A Weekend of Cleaning Up

With the recent rains which have been soooo very welcome, there has been an abundance of growth on the plot.  Unfortunately the things you would like to grow quickly are not the ones that do and the ones you would rather wilt and dry up in the parching sun, thrive and grow taller and thicker than you wish.  We have listened to the weeds swishing in the wind and spreading themselves out over as much area as they possibly can, choking anything good that may be trying to survive.  In the middle of the week, Johan and I discussed getting some chaps in over this weekend to help us tidy up and try to get the place looking a bit neater, so I chatted to Geoffrey on Thursday morning and asked if he had some friends that would be willing to come and help.  It turns out that a fruit juice factory nearby has closed for the holidays and so there are a number of people who are on leave now and some of Geoffrey's friends are amongst them.

Yesterday morning he arrived with 3 chaps and Johan set them to work, all delegated to different areas and different jobs so we could have a maximum 'clean-up'.  With Johan mowing too it was all systems go and for once I wasn't involved, other than keeping everyone happy with food and juice...and boy did they all need a lot to drink over the two days to keep them hydrated as we had temperatures of 39 and 38 again.  In the middle of the day, everyone downed tools and rested in the shade for an hour, hoping that it would cool or a breeze may stir up...neither happened... and even the thunderous sounds we heard in the distance were detoured away from us with not a drop of rain falling anywhere nearby.

So at the end of the two days, the vegetable garden has been cleaned, the stable mucked out...yah I got out of that one for a change...the area where the pigs used to be is cleared, where the peacocks roam, is cleared and the paddock where Switch and the foal are at present is partially clear of weeds and thorns.  The grass has been mowed around the flat and house but is not quite finished under the fruit trees...maybe Johan will be able to get that done over the next two evenings after work.  So all in all it's been a productive weekend and our place is looking pretty and neat and tidy....well mostly anyway.