What have you done today in the Garden?

There was a big problem with Hotpoint tumble dryers 15 years ago, with them catching fire. This happened just after we'd bought one. I contacted Hotpoint and they said they were making some alterations to them and people who had one would get a visit from an engineer to effect these. As I'd phoned early, we got a visit within a couple of weeks.
I don't think he did much as he wasn't here long. Others waited a couple of years.
The reason they caught fire, he said, was because people couldn't be bothered to clean the lint filter after use.
It's easily done. It slots in the bottom of the rim of the machine just behind the door. There's even some little pictures on the rim telling you to do it!
It's a case of just wiping off the lint with a damp finger over a bin. A 2 minute job.
What was happening was that the lint was building up near the heater elements.

We've always followed the instructions. I also look down below the filter when I've taken it out now and again to see if there's anything down there. Occasionally I remove the flexible exhaust tube and check that out. The problem can be with those machines where people use "Softrinse" or whatever, this can leave a sticky residue in the corrugations of the tube. We've never had any problems, it's on once or twice a day.

 

Thanks Sjoerd, the old leaves are lying down.

 

Our new tumble dryer switches it's self off after a while when it's finished the cool down part after the cycle, don't use it much just to dry off our clothes after getting wet walking the boys.

 

My dryer has the lint thing on the top of the dryer and not in the door. We clean the filter every time it is used. However, much lint gets into other places and it needs to be taken apart sometimes and cleaned out. I thought it was around 5-6 years old. My son says it is only 2 years old. Mine also shuts off when the cycle is finished. I think they all do. We do use it a lot, with 3 adults and a grandchild, plus lots of pets... I try to hang things outdoors when the weather is nice.

I did get outdoors some this afternoon. It is still cold and windy but not in the single digits like it was. I did do some clean up in my mint bed, and worked on that north end where all the multiflora rose and poison ivy are. It will take a lot more to get it done, but maybe if I work on it here and there, it might get better. I did some clean up in my pasture and picked up a lot of downed limbs. There are more to clean up, but I got some of it picked up. I had hoped to move more wood chips, but they are still frozen solid as is the ground. I think it got into the 30s today.

keep warm...

 

Even our old Hotpoint shuts off when it reaches the end of the time you've set, but before it does, it continues to turn for some minutes without any heat. To cool everything down, I think they all do that.

 

Nothing today outside, it's too windy and cold, even though the sun is out.

 

AA— yea! Glad you could get out there today. You know beginning early clean-up is such a very wise thing to do. It gets you off to a good start, come Spring.

 

@Sjoerd I am not so sure about me being "early" though. It takes me most/all fall and winter to do my fall chores so I am not already behind when spring arrives. Most weeds do not die off over the winter around here. And they always get an early start in January. The ground is too frozen to pull weeds at the moment, but I can trim the dead stuff off my flowers and plants for now and put them in the compost.

The weather has not been suitable for burning brush for awhile. It is either too wet or too windy, and I would not want to start a wildfire. I have a lot of brush accumulating in the meantime. Allegedly it is to warm up next week, maybe one day next week will be agreeable.

I do like to be early.

 

AA— I did my cleaning- up like you in the fall and winter. I am well chuffed that there is not so much to pull and hoe, but boy, oh boy, when the weeds get the memo…!

 

I'll really have nothing much to do until February.

I've then got to think about the hedgehogs. We've only one in residence. I hope it survives the winter. The other two houses are presently in the shed.

I need to get a paving slab for this one. It was sitting on bricks. The posts and wire are to prevent any visiting cats, or a fox, getting at the food.





I'm also going to move the one that sits on these slabs, further up the garden, a bit closer to the house, it's probably a bit too exposed here for them.




I also need to make a new feeder, as this one has a split in the roof.





I'll be able to re-use the entrance I made.

 

Nothing today the ground is frozen to plant anything.

 

Today I pruned the last of the apple trees, and did touch-up pruning on a previous one. There is a little pruning saw work remaining on one. Also did some minimal pruning on a Japanese persimmon tree, a Japanese plum and an English + French Plum multigrafted tree (Such a "World Garden" LOL. There's also a Ukranian hybrid of Asian and American Persimmon in there, and apples from all over).

Last night, I forgot to bring in the growing Lavender cuttings and seedlings. The temp dropped to 25 F. I think most were undamaged. Time will tell, and I started too many anyway. I think all of the cuttings (actually rooted plants) are fine, plus there are air-layered starts in the border. So if the seedlings survive, good But if not, it's not a big deal.

It was nice to get into the yard.

 

Daniel— good you got those apples pruned. I need to as well, but I want it not so wet out.

Riley— lovely to see those old hedgehog pics. Good luck on your work.

 

Got my last seed order tonight from MI Gardener. Cylindra Beet, Homemade Pickles Cukes, Red Russian Kale, Crenshaw Melon, Utah Yellow Onion and Golden Hubbard Squash

 

I did a bit of research about having multiple hedgehog houses, they only need to be sited a couple of metres apart.
So I've decided to put the second house in the left-hand corner of the garden behind the pagoda and the clump of black bamboo. This will be less exposed and therefore more attractive to a new tenant and far enough away from the one near the tea-house, to avoid confrontations. If I put food in front of each at the same time, there should be no problems.