"One man went to mow . . .

  . . . went to mow a meadow."  Or at least, our new front lawn which was definitely looking like a meadow, full of dandelions, thistles, other assorted flowering weeds and huge clumps of tough grasses gone to seed.  We had planned to cut the grass this morning but as no-one seemed to be up and about we thought it prudent to wait till after lunch ;)

The first cut, and edges neatly trimmed - a huge improvement

The petrol lawn-mower we bought has proved it's worth already, and N did a grand job of the first cut, keeping the blades high to begin with.  There are lots of ants' nests in both front and back lawns, and cutting has opened them up, much to the delight of the local blackbirds.  

Hopefully the birds will have their pick, and regular cutting and exposing to the sun will help in drying the nests out.  We don't want to use chemicals if we can find a greener method.

We spent the morning digging more of the veggie plot.  We both really enjoyed doing that - we had something immediate to show for our efforts.  The soil looks quite healthy with lots of worms in it so N is hoping to get some potatoes in this week.   

A final update on the bluetit nestbox on our shed.  The box has not been used at all for well over a week so we took it down early this morning and had a peek inside.

We were amazed at the amount of nesting material those two little birds had collected to make their nest cosy for the chicks.  Sadly it seems two chicks didn't survive for very long and died in the box, but we know at least one survived and fledged, having seen it in the garden with it's parents.  We have found it fascinating to be able to watch the bluetits nesting over the past few weeks - it has given us a real appreciation of the hard work and drama that goes on in the garden, right under our noses.