The Wall

As it turned out the high winds at the end of November did a bit more damage than we'd thought, and in addition to the trees we also lost (the admittedly rather rickety) fence at the bottom of the garden.  Our neighbours suggested that we go for a rather more permanent replacement, and we agreed to split the cost for a breeze-block wall.

Construction was held up by some of our wetter weather - but got there despite it all, and we now have a rather smart (and hopefully extremely solid) boundary wall:

This area of the garden has always been something of a 'sun-spot' (good for drying wood!) so we're now contemplating how we might use the wall space.  Unfortunately there's too much concrete to allow us to espalier fruit trees against the wall, but we might manage a lean-to greenhouse for chillies or peppers.

Watch this space . . .

Winter-ish . .

January got a bit colder, even saw snow one day (didn't last).  Ended the month with a few wild and windy days, and an occasional thunderstorm to add to the drama:

Overall, still pretty wet, but not as wet as December - so on the whole an improvement . . .