When we moved here I was a little anxious about meeting the one next door neighbour. He'd rented the fields we'd brought for the last 20 years so I was worried about what he'd think with how I was going to run the place.
Luckily we hit it off straight away and have become good friends. I think he's glad not to have the responsibility so much now (he looks after the land from the "big house" next door as well). There's a farm gate between his garden and my field and many a good tail has been told over it, like generations of country folk before us.
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| The tree I bridge grafted is doing fine |
He does seem to like the orchard I've planted down below our garden (and quite near to his) and last week he offered to top it for me to keep it looking tidy and to let him try out his topper on his tractor. I wasn't going to say no. All I need to do now is strim around the trees.
Having good neighbours can really make or break the place that you call home (especially ones that don't moan at me for working late!).
Especially as it is mechanical topping rather than spraying! Am so pleased you are having it done this way :-)
ReplyDeleteAmino/clopyro-lid sprays are really causing problems with compost made from hay after paddocks have been spray topped/weed wiped :-( it even goes through animals fed on the hay made from such herbage :-( and persists for several years in the heap :-(
What a nice guy! He's probably relieved you didn't turn the land into a motorcross circuit!
ReplyDeleteJane x
Could do with having a topper here as well. Have a tractor, but no topper because we can't afford one at the moment. So I scythe. Takes ages!
ReplyDeleteAnd the gathering it all up, and then composting it as well takes forever, on top!
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth it topping? I loved reading about your exploit and completely agree that a good neighbour really does make a home feel more homely. I love the image of you and your neighbour slung over the field gate sharing stories and maybe a cuppa xxx
ReplyDeleteTopping is simply cutting the top of the grass, like mowing the lawn but on a grand scale :-)
ReplyDeleteIt looks really good Kev and having a good neighbour is simply the best.
I have always had that type of relationship with my neighbours in the past. It wasn't a bad thing, quite nice in some ways to get on with your own lives, but I am so grateful to my neighbours here! fencing adelaide.
ReplyDeleteHaving good neighbors is great! Ours are an older couple who are friendly, but we can't even see their house from ours and so it's fine. Then the other set are Farmer's parents down the road. We are on a hill so they can see our house. I laugh about it, but they make comments about how late or early our lights are on, about cars in our lane, about the kids playing outside, etc. I'm glad I have nothing to hide! haha
ReplyDeleteBeautiful orchard! Are they hard to maintain?