35 days later 5/4/20

Good morning Facebook chums

35 days later.

Just an update on my health situation.

Walking any distance is still uncomfortable, but driving is fine. Stretching or lifting any weight is still out of the question and starting the petrol lawnmower is impossible (but I have found the replacement blades for the Flymo).

So as long as I just potter around the house and garden, don't try anything too strenuous, rest a lot and keep hydrated I'm fine.

I have, however been drilling holes in punts.

Included in my pottering I have been busy upcycling things for the garden. This year I have introduced two new items. The first item (of which I have found two uses) is an industrial flood light. The first thing I did with these lights was completely strip down the lights, remove the industrial fittings and modify them by fitting domestic bulb holders. I then gave them a thorough clean up and a new coat of paint. In a couple I fitted remote control, colour change bulbs and, voilà, new garden lights. However the units that were not salvageable as lights I have repurposed as wall planters.

This got me to thinking about other possible repurposing projects. Now for the next one I needed some sparkling wine bottles. Usually a common item in our recycling bin but due to the period of abstinence Tricia and I impose on ourselves each year our black bottle box has been a poor source for raw materials.

For this activity I particularly needed a few of the said bottles. I managed to source 5 bottles and proceeded to convert them into geranium planters.

This relatively simple job entailed the following stages:-

1. Remove the labels (unless they're fine champagne houses like Dom Pérignon or Pol Roger then I might leave them on).

Interesting facts moment. Dom Pierre Pérignon was a French Benedictine monk who made important contributions to the production and quality of champagne, and Sir Winston Churchill is reputed to have drunk 42,000 bottles of Pol Roger in his lifetime and he only discovered it aged 34.

Back to the project.....

2. Fashion a hanging device from garden wire you happen to have hanging about.

3. Make a hole 1in (25mm) in diameter in the bottom of the bottle.

4. Stuff it full of compost.

5. Take one geranium plant and carefully feed it into the hole.

6. Hold the bottle the right way up and with a suitable stick tamp the compost through the neck of the bottle

7. Hang up and water. Job done.

And the punt? Well it's the dimple in the bottom of some wine bottles. Originally thought to have been put there to enable hand blown bottles to stand properly. Now simply a tradition that seems to serve no real purpose.

Bottoms up.

N