2023-04 Cold Spring

There are normally big changes from cold weather to spring warmth but this year had a colder spring which caused some problems. Foxes, Curlews and herons appeared, and there were deer in the field. It’s quite hard to plan for planting in May as it depends on when the last frost will be and this is our first-time monitoring when the greenhouse stays above zero.

Greenhouse repair

March had been colder than in previous years and so we started April with a lot more snow than usual. The greenhouse had a temporary repair in place for a panel that had blown out in a storm in March. As the snow melted the various bits of wood holding the damaged panel in place started to no longer reach. I thought I would leave it until all the snow had melted to do a proper repair but the wind picked up again and caused the panel to start flailing in the wind. My partner and I managed to force the panel back in place despite the wind and then I worked my way up the panel with additional screws and washers to prevent the panel from coming loose. It was a bit messy but it worked.

Hot first week

It was t-shirt weather the first week of April with a super-bright sun which made it seem like the cold weather was over. About 10 days later this was causing high water levels in the stream. It was the highest we’d seen in three winters. The water got high enough to push against the bridge legs that I had added the previous summer. They were substantial legs, resting on surfaces above the highest water level I had previously seen. I hadn’t fixed them to a surface however so there was some risk of them being washed away. The bridge would still work without them but would be noticeably bendy. There was nothing we could change until the water level went down in summer so we just watched each day and noted where the water got to and how the water behaved.

As the weather had been improving, I placed an order for wood that I would need for various projects. I used this to build a raised bed in the greenhouse from 1″x8″ wood.

Greenhouse flooded

I had dug the greenhouse into the ground by about 30-40cm as a sunken greenhouse. This should help maintain the temperature in autumn but also increases the risk of water pooling. With all the meltwater the greenhouse filled up with water and couldn’t be used. There was also a risk of water damage to any equipment within. I purchased an emergency dirty-water pump and some plastic hoses that really didn’t want to change shape. We pumped out the greenhouse but after a few days, the water coming out was causing problems of its own as it made a route to the stream.

Eventually, the temperature went colder which caused the melting to stop and gave the groundwater a chance to recede. We had no flooding issues after this.

Snow Problems

The mountain of snow next to the driveway persisted for a long time and meant it was almost impossible to see out before pulling out onto the fast main road. I’d previously tried lowering it by hand but the heap was now too wide to move by hand. I queried the local snow-moving vehicle operator but I think I was late with the request. I think they’d already swapped front ends on the front-loading machine (like a digger but different) so it was a problem for about another 10 days before it melted.

Workshop and Food Cellar Vent doors

I worked on finalising the basement workshop loading bay door and fitting the food cellar air vent. I wanted them to look not out of place in the traditional basement. There were some things I would do differently now but I learnt a lot and I think it went ok.

Tax Return

Having two countries’ tax returns to do can be stressful. The UK tax return is a lot more complicated than the Swedish one and I got an accountant to assist. However, this April should be my final tax return for the UK when I must then claim the money back and give it to the Swedish authorities. From now on everything should be automatic on the Swedish end and fairly simple on the UK end.

Tyre Swap

The winter snow continued through April but the police did stop-checks on local roads after the 15th to fine anyone using studded tyres. This caused some local debate and news stories. I swapped the car tyres by hand but it would be a lot quicker with a real carjack and airline.