Moving forward

With such large grounds there are always a lot of areas to keep on top of at the chateau. So something that I am really trying to do is to make everywhere as easy to maintain as possible. This will save a lot of time and effort in the long run. One area to be improved is along the outside wall of the chateau. Last year we cut down the self seeded trees and cleared the overgrowth next to this wall. Grass is growing there now but if left unattended it gets weeds and overgrown again. About ten tree stumps were sticking out of the ground which meant that I could not just run the flail mower over this area but instead had to bring a small mower and strimmer over there. 

So today it was a big sort out. Firstly strim everything back to reveal the old stumps and then get to work with the stump grinder. This is a great machine and I have really learnt how best to use it. Within a few hours all of the stumps had gone, leaving a clear flat area. A quick mow and it was looking really good. The grass should now really take hold here.

Now instead of a job that used to take an hour - bring over the small mower and strimmer, cut and strim all along the wall - about 100m of wall - then take it all back again. It will now take 5 minutes. When I am cutting around the lake with the flail mower on the back of the small tractor I can just go out of the old gate and run along the wall. Easier life and saving time!