Part Two
Posted: 20 April 2022
The change that was alluded as we approached the bridge to the island in Part One of the tour was the New Retaining Wall that you see much more clearly in our first image here. It was erected in February this year.
Everything ahead of us is bathed in much more light. Some of that will be the lack of leaves on the trees but far more significant is that a number of the crack willow were brought down over winter. We'll see the evidence of that later in the tour.
The end of what was intended as the over-wintering place for the dinghy now marks the the end of new path grids. The plan we had two years ago to raise the level of the path further ahead a little to keep it drier in winter remains a plan.
The ground beyond the pallet has been re-seeded and is no longer used as a temporary store for timber before it is split into one of three grades: fine twigs, for chipping, and what used to be used for path edging. These days the larger logs are set aside for burning in the stove in The Manna.
Now alongside the large pile of twigs that you could see in the previous image and we take a right turn towards "The Ruston Bench". Thanks to the lack of leaf growth it is much easier to see the detail on the ground this time. The native daffodils are still in bloom. Although difficult to see in this picture, so are the many primroses that Diana has planted on the embankment between the paths. The cowslips that were also planted here are long gone, eaten by the Muntjac deer that plague us.
This time the view of the Ruston Bench is taken with a wider angle. It allows us to see The Manna, erected in the autumn of 2020. We still keep the shelter over the Ruston Bench although it has now been blown over twice in gales. The first time the lighter weight roof needed to be replaced. The replacement roof turned out to be significantly heavier and we needed help to get it upright again.
Once again, I turned to take a photograph of the house. It's difficult to make out the changes we know are there in the house. Both patio doors have been replaced. You can see that the "Grill Gazebo" has gone. That was offered on Freegle when the patio was relaid last September.
I see that I made a mistake when trying to replicate the view of the peninsula from the deck on which the Ruston Bench stands. The earlier picture was taken at a much wider angle and I stood behind the two chairs with connected coffee table. Had it been taken from the previous position you would have seen how the large logs are no longer stacked on the deck and used as a table when seated at the Ruston Bench.
Another thing that is near impossible to make out is the effect of the dredging of the lake. It's too early to see what the effect has been on the lilies or if the reeds along the banks of the peninsula will recover during the growing season.
As in 2020, I continue to wonder what we should plant on the island to replace the buddleia. It was taken down when construction of the Tree House was started but I'd still like to see the cottages less visible from the Ruston Bench.
The deck on which the Ruston Bench and additional chairs sit had a major clean last year after a certain amount of algae had accumulated. A battery driven power washer had been bought that can be fed from the lake.
The "heron", our "first bit of decoration" that was bought for the grounds still stands on the deck. It is now looking a little worn with some of its finish beginning to peel off and rust appearing. It will be interesting to see how much longer it lasts.
We return to the junction with the main path and, this year, see in front of us the "for chipping" pile. To the left of the path ahead is a "to be sorted" collection. This year, as last, the "fine twig" pile is out of shot to the right. Just within shot is a stack of unused grids, the third type that we are now using to reinforce our paths. We'll see more of them later!
In the left foreground is a sprouting stump of Crack Willow. It was one of a number in the area that was damaged in storms in early 2021, most of which snapped more than eight feet off the ground and generally accounts for much more light getting down to the ground in this area.
We turn to the right to continue along the main path. Immediately there is a rise as the path turns almost due north. The path edging installed along this stretch in 2016 was made of the remains of old untanalised timber from old fishing stands and pegged in place with sticks from fallen timber. It had rotted away and has been replaced with tanalised timber. The path is now slightly wider and you can see how the older section closest to the camera is not yet re-done and still needs to be realigned.
After a number of years when chippings have been added to the path in this area we may now sow the remains some old grass seed in this area.
Following the spreading of duckweed cleared from the lake on the embankment on the right in this area Diana has been doing a certain amount of planting. Much of that work has accomplished little as Mutjac seem to eat everything that she planted, even holly bushes. Admittedly, they were small, but we were wrong to think that their prickly leaves were sufficient deterrent.
At least the grass cover on the path here is improving so that part of the plan seems to be working.
We approach "The Dip"! The path edging here is still the older thinner edging originally use. The realignment, discussed in 2020, remains in place. The deer sculpture, still fulfils its function of taking you by surprise as you approach it. Named "Dave" by the Green Team, it is now rusting as we had hoped and beginning to look more natural and less like gleaming metal.
The two short posts, seen in the last picture, still stand indicating where a fishing stand once stood. These days they just indicate the spur that leads to the place we now store the dinghy used for lake maintenance. The Green Team suggested that we store the boat here as, being low ground, its easy to pull the boat ashore here and, except in deepest winter, keeps it out of sight of the house. The only disadvantage is that the extra traffic on the spur has meant the grass no longer grows as well.
Unlike some of the others, the final photo for this part of the tour does show some changes. Much of the grass on the paths have gone. That was caused by adding a lot of chippings to the path in an attempt to raise the level slightly. The plan had been to add path grids to this area. You'll have noticed the small stack of them alongside the boat in the previous picture. That work has not been done and it is possible they will be used instead to contribute to raising the path in the Utility area behind the reed bed.
The other thing you may notice is that they area to the left of the picture has been cleared. When we first came to Ruston House the area was thick with tall plants, mainly reed and hemp agrimony. Since then the area was slowly being taken over by nettles. While we are preserving some nettle banks on the site, as we know butterflies appreciate them, in this often damp area it seemed more appropriate to encourage what we first had here.
