Monday 2 May 2011

Hello Sheddy!

A couple of years ago roots from the horrible eucalyptus next door broke through our sewage pipes causing lots of damage and smell and resulting in our back yard being re-concreted.  So, after much complaining that I need a new garden we saved up our pennies to have the back yard dug up and new flag stones laid in the Victorian tradition. 

Nasty concrete and our rotten old shed
Back yard in 2009

View from the back gate

The shed was so old and rotten that the only thing holding it up was the things in it! The way it listed to one side made it positively dangerous and a few bashes with a sledge hammer turned the shed into a pile of fire wood. 


Since the demolition of the old shed last year and the flagging of the back yard, we have been saving up for a new shed so our "garden" has looked like something out of Steptoe and Son for the entire winter. 


But I have great plans for our small back yard and Steve, our friendly builder, made me a raised bed at the bottom with slabs and a low wall.. My lovely Other Half has also made a wooden edged bed for growing vegetables. 


Now "Sheddy the Shed" has arrived (yippee!) and we have started to clear the garden of all the debris ready to get some serious gardening done. Hopefully, we will have a new lawn soon and we are saving up for a bench. More garden transformation posts coming soon....



Sunday 1 May 2011

Malham Dale


Friday was a public holiday (Yay)! so we took a walk around Malham, starting off at the village to Janet's Foss and then along to Gordale Scar


It's not a strenuous walk as there isn't much up hill walking until you get to the Scar. There people can climb up the rocks past the waterfall and walk on to Malham Tarn.  But, as we had two dogs with us we didn't attempt the climb.


Instead we walked over the fields toward Malham Cove and the weather got warmer and brighter. 


All the walls around Malham are made from limestone and they glow a bright white in the sunshine. 


The top of the cove has the famous Limestone Pavements,  created after the last Ice Age by the slightly acidic water that ate into the soft limestone to create fissures. 


It's easy to walk across the pavement and it's fascinating to see the rocks looking like ancient prehistoric bones.


The descent from Malham Cove is quite easy as there are man made steps running down the side that lead to the path back to Malham Village. 



Of course a walk wouldn't be a walk if Jackson couldn't carry the largest stick he could find with him. This one was a bit charred and had obviously been used in a camp fire at some time. It was very heavy and gave me a crack across the back of the legs on several occasions. 


So our walk terminated at the pub for sandwiches and chips. Thanks for the day off, Will and Kate!