Can I have a bit of a moan please?

Oh you poor soul. any one of those things is bad enough but to have the tar down the wall is the sticky limit. I hope you can get someone in to see to the chimney before it gets any worse.

Lets try to find a bright side...

The leaves n the flower beds will be a nice mulch that will rot over winter and lets hope the wind will blow the others away soon... Anyway they are collected into heaps, to save you having to sweep them up! Actually I couldn't see many in the photos. Our garden looks like that after we've swept the leaves up...

You will be popular with friends and neighbours with all those apples, and happily have plenty left for yourselves.

Thank goodness you managed to save the Amelanchier - that must have been a challenging job but you did it!

Alas for the trellis, but you can't win 'em all... pour yourself a nice drinkie,put your feet up, get your breath back and forget the outside while you phone round builders...your garden still looks really nice and peaceful if that's any consolation. Hang on in there...

Oh! you poor folks. I do sympathise with your chimney problem. I hope it can be fixed more quickly than our one was. We only had a crack down the chimney stack on the outside but it was 10m up and then building control said it had to be reinstated so that the level was above the roof height. We had to get more stone to reinstate the height and that took ages, then the stonemason had to cut the stone to fit. When OH had his accident we eventually decided to ditch the coal cooker and install an electric one instead. It has all turned out well in the end so I do hope you do get this fixed very quickly. I don't think any of us cope willingly or well with the chaos you are experiencing but you do seem to be getting your garden sorted out. We have had a week of gales (according to the forecast we are having 15 mile an hour winds) and a lot of rain. My colchicums have taken a battering but the Sternbergia lutea are standing firm. Moan all you like if it helps and we will all cheer when you get back to normal.

I don't mind you having a moan. it does us good to do so. you have been able to 'say it out loud' so now you can rationalise it and consider how you are going to tackle what needs to be done. The leaves wont stay for long and those that do may make a good mulch as previously suggested . those apples look yummy.

Have a moan by all means, we all need one sometimes. Write it down and it doesn't seem so bad somehow. Luckily we didn't get the gales, just high gusty winds. Like you the ground is covered with apples, poor Boris (the goose for those who don't know) keeps slipping on them. If he wasn't so fat he might see past his belly and not trip up! We have put barrow loads on the compost and like you still have loads on the trees - hopefully those ones are the better ones.
Best of luck with the chimney problem, perhaps it won't be too bad.

Sending sympathy Chris - you really do have plenty to moan about. We also have hundreds of leaves gusting all over the garden, and they’re not even from our own trees! It would be nice to think they would rot down eventually, (on the beds) but Beech leaves look as if they’re here to stay :(

I’m sure you’ll be feeling better now that you have shared your problems with all GoY friends . . .

Moan away,Chris,and hope you feel much better for getting your feelings out in the open,it's the only way to go,as you well know ,in my case ! :o)

So sorry to hear about your chimney though,and I guess three black lines on your newly painted wall,wasn't the look you were aiming for ? Hope it gets sorted quickly for you..You really have had some of the worst weather,along with South Wales,so we have fared much better this time round..very windy here today,but also warm,so pleasant to walk...take care,and chin up,my friend..things will get better,I'm sure..xx

Oh moan all you like my dear, if it makes things seem a little better. The gales have scattered loads of the darn leaves from the cherry tree looming over our garden from next door, into the pond. Still is gives Richard something to do, ha,ha! I tend to leave quite a few leaves on the flower beds to rot down.
I do hope you can sort your chimney problem out soon and without too much expense. Is it perhaps covered on your house insurance?

Yeah...have a moan..why not? If that’s how you are feeling, I don’t blame you. We have a similar issue with sticky resin bleeding from the pine mantel that the builder put above our log burner. Thankfully ot seems to have stopped now, but it was stuck solid to the stove. I had to chisel it off.

Its been really weird here. We’ve had two days of rain, but no wind! Now you know how I’m for ever moaning about how windy it is here...and it really is! But for some quirky weird reason, Callum has sent NO wind...not even a breeze! Strange or what?

You are all such lovely people - mind you, I knew that before I had my moan to everyone!!
Thanks so much for your empathy and positivity, it was much needed.
The garden can be sorted and I just hope that our reliable local builder can solve the sticky tar problem - he was up on the roof on Thursday and thought he had found the problem - he hadn't!!!

Stera, I took the photo after we had been outside to gather up some of the leaves!
xx

How awful for you. Moan away as much as you like, we have to get these things off our chests - it always makes one feel better, and make yourself a nice hot cup of tea. I know that won't cure all the things that are wrong but it helps to settle you and then you'll be more relaxed and so more able to cope.

I hope you can get the chimney sorted soon. That sounds more urgent than the garden, upsetting as it is. The garden can be sorted out one step at a time. The weather is said to improve a bit in the next few days.

We all have "days" like that, even the Queen!! Remember her "annus horribilis"? Mind you, I think she would get help quicker than most of us!

Our back garden lawn is covered in twelve inch twigs with a few oak leaves attached. Never seen anything like that before. Have cleared them several times but have now decided to wait until the tree decided it's time to stop shedding them. The lawn looks very untidy.

Chris you've made me realize in writing this blog the very reasons why we moved this year , it was becoming to much for us ,... yes I do miss our lovely big garden also our wood burner but I haven't missed all the work that goes with it , Moan away it's what I use to do it does make you feel better , I hope you get the chimney sorted out and its not something horribly expensive , did you always use dry seasoned wood on it ...

So lovely to hear from you Hywel, Eirlys and Amy. You have all been so thoughtful.

You are so right about the garden getting sorted gradually but the chimney problem really needs sorting as soon as possible!!

Amy, I do hope we used dry seasoned wood all the time but wonder if we did make a few mistakes?

Many thanks to you all.
x

Moaning is good for you I think Wildrose better out than in in my opinion the girl at the rear of my house says there is nt a day goes by she does nt moan to others about the mess leaves and seeds from the grave yard on her garden from the Sycamore tree that over laps hers and mine garden so I know how you feel as I get this every year from not only the Sycamore tree seed embeding in between my plants and leaves which I can't get to I have a Black Loctus tree shedding seeds and leaves close to my house along with my pathway and my washing covered in pigeon poo and dirty leaves which costs me a fortune having to have my washing all re washed and washing the pigeon poo off my path first so my kids can get to get my washing hung out or bring in. I can't even go up my garden with out the pigeon poo and the leaves get stuck in my wheels I get their leaves and bits all in my house through out the year and the flowers off the Black Loctus through the open windows or if I open my back or front door as the grave yard have lots more trees which also blow to the front off my house.

So I hope you are now feeling lucky lol that your leaves are just leaves with no seeds or pigeon poo and you only have them over your garden.
Leaves are good to cover the ground to keep it moist over winter and protect from frost they also feed your plants I don't have them cleaned off the garden until spring.

Thrupennybit, you and I are in a pickle aren't we?! Your tale of woe was possibly even worse than mine! My mum hated the sycamore leaves that blew into her garden every autumn and always grumbled about them. Pigeons are a nuisance too and I am so sorry they spoil your washing on the line, that must be infuriating.

At least you and I have been able to compare our grumbles and I hope that we both feel better for it!! Thank you for having a moan too!

Lol we are Wildrose it will be a very sad day if we all can't share our moans or troubles with each other.

I am hoping by the time you read my comments (late as usual) all will be calm again, did you get the chimney sorted, we have a similar problem, but nobody seems to know what is causing it, old houses!! and do feel free to moan whenever you like .....

I was hoping you would have found a solution to your problem by now but just in case you have not then I think your wood burner may be to blame. Did you have a chimney liner installed? If so you should not have this problem unless it has developed a puncture allowing the residue from wood burning to escape. Only dry seasoned wood should be burned to stop a tarry residue building in the liner. If there was an earlier wood burner without a liner it is possible that the build up sticking to the bricks or stone lining of your chimney could be causing the damage. We discovered our chimneys were fitted with china clay liners and the mason said it was to stop problems like yours developing because the householders would have been burning mainly wood. Do let us know how you are doing.