new spade here - and I'd probably miss it, too.
DeleteI know the Robins are around all year but they are very special in winter because they're about one of the only birds still singing.
Great post...think i might have broken a spade just so i could look round the Blacksmiths..
ReplyDeleteIt has been great been out side this week who would of thought it was December.. love the look of were you live I need some Sheep....
Let me know if you got my new post on http://thequietwalker.blogspot.co.uk/
The Robin looks very well and full of colour.
I really prefer the mild weather, I can get so much more done outside. The sheep are no problem to keep; they are now very old and content and settled - they have no desire to try to get out or be difficult (except at shearing - they still don't like that!)
DeleteI haven't received today's post yet and I've found it the long way. I'll let you know if it doesn't come through.
I'm not surprised you broke your spade on a rose. They are hellishly difficult to get up. I hope they re-establish well in their new position. Great shot of the wren.. we saw one on the bank outside the landing window last week and immediately got the camera, but they are just too quick. Robins, on the other hand, seem to love to pose!
ReplyDeleteI really hope the roses re-establish. They were doing well in their original position so I'll be very unhappy if I've lost them. I hope the spade breaking wasn't a sign that I should have left them alone!
DeleteI have lots of blurry photos of Wrens. I've tried anticipating where they'll go to next and fixing the camera on the spot, but that doesn't always work, either.
I love the robin's winter song. Have you also heard the little quiet whispered song they do - so intimate - usually when they are quite close - I always feel it is especially for me! A lovely post thank you..
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about the Robin's song sounding intimate but I do agree with you - they do seem to whisper it. I always notice the change in their song early in the autumn - a sign winter is coming.
DeleteYou just don't know your own strength Wendy, breaking tools like that.{:))
ReplyDeleteHaha - I often wish I did have more strength! Once the spade had snapped I still had to finish getting the rose bush out and it was hard work - especially as I was trying to avoid destroying a second spade!
DeleteLots of lovely things all in one post - blacksmiths, forges, mistletoe (you have mistletoe!!!) robins and sheep - and is that a wren?
ReplyDeleteI'm really pleased with the mistletoe. I took a couple of berries from a crab apple tree many years ago and then squeezed them into a cut I'd made into the bark of an apple tree here. It took three years before I saw it take - but now I have a lovely mistletoe bush. Perfect for Christmas decorations.
DeleteYes - the second photo is a little Wren!
Lots of wrens singing here too, beautiful photo of the wren and robin-lovely garden companions. That's a great looking strong and big spade-I think it would wear me out, not the other way round!
ReplyDeleteIt is lovely seeing the Robins and the Wrens at the moment - they're very visible,darting in and out where the animals are and around the veg beds. I don't remember knowing about any nests last year but I'm guessing they must have been successful.
DeleteThe spade still has plenty of work to do!
New handles for garden tools inevitably remind me of the Two Ronnies' '4 candles' sketch and make me smile. Like you, I get a particular pleasure out of keeping favourite tools going.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos as always.
Yes - such a wonderful sketch! As well as visiting the Blacksmith, we do have an old hardware shop that's not too far away. Hope it keeps going - it's so much more enjoyable visiting these small, family run places with their stock crammed into all corners than a superstore.
DeleteGlad you're spade is mended. Such wonderful photos of the wren and robin. Am envious of your mistletoe! I've been wanting to try and grow some on our pear tree.. after seeing yours I am going to give it a go. :o)
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely worth trying to grow some mistletoe. I took the berries from a bush on the crab apple and put them into the bark of a bramley - and the mistletoe is thriving there. It seems to grow every year and adds some welcome greenery here in winter.
DeleteIt was good to see you managed to get the spade mended. Too often these days things are just thrown away! The wren and robin are fantastic pictures.
ReplyDeleteSarah x
We always like to see things mended if we can - preferably by ourselves and then by local tradespeople or craftspeople. We're lucky to have a few of the latter around; from Blacksmiths to Carpenters to Saddlers.
DeleteI'm really fond of the Robins and Wrens at this time of year - such lovely little birds braving the cold winters.
Oh well done you that girl getting the spade fixed. Mine are always snapping but sadly I don't have a forge!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab little wren and a delicious robin....awwww, and I'm really JEALOUS of your mistletoe....look at it!!! Tons of the white gold you have there.
Glad the roses are moved, it's a pain when you're constantly being prickled. How cute are your sheep....I do wish I had a bit more land for a few farm animals....sighs...xxx
The mistletoe is looking wonderful at the moment - I just wish the birds would come down and help themselves, too but it isn't in a place where they will want to get to (too exposed).
DeleteThe sheep have no interest in coming up for food when they can have spring and summer grass - but right now they're like my shadow hoping for something extra to eat. Every time I turn around they're there looking hopeful! I'd like many more animals, but it isn't practical and we don't have the space, sadly.
Hi Wendy, you got quite a bit of heavy work done in your garden. I am very impressed! No wonder that your spade had enough and snapped ;-). I thought I am not reading correctly. Taking it to a forge to repair? Unthinkable in the area where I live. America is all about "out with the old and in with the new", means buying, buying, buying. I like your way so much better! Wishing you a nice weekend!
ReplyDeleteChristina
It's a shame you have to completely replace old tools. I'd hate to throw an old favourite away! As I said to Sarah - I like supporting local craftspeople and traditional skills - so I'm glad we do have forges nearby. Entering into a forge is a bit like stepping into the past; the trade of a Blacksmith has so much folklore and history attached to it.
DeleteYou have a real blacksmith? That's amazing to me! I've never lived anywhere where you could find a blacksmith. So few things are repaired here. Everyone just throws them out. It's so pathetic.
ReplyDeleteI am quite surprised Tammy, that you do automatically replace things where you are. I'm sure you must have had these old trades around at one time. To be honest, I'm sure many people would throw out something here, too - but fortunately enough of us like to keep the old crafts and trades going.
DeleteI love your mistltoe but I am a little lost.. are the berries apart of the mistletoe or a separate plant? It is really beautiful! I've never thought to grow my own. And how cool you were able to repair your spade! Good luck with your new hornbeam hedge. Merry Christmas, Wendy!
ReplyDeleteOur Mistletoe was established years ago so has plenty of leaves and berries now. I always think of Mistletoe as a kind of a parasite living on a host (in this case an apple tree) Most of the mistletoe here is very high up in the trees and impossible to reach, so it's really only the birds that can spread the berries from tree to tree. I was lucky I found some quite low down.
DeleteThe hornbeam hedge stands a chance if the rabbits don't get to it!
I'm with Jessica, roses are really hard to dig up once well established, how wonderful to have a blacksmith locally to mend your spade rather than having to replace it. Am off to see if we have one on the Island, though I don't hold out much hope... As for Christmas prep, mincemeat is done, menus planned, just lots of baking to do next week to fill the freezer so that I can enjoy the company without being shackled to the kitchen! Looking forward to picking up meat from the butcher on the High Street rather than having to buy it from the supermarket, just hope he has a good Christmas, it makes such a difference having a good butcher in the village, and I have the lamb stock waiting to be decanted in to bags for freezing to prove it, loads of free bones available as and when needed as well as wonderful local meat.
ReplyDeleteI thought about moving the roses for ages and have left it for a couple of years, but they just didn't work in that area anymore. I had no idea they would be so tough - I know all about it now!
DeleteYour Christmas preparations so organised, Janet, compared to me - I'm going to have to plan a tight timetable now for next week. And it is wonderful having local food shops, isn't it? I like discussing the produce with shopkeepers who really know all about it.
This was my grandfather's trade - I remember that things in our house were mended rather than replaced.
ReplyDeleteGlad your spade in now fixed - you can get on with other things now!
That is fascinating about your grandfather, Angie. Such interesting family history.
DeleteI've only just started moving things around in the garden - plenty more to do yet!
My Uncle was a blacksmith and farrier. I loved the fire and the way it sprang into life when the bellows were applied. The process of replacing shoes on the horses was fascinating. It was a real treat to visit.
ReplyDeleteI can just imagine how fascinating it was for you to visit him, Susan. It's such an ancient trade and so much of it is unchanged. When I visited, it was wonderful seeing the fire alight in the centre of the forge - probably just as it always has been.
DeleteIt is fabulous to see that traditional blacksmiths can still be found in your corner of the country and like you I am fascinated by the forge and the skills of these craftsmen (and women). Your spade looks like a really top quality one so it is good to see that is was so easily fixed and can get back to work so soon :-) Though this is a quiet time of year I actually think this is one of the nicest times in the garden with preparations and plans for the year ahead providing plenty of interest :-)
ReplyDeleteI think it must be so satisfying carrying on a traditional craft/trade and then passing it on to the next generation. I totally agree about working in the garden at this time of year - this is when I can make the real changes I want. Must be careful with that spade, though!
DeleteIt's funny how you become quite attached to certain tools isn't it? I fear that my much loved gardening boots are now beyond repair and are destined to go and live on the doorstep with some violas planted in them. Wishing you many a happy hour of digging with your fixed up spade, and a wonderful Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThat is a shame about your boots, but it's great that you can give them another life as planters. I'm hoping my spade will have many years yet - it will have to be very broken before I throw it away!
DeleteHave a wonderful Christmas, too!
So good that you were able to get your spade renewed as if by magic! I have my mum's border spade, and it is nice to know that should the unthinkable happen, then it too can be fixed. Happy Christmas !
ReplyDeleteHello Jane and thanks for visiting. Yes - and my spade was fixed so quickly as well. Hope you're able to find a good Blacksmith where you are just in case.
DeleteHappy Christmas, too!
Glad you're able to get digging again. Hope you had a good Christmas and New Year. xx
ReplyDeleteI've been dreaming up some additional plans for the garden for 2014 - so I'm pleased the spade is ready to go!
DeleteHope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year as well Debbie.