Conkering hero

I have been occupied in planting or preserving trees during these last few days.



I had been looking for a while for some decorative trees to plant beside the road running past our house, and some ornamental pear trees were to be had cheaply in the local supermarket. So it's back to the shop with the Espace, and home with three of them. And a few hours planting them. Here's one. Good home offered to three partridges.













When I pass a chestnut, oak or conker tree I stop to pick up a few nuts/acorns/conkers with a view to planting them. It can't do any harm and they might just grow into proper trees. With a bit of luck I might even harvest some chestnuts in my lifetime. These conkers are my latest acquisition and will be planted this afternoon, in the field over the road.










I mowed that very same field earlier in the week, and found quite a few yearling walnut trees. They have managed to survive this Summer's drought, and I think I avoided mowing most of them, so hopefully they might stay alive and grow. I also found traces, I think of wild boar. (French for boar: sanglier) The grass was all scuffed up, and a track leads from the field, over the road, to a worn part of the bank the other side.




















This hazelnut tree is a gift from Leo, who digs them up from his garden where they grow like weeds. I have a gap in a line of hazels that I planted, where one died, so this one has an immediate home. They attract red squirrels, an added bonus.