The homestead - from a different angle.

There's been a lot about gardening in my blips lately and as I was heading up to Betty's today I noticed how well the gardening area can be seen from this point.
The raised beds have been constructed over the last two years, with just one added this year. The tarpauline has been pulled back this year to give room for three rows of potatoes. Broad beans, peas and garlic are also planted in the beds. Jan has the ones closest to The Red House for flowers.  The chestnut tree that featured in yesterday's blip is on the left, just above the beds.
After breakfast this morning we went to the path behind our house leading up the hill to our "coffee spots" in the forest. The last few days we've been hear a thinning saw in operation and we went up to take a look. A lot of "non-commercial" trees have been thinned out to help the firs and pines grow. There are still plenty of birches, rowan and ash left but fewer than there were! Some of the birches that were taken down were 12cm in diameter so it wasn't just saplings.
Whoever was cutting just left the trees where they fell and we spent a fair amount of effort clearing these thinnings from our path. It was hot work but felt worthwhile.
In the afternoon I made a quick trip to the shops and then got the lawn-mower out. The grass on the lower lawn was uncut this season and very long in places. I wanted to cut some strategic areas before the promised rain arrived tonight, as the wet grass could be difficult to cut.  I carried on until 7 in the evening and then decided enough was enough. Apparently I did 20,000 steps today and a lot of them were marching up and down with that mower!
In the last month we have only had one "real" day of rain, so we are really hoping the promised rain arrives tonight. This is rather unusual weather, and wishes, for this part of the world where water is generally not in short supply. Things are still green because it hasn't been so warm and the melting snow means there is moisture in the soil, but that moisture is retreating downwards and things are starting to look dry. Also our water butts need filling now! So a bit of hard rain, overnight, would be very welcome.