Thursday 25 February 2016

A year on the allotment: February 2016

In my January allotment update I said our battered old shed was 'leaning more than the Tower of Pisa'. We've been debating whether to buy a new one for some time now. On the 8th of February, Storm Imogen huffed, puffed and blew our shed down. So the decision was made for us. The shed had been lifted clean off its base and scattered across our neighbour's plot.
storm imogen flattens our allotment shed and scatters it across the neighbouring plot
My Mum and I went to the plot once the storm had calmed down to clear up some of the mess. With no shed to store all our stuff we needed to take our tools, wheelbarrow and other gardening bits home.
clearing up on our allotment after storm imogen flattens our shed
We couldn't sort out the actual shed because it was too heavy to lift. But I knew Mr. M would step in to break it up into smaller pieces. He bought an axe a few weeks ago and he's been itching to find a project to use it on. I think he has visions of chopping down trees and living like a lumberjack somewhere rural. Sadly there's not much call for axe-work in our house, so when I said there was a shed to chop up, he jumped at the chance.
taking an axe to our storm damaged allotment shed
storm imogen demolishes our allotment shed we finish the job off with an axe
It didn't take long to break the shed up. We kept the door and some of the panels to make raised beds or edging pieces for the plots. We always try and recycle stuff if we can. But sadly, most of the wood was shattered by the storm, so it had to go to the tip.
carrying away our storm damaged allotment shed, some pieces will be recycled on our plot
Magoo was desperate to be involved with the shed-breaking, but we had to clear it away on a school day, sadly she had to miss out. I promised we would have a bonfire with some of the shed pieces in half term or after school one day.
A couple of days ago we managed to get down to the plot on a sunny evening. It was the first post-school trip we've made this year, it's lovely to have the lighter evenings back again.

Magoo helped stack some shed pieces into the bin incinerator. Then we stood back and watched Mr. M light the fire. Sadly the wood was a too damp to burn well, so it was a bit of a let down for Magoo. But it was such a beautiful sunny evening, it didn't dampen our spirits too much. We abandoned the bonfire and played a very long game of hide and seek instead.
storm imogen turns our allotment shed into firewood, chopped up shed sits in our bin incinerator

We have finally taken the plunge and purchased a new shed. This one is wider and has room for a couple of chairs and maybe a little stove, which is exciting!
Mr. M has been roped in to put the shed together and hopefully March's blog post will feature our brand new shed...
This week I'm linking up with these lovely blogs:
How Does Your Garden Grow
Whatever the Weather over on www.lifeunexpected.co.uk and monkeyandmouse.co.uk
Share with Me over on www.letstalkmommy.com
Point + Shoot over on youbabymemummy.com and www.snowingindoors.com
Country Kids over on www.coombemill.com
Happy Days over on www.whatkatysaid.com and www.quitefranklyshesaid.com





















17 comments:

Jennifer said...

Oh no, what a shame about the shed, I hope that everything in it was okay. Looking forward to seeing how the new one looks!

Unknown said...

those must have been some strong winds! but hey, it kind of helped you take it down no? how nice that you got to reuse some of it

Annie said...

Such a shame about the shed blowing away! I spent the whole of the last month praying our precarious chimney stack didn't blow over. Luckily that was fine but our trampoline blew away!
Good to hear that you got it all disposed of and a new one on the way - next decision - what colour to paint it!

Thanks for joining in again lovely x

Unknown said...

I am sure it will be back looking all lush and lovely in no time. Plus you get the new shed you wanted :-) #whatevertheweather

Gemma Garner said...

Sorry to hear about your shed! But on the bright side, at least you didn't have to take it down yourself :) I'm looking forward to sunny evenings at our plot in a few weeks time.

Coombe Mill - Fiona said...

A wonderful first visit to the allotment and probably a blessing in disguise to loose the old shed, the new one with extra space sounds like it will open all kinds of possibilities for you. We also lost 2 shed roofs in storm Imogen, it was one of the worst here this year, thankfully from a field that didn't have animals in it. Like you nothing goes to waste and any spare wood is turned into something new. The used of the shed for raised beds is brilliant. I hope Magoo gets her bonfire next time but I'm sure hide and seek more than compensated. Bring on more of these sunny evenings!

You Baby Me Mummy said...

Oh what a shame the winds wrecked things. It must be really lovely to have the space to grow things. Thanks for linking up to #PointShoot x

Stephanie 139a said...

Imogene was surely an angry storm wasn't she. We don't have a shed on our plot but did have one of those plastic storage benches which is invaluable for leaving small bits there. We're heading off to the plot tomorrow, hopefully I won't find someone elses shed on our plot courtesy of Imogene! #hdygg

Leyla [Thisdayilove] said...

Shame about the shed, but also equally exciting to get a new one

Chloe/Life Unexpected said...

I'm excited to see your new shed. It's lovely that there is space for chairs and stove. I'd seriously love to have an allotment. It sounds like Magoo loves her time there as well. A shame about the bonfire, but so lucky you had such a beautiful day to play hide and seek!!! I'm excited to see what you grow this year. Thank you so much for sharing your adventures with #whatevertheweather x

Louise (Squished blueberries) said...

I've always had a little dream of having an allotment but I know I wouldn't put the work in, especially in bad weather. My Husband would be exactly the same as yours with the axe though, any excuse for a bit of demolition and to pretend he's back at boy scouts! #HappyDaysLinky

Katy - Hot Pink Wellingtons said...

Crikey, those must have been some strong winds! But it sounds like they did you a favour :) We had to have our shed moved and it was a nightmare to manoeuvre! Hope you manage to get the new shed shorted in March.

Let's Talk Mommy said...

How exciting for a new shed and I am sure it will look amazing in no time. This time of year all our yards look like this with so much bad weather. Ours is a swamp and last year we spent a small fortune having it done and seems sadly pointless at the moment roll on summer days. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme

A Green and Rosie Life said...

It's blowing a hoolie here today so I hope nothing of ours blows away! #HDYGG

Jenny - Monkey and Mouse said...

A shame the shed blew down! It's been really windy here too, hoping that our allotment is normally ok, although it is situated at the very top of a hill! Not putting up anything big, just in case! Looks like you are having lots of fun on the allotment again, hopefully going to get to our allotment again over the weekend. We've only managed to dig up one bed so far, got four smaller ones next. Thanks so much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather :) x

Sian QuiteFranklySheSaid said...

Oh your poor old shed, but at least it has prompted you to get a lovely new one! I am really excited about having some work done on my garden, just basic maintanence but it will get me off to a good start for the rest of the year. Thanks for linking up to #HappyDaysLinky x

chickenruby said...

Decision made, new shed, I bet in some way you're grateful for the storm, it must have been a huge pain though to lug everything back home, I can imagine hubbies delight at finally having a use for his axe

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails