A clean sweep and a new lawn

Having made the difficult decision of having the hazel and Judas trees removed (which all took much longer than anticipated due to the problem of not being able to get a stump-grinder down the narrow side passage by the house!) it seemed like a good time to look seriously at the grass. Doing so brought the recognition that something a bit more than scarifying and reseeding was needed so I acknowledged defeat and called in some professional help. Here is the result laid yesterday - wow!

For once I am pleased to see rain on Good Friday!
In spite of its smart appearance my new bird box doesn't seem to be of interest to any of the blue tits but there is a lot of frantic black bird activity near the house. It looks like they are building a nest in the dense forsythia, bay and entwined clematis and Kiftsgate rose branches very near the French windows. Thrilling but a recipe for a lot of ducking out of the way by me and anxious blackbirds! I also really must now succeed in deterring all these wretched cats!