Still cutting back wild and rampant fuchsia

Behind the last few days' political momentousness, life of the Boggy Brae has chugged on, with me stoking my inner fire with smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels and hot tea for the continuing onslaught on monster fuchsias near the pond. Down there is close to where our neighbours at H.Cott. (as they label their wheelie bins) park their cars so I got chatting to Mr when he came down one morning, explaining what I was doing (he asked). He then said: "Haven't you got some kind of weird pond in there?" Weird, eh? Hmm :) The local heron seems to like it.

No, I'm not going to burn my rucksack. The ground's wet so plonking it there keeps it dry. Using it to carry tools reduces the number of times I have to tramp up and down the hill to the tool shed and carrying them up again in it is easier than pushing up a loaded wheelbarrow. The poles on which my outer gloves (I was wearing three pairs: silk, wool, rubber for warmth and damp-proofing) are resting are two of the young, unwanted ash trees I cut down. So far, the ash dieback disease Hymenoscyphus fraxineus does not seem to be affecting their very successful reproduction rate on the Boggy Brae. I've left a couple to grow in "Scrawny's" corner.

So I sit munching on the wall watching boats go by on the loch and looking at ivy stems on nearby trees.

Big ivy on a big ash

Little ivy on one of the fuchsia trunks

and young ivy on an old stump

On Saturday (Bonfire Night in the UK: "Remember, remember, the fifth of November of gunpowder, treason and plot") the sky was blue and even the unwanted fuchsia growth looked pretty against it.

Something else my neighbour said is that we don't need to worry when we cut stuff down, it just regrows. He and Mrs are from the much drier south and are just getting used to what is in effect our temperate rainforest climate. The skies were good that evening.

Trooping mushrooms near the pond. Brought one in to get a spore print but it hasn't obliged so I haven't identified what they are yet.

On Sunday Toad came and helped by cutting back rhododendron as well. We had a bonfire but there's still a lot to do. 

Then the weather turned damp on Monday, snowy above about 100m by today. The evening light on Monday was lovely though.