Returning to normality

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The hay run can be quite challenging…everyone wants to be a part of it!

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As usual, wildlife is full to over-flowing with hedgehogs. Almost 100 at the moment.

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The really sickly ones need hand-feeding. This little chap has the most awful lung-worm and was close to death when he came in. He’s hanging on, three days later, thankfully.

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We also have LOTS of adorable bunnies!

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Storm Doris attempted to wreck the place while we were away. The side fence in the back garden was smashed to smithereens.

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We now have a new one, £1.500 quid later!

The damage to that border was awful. Shrubs crushed, young fruit trees broken, plants and bulbs utterly trampled and climbers snapped at the base. Sometimes gardening seems to be an uphill struggle. I really will have to re-think the lawn/mud track, maybe flag parts of it? Dogs will be dogs!

The to-do list is somewhat overwhelming!

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That fence at the back, erected to keep Buddy in, still needs leveling and painting.

Trees and branches, along with tiles and broken fencing are strewn EVERYWHERE, and I haven’t even cleared the autumn leaves yet. But, hey ho, it could have been worse, I suppose!

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Crocus swamped by leaves, and battered by rain and wind.

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Most are completely washed out, but those that aren’t are MOST cheering.

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Tete-a-tete are everywhere….

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along with the Hellebore’s.

Gorgeous!

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My current favourite. All without labels I’m afraid. Seems Doris stole them all.

And Finally….

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Today, I ignored the clear up, and the impossible to-do list and sowed me some seeds.

Yes.

Ahhhhh…most rejuvenating!!!

A girl can always grow more plants!!!

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

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44 Comments

  1. It’s always a pain having to clear storm damage, you do resent coughing up the money, but as you say the new fence looks sturdy and will hopefully withstand strong winds in the future. I have now cleared most of the branches and the old fencing is great for the chiminea, so an unexpected bonus. I’m with you re our pets clearing leaves!!! xxx

  2. Ugh. So sorry about all the repairs you’ve had to handle and pay for. But the new fence looks sturdy enough to withstand Doris 2.0 Frankly, I think I’d cry to come home to so much work! But you are made of sterner stuff, I can tell, because the fence is already up and you’ve already made lists and started tackling the work. Why why why cannot we train cats and dogs to pick dead leaves out of flower beds?

  3. I shall have to pave something…. Oh yes, Doris certainly tried to wreak havoc. Thanks Casa.xxx

  4. I think you should just pave a track for the dogs and let them run on that! So glad Doris didn’t do even more damage. What a train wreck she was!

  5. It’s a shame that you returned to find such damage. It must be heartbreaking! At least the daffodils and hellebores make up for it a little bit. And seed planting is always such an uplifting activity. I wonder what is going wrong in the environment that the rescue has so many hedgehogs?

    • It’s always awful seeing precious plants smashed to the ground, hopefully some will come back next year. We always have lots of hogs, most are autumn babies that are born too late and unable to make hibernation weight. Each year we get more, I think the changing seasons are confusing them. Thanks Jennifer.xxx

  6. Glad you had a great holiday;
    now its back to normal. Great images.

  7. So, a yin/yang homecoming with sweetness and shock. Hope it didn’t feel too awful, coming home to see your garden destroyed. It will recover, as will the grass (hopefully!) – and I hope the same can be said for your sweet little hedgehog. xx

    • Oh yes….definitely a yin/yang. Coming home is always good though! Hopefully we’ll get the garden sorted….not sure I’ll ever sort that grass though, paving looks the only way to go. Thanks Caro.xxx

  8. Crocuses are indeed cheerful flowers. What a mess the storm left for you! Love the picture of the hay wagon and followers.

    • Thanks Jason, I bet you are looking forward to your early bloomers! Glad you liked that pic, it’s always like that while doing the hay run!xxx

  9. Oh goodness Doris was not kind to you … £1500 for a new fence … oh dear!

    Lovely to see the flowers in the garden, I love those Tete-a-tete , such a cheerful colour.

    Enjoy your Friday, and have a good weekend too

    All the best Jan

    • Doris certainly vented her temper around here….what a paddy she threw! Hopefully it will all be sorted at some point! Thanks Jan.xxx

  10. Oh my goodness Dina, what carnage in your garden! That’s a job and a half although you haven’t let the grass grow under your feet (hollow laugh) and you sure got that fence up fast. Very necessary with animals. But how lovely to see the flowers bravely emerging, come what may. Nature is so clever!

    • Hahahaha….loved that grass comment, what’s grass???? Yes, at least the fence is sorted, just need to get cracking on the rest of it. I just love seeing what pops up each spring! Thanks Gill.xxx

  11. What a messy homecoming. You must have felt like turning right around and doing it over again. But your pups look happy to have you back and your garden will recover!

    • We were somewhat surprised seeing all the damage…sighs… Yes, hopefully the garden will recover. Always good to come home to happy dogs! xxx

  12. Oh my goodness storm Doris really did give you a bashing!! That must have been a lovely surprise returning from the Jungle. 🙂 Lovely to see all the animals again and despite storm damage the onset of spring….Love your header image…sending love this day…janet. xxx

    • A curse on Doris! Lol yes…not quite what we expected coming home. We’ll be clearing branches for months!!! It is always lovely coming home to the beasties…thanks Janet.xxx

  13. Storm Doris certainly made a mess of your garden, you must have caught the worst of it, what a shame it had to happen while you were away. Hopefully the damage to your border won’t be as bad as first thought, plants are so resilient, your lovely little bulbs are telling you that spring is just around the corner.

    • I really do hope some of those plants come back, I think the shrubs are finished though. Spring bulbs are the best for sure. Thanks Pauline.xxx

  14. Those little hedgehogs make my heart melt, they look like tiny wombats! (I must do a post on wombats). You do such a good job with your wildlife rescue.
    Your garden reminds me of how ours looked when we had kids and dogs, (and I can’t even blame Storm Doris)..I used to feel totally overwhelmed with it all. Luckily, everything changes eventually, even broken fences and messy gardens!

    I love your spring flowers though, spring is on the way!

    • I hadn’t thought of hogs resembling wombats, but now you mention it……yes! I shall look forward to you posting on wombats, marvelous little critters.
      I do hope I have a decent garden one fine day, I think I may have to pave the back though….that will cost an arm and a leg though. Thanks Gerrie.xxx

  15. I’m so sorry that you had to come home to such a mess — but there certainly is a lot of beauty showing up despite it all. We recently had some fences come down in the neighborhood, too. It seems that they’re always the first to go — and despite the cost, they are fairly easy to repair.

    I think planting some seeds was just the ticket. Those branches aren’t going to go anywhere — they’ll still be waiting for you. But spring waits for no one — better to get those seeds in the ground!

    A hundred hedge hogs seems unbelievable. Is it partly a function of the season? We always have many more squirrels coming to rehabbers in spring — the young ones suffer a bit while learning how to cope with the big, wide world.

    • Thanks Linda, practically every house around here suffered some sort of damage, some worse than us! As you say, fences are easily fixed, clearing trees and branches takes much longer.
      Most of the hogs in at the moment were underweight autumn babies. The constantly changing seasons seems to be impacting their breeding patterns. xxx

  16. Sorry to see and read about the havoc wreaked by Storm Doris. Were you insured for any of the loss? We are in the throes of sorting storm damage, not Doris’ fault, though it happened soon after and before Storm Ewan.

    Why so many hedgehogs – are the changes in temperatures disturbing them from slumber?

    I was very taken with the Hay run, it’s brilliant!

    Altogether, a love set of pix and an enjoyable varied post. xxx

    • We weren’t covered by the insurance, when we read the small print we discovered fences, sheds etc aren’t covered. Sorry to hear about your storm damage, what a pain it is! Hoping you get sorted soon.
      Each year the rescue admits more hedgehogs, most are autumn babies born to late to reach hibernation weight. Glad you liked the hay run, it’s always a good laugh as so many animals chase us. xxx

  17. Oh, dear; remember that tornado that whipped through our gardens a few summers ago? Yikes! It is no fun to come home to extra work, but the new fence looks grand and I’m with you…plant seeds! The hellebores are glorious, Dina! Too soon for me to enjoy blooms, so I vicariously revel in yours. :). I am so sorry for the broken plants and shrubs, but you know how life is driven to thrive…I hope some surprise you!

    Those bunnies are enchanting but, of course, my heart is tugged by the little guy with lungworm. I’m not familiar with it, but it sounds dreadful. We have wretched ticks that spread Lyme disease to animals and people…always something. Let us know how he’s doing.

    Love to all, and thank you for the wonderful post!

    • I remember that awful tornado well, we didn’t get as battered as you! You do just have to pick yourself up and carry on gardening I suppose, and sowing seeds, especially perennials always feels good. I hope your spring begins soon, I’m surprised by ours as the weather is awful!
      There are so many horrid diseases out there aren’t there, lungworm often kills hogs, the poor things simply can’t breathe! Thanks Kitty.xxx

  18. I feel your pain Dina. Doris brought a lot of fence down here too. I can think of more exciting things to spend my money on. And then you get men in size 11 boots stamping all over your treasures as they put up a new one. And all the while I am wringing my hands and saying, ”Not there, please don’ t stand there!’ Some plants can be replaced, but not the ones you have grown from seed and nurtured and cooed over. Still that’s gardening for you. What pretty hellebores you have.
    I do wish we still had hedgehogs here. I hope your sick one survives.

    • Oh, sorry to hear you were battered too. It’s annoying forking out money for fences isn’t it, worse is the damage the broken fences and workmen do….I too tried to protect what was left, I couldn’t stand it in the end and went in as they were taking no notice anyway! Hoping you didn’t lose too may plants, especially the precious ones!
      You will have to come and get yourself a Mr and Mrs hedgehog from me next time you are up!xxx

  19. So sorry to read about the Doris inflicted damage. But gardens have one thing going for them. They are resilient. You’ll be amazed what comes back from that border. It’s very sad to see tree trunks snapped like that though.
    You had a rough ride back to normality.

    • Thanks Jess, Doris gave us her best shot! Hopefully you are right and plants that look past their best may just return. We have trees and branches down all over the place, it will take a while but hopefully we’ll get around to clearing them all. xxx

  20. Wow! Doris certainly left her ‘mark’…..Well Done to recover as quickly as you did.
    Spring is certainly in the air……Thanks for sharing the delightful pics…. Hugs!🤗🤗

    • It will take some time to clear the trees and branches, but thankfully the fence is back. Spring does seem early this year, it certainly is most welcome.xxx

  21. Storm Doris did batter you didn’t she – what a mess to come home to. I think she spent herself before she arrived here, thank goodness,

    Lungworm is dreadful isn’t it – something else to thank slugs for. Tivvy is treated every month to try and keep her safe from it. I hope hedgie recovers – it must be quite a common problem for them.

    • Doris certainly worked us over. Clearing the debris is going to take a while, we’ll need the chainsaw I think. Good you escaped! Lungworm is a nightmare, oh, you treat Tivvy every month? I must check with the vet re our dogs. Poor hedgehogs, they are prone to so many diseases and illnesses…xxx

  22. I’m sorry to hear you were one of Doris’s victims, we were lucky here, we didn’t suffer as badly as other parts of the country. One thing you can’t do without when you’re a doggy household is a fence. Even amongst the destruction there’s always things of beauty to be found in a garden and spring is certainly showing itself now with all those lovely blooms. Of course, it also means that the rescue will be full to overflowing too. I do like to see all the residents but it’s always tinged with sadness that there’s so many creatures needing help.

    • Good to hear you suffered no damage. Oh…..having a fence down with dogs is a nightmare, the guys prioritized us but it still took them a week to come out, they have enough work for six months, most houses lost their fences around here.
      Spring is wonderful isn’t it, those early blooms are so precious when we are all blossom starved.
      Yes, it always sad seeing so many wild animals being brought in, hopefully they will all be successfully released.xxx

  23. I’m sure that you could have done without coming back to all that. I hope that it won’t be too much of an uphill struggle to clear up and sort out.
    Well done on sowing some seeds, I’ve not made a start yet. xx

    • I was surprised at all the damage, especially how far things had been blown, it must have been some storm, poor Laura! It’s always good to get those first seeds sown, hopefully it will warm up soon so you can get yours out. xxx

  24. veggiemummy

    Storm Doris was quite impressive wasn’t it. £1500 for a new fence? Ouch! The hedgehogs and bunnies are adorable – I do hope that the little one with lungworm pulls through. I was out sowing my seeds yesterday; I find there’s something so calming about it. It’s lovely to see all the signs of spring in your garden. Have fun. xx

    • Doris certainly seems to have been wild! I’m so glad that fence is back but clearing the broken trees and branches is going to take some time. You just can’t beat sowing the first seeds, I forget all about slugs and stuff and imagine perfect plants! Spring seems early this year, I hope we have a decent one.xxx

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