Friday 31 October 2014

Autumn and Garden Steps

Hello all,
It is well and truly Autumn now but here in North England it is unbelievably warm so I am taking the opportunity to do some hard graft outside. I have been up on the roof and cleared the gutters and now I am getting on with the big job I started months ago - the garden steps and path down to the greenhouse. For those of you familiar with my garden layout you will know that I have a treacherous slope down to where my greenhouse is sitting and it makes trips to the greenhouse in Winter months or in the rain virtually impossible unless you are willing to risk a fall - I'm not.
So I have been slowly getting my act together to build some steps. At first this seems like an impossible feat for an amateur like me, but like everything else, having approached it logically and theoretically, and bit by bit, I am slowly getting there and I think I am getting it right.

First I excavated the site, then I built wooden things (I have no idea what the technical terms are but they will all eventually screw together and be filled with an amount of concrete - so far not screwed.

Here is how it is looking.



This will form the path alongside the greenhouse.


And the framework for the steps themselves - the posts will be concreted in and I will use a couple of small sleepers to form the three steps. Then fill with some concrete and maybe put some gravel on the top surface - not decided yet.

and this is the view down to the path - it all looks very wonky because the wood is just balanced here in this photo, I will screw it all together when everything is ready, sleepers etc. but it gives you the idea.

I am then going to put some stepping stones into the lawn from the house to the top of the steps so hopefully I will be able to get all the way to the greenhouse without having to put wellies on every time, even in the pouring rain.

Everything else is going well, I now have 16 students plus five whom I teach at a 6th form College and I am so enjoying teaching. Meanwhile I popped to London last month to do a performance of Don Giovanni, so I am keeping my hand in as it were. I am singing in a concert in Ely at the end of November too if any of you find yourselves in the area :-)
So considering this time last year I didn't have any students, I was totally unsure which direction to go in etc I am very pleased as to how all of it has turned out.

Bye for now.

10 comments:

  1. So pleased to see you back - I've missed you

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  2. nice to hear such positive steps having been taken, in life as in the garden, lol. I`ve also missed your blogging!

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  3. Also great to hear from you! I think the wood you are using to take the concrete is called shuttering. Your number of students shows you made the right decision.

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  4. such good news about choosing the new direction...the garden plans look good...would like to do that here...

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  5. So pleased you are back, I missed you. The steps are looking good, and glad you have students.

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  6. So pleased to know that business is thriving. :)

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  7. So glad to "see" you back online. Glad to hear all is going well and your steps are going to be great. Your life seems to be going well, very happy for you.

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  8. Thank you all, I will be concreting the steps tomorrow as the weather is looking ok so will be posting the results.

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  9. Love Don Giovanni, it was my introduction to opera. What part did you play?

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