Posts Tagged ‘february’

12 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman HURRYING SLOWLY, SCHOOL LANE GILLINGHAM, JUST THINKING, THE PRACTICE OF GARDENING

Friday, February 12th, 2010

HURRYING SLOWLY Whilst  nursing a cup of tea first thing, to wake up… …eight pigeons clapper-board in powerful flight, veering right to left. Blackbirds steer low and straight, either directly in line with my seat, head-on or, with an audible whoosh, coming in to sight from behind my head. A pair of blue tits check [...]

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11 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman OLD LOGS

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

OLD LOGS Old logs are like old friends at the bottom of the woodpile. I’ve a few girt solid lumps mingled with planks, cords and various rubbish low down in amongst the rot and sawdust. One piece of ash is a junction of pollard shoots which was once allowed to become branches. It’s a chainsaw [...]

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10 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman I’M MORE OF A CORONATION STREET FAN MYSELF

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

PRESS RESEASE – NO EMBARGO GARDENING FOR HEROES Soap-loving TV viewers are being invited to forgo watching the killer of Eastender’s bad-boy Archie Mitchell being revealed live on Friday February 19 and support Help For Heroes, the UK charity which provides direct support for wounded military personnel, at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton, at 7pm instead. [...]

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9 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman IT’S BEAUTIFUL OUT

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

IT’S BEAUTIFUL OUT At 3.30pm on the dot I felt like a miner coming up for air. Clouds were full and fluffy, set in great drifting banks against the cleanest shades of deep and paler vivid blue. On the street, south-facing, the sun was bright. All around, the stuff of life occuring. Ofcoarse, I forgot [...]

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8 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman WINTERY ONCE AGAIN

Monday, February 8th, 2010

WINTERY ONCE AGAIN A well-seasoned knuckle of ash yielded and split, eventually, to the force of a broken axe-head wedge sledge-hammered through it against the grain. Beneath a dark sky of blanket cloud and day-long fall of tumbling, wind-blown flakes which have at times threatened something but delivered nothing much. With frozen feet and finger-numbing [...]

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7 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman FEBRUARY WORK PARTY IN THE COMMUNITY ORCHARD

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

FEBRUARY WORK PARTY IN THE COMMUNITY ORCHARD A beautiful late morning down The Donkey Field. Jon, Kate, Tom and I cleared grass and weeds from the bases of all our trees, then hacked back vegetation from our line of Dorset varieties along the top path. Tom enjoyed rides in the wheelbarrow to and fro the compost [...]

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6 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman FEELS LIKE SPRING

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

FEELS LIKE SPRING What a beautiful morning! Perfect for climbing on a shed roof and rolling over on your back; for taking a cross-country walk and stripping down to T-shirt when climbing up the sunny sides of hills; for gathering in noisy flocks that roll across the landscape in scattered assemblies, which split and come [...]

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5 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman PEACE ON A SEAT, FOXGLOVES

Friday, February 5th, 2010

PEACE ON A SEAT Late morning, little over an hour before the noon. Castle Hill slopes, dark and cool in shaded glory, are ringing with the sounds of birds. On the flats, where walkers stroll and the grass is kept short, shadows are reducing towards the brambly foots. Jack-hammers up in town, planes overhead, background [...]

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4 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman MY SPECIAL SELECTION

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

MY SPECIAL SELECTION Many thanks to DJ Robyn Bryan who invited me to be her guest on Odstock (Salisbury) Hospital Radio. We enjoyed was a fun hour talking about gardening and playing my choice of songs. Here, in no particular order, is My Special Selection, and why: I Can See Clearly Now – Jimmy Cliff; Just a wonderfully uplifting [...]

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3 February 2010 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman WALKING TO WORK

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

WALKING TO WORK I thought today I should walk to work instead of drive. Twenty-four hours of drizzle and rain had subsided, the afternoon was as yet young, and all I’d seen so far this morning was the bottom of a porridge bowl, two cups of tea, words and information on a computer screen. It’s cold [...]

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