Long time no post but I seem to have been able to reclaim my accounts at last.

I seem to be back in business after Google decided to merge everything.....

2014 - New Year, New Start - time for the weedkiller crew

So, June 14 is the bogey date - 3 years in and what to show ?  Time to restart the blog, restart the work.

Well, 2012 disappeared in the sea of rain and 2013 wasn't much better aside from personal issues that meant I had other things to attend to.  Looking back I see my first video was June 2011 although I don't we went round the lawn after expanding off the patio until 2012.

The back end of 2013 highlighted some issues that I hadn't thought off.

Here's a view at the end of October....  The gap in the rails being caused by the removal of the level crossing.  It was performing somewhat poorly but I've discovered what a couple of plastic bits are for in the box... :-)  Basically it needs a straight coming into it from both sides (not a curve, and not a tight curve) and the plastic bits are to support the track and extend the area where it causes the barriers to go down....

Here's the same view in wet January 2014.   October through January I really didn't get out onto it and this wet January shows why.  

Next up are some close up of the wetness and fastwording a little to April 2014 as I got out again.  













First up the track coming up the path.  There's a nasty S bend - slightly uphill that the trains didn't like.  In the revised planning stage this has got to be reduced to half a board width and a straight run into it.   The alternative might be that with management permission we go out onto the law somewhat earlier and that should also improve the future access to the garage.

Same view three months later.  Storm damage
means that some of the track has moved and other I over after slipping on it in the wet.  Definately one to go only half a board on the access, although the orginal boards only went down for the "gathering" picture in August last year.  

       





                                                                                                                                                                            Close up from the front, highlighting that I need to consider my options for cleaning the patio.  It may come down to taking the track up once/twice a year and giving it a good scrub for a few days with the old patio cleaner.  Once screwed to the boards then probably be able to take it up in sections.                                        

Then we come to the vegetation.  Plant tall flowers that will provide a backdrop says I.  That is until the frost etc appear and they start to die off or just get blown over the rain.   Bottom picture shows much the same scene but some months later now in April with the weeds in control  Once dry I'll see what has happened to the weed barrier and gravel.