A Sense to Cleanse

Grapefruit and Beetroot - the first two items I picked up when we went to the grocery this evening. It's only me that eats and likes them. Gaz hates them but apart from the fact that I actually enjoy the taste of them, I also think my body needs them periodically to help detox my system after a period of over indulgence. Yes, it's January and it's detox time!

Berries are also good for detoxing, but not from this plant...

Not that I overindulged that much in the last few weeks anyway. Just a little bit more than usual. But you do get that sense to cleanse every so often, the urge to be that extra conscious of what you eat, hoping that whatever toxin that may have accumulated in your system will be cleansed away, for a better sense of well being. For the detox sceptics out there, it could well be just a placebo effect but if doing so makes you feel better, lose weight, and doesn't harm you then why not?

It looks herbaceous but is actually evergreen, and looking pretty in early January - Polygonatum punctatum

But it's not just the body that needs extra 'cleansing' sometimes, but the garden too. A new year and a new start, and one of the best ways to start a new year is to get rid of rubbish that's been hanging around in the garden. 

We need to get rid of this huge rubbish!

And yes, we have some garden rubbish to get rid off. A huge pile of chalk that we just dumped right at the bottom of the new garden (where a new greenhouse and utility area will be) that we could never recycle somewhere else anymore. This chalk pile was part of the spoil from the hole were the pond is now, most of which was re-used somewhere else and this pile is just the left over. For months we just left it there as we carried on with the pond build. But now that the build is almost over, we need to start paying attention to the area where the chalk pile is. 

Here we go again with the digging...

It will never go anywhere if we just keep looking at it. We'll have to get rid of it eventually so might as well make a start now, early on, so we can also move on with developing this area.

How to save £200 - that's how much it would have cost us to hire a skip. But even with a skip it would still entail us digging and shifting the 
chalk in tubs, it will only make the process a bit quicker. Not quick nor convenient enough to make it a cost effective expense in our 
situation. The recycling center is only a five minute drive from where we live so might as well shift them bit by bit (and use the £200 on 
something more exciting).

Chalk, messy sticky chalk. Like a nightmare that comes back to haunt you. I will always have memories on how messy chalk is when it gets wet and we were plagued by its sticky presence for months on end whilst digging the pond. And now we have to handle sticky chalk all over again.

The large skip at the recycling center where we dump our chalk a bucket at a time. Now how many people do you know take photos of a 
recycling skip? Not a lot I bet. But we do. We are bloggers and bloggers take photos of everything, haha!!

But this is it now, the final chalk pile to be tackled. It will take us another weekend or so of digging and several trips to the tip before everything will be gone. But once it's gone it's gone and the thought of finally getting rid of this sticky pile is enough incentive to get you going. To 'cleanse' this garden of this mess, we will be able to plan better and move forward.

The last bits of painting were also done today (standing on a ladder)

And we entered the year by finishing all of the pipework. The filtration is now all fully connected. We just to have install the glass 
and we can start filling the pond with water.

There you go, we finally made a dent on the remaining chalk pile. I just wish digging was as easy as eating grapefruit and beetroot. Mind you, I think digging, grapefruit, and beetroot make a great combination: not only do you eat healthily, you get to exercise too!
Mark :-)