Just a quickie as I want to get the lists out ASAP to make sure you have a bit of extra time to get any orders in for the coming short week. We always try to aim to get all the orders delivered before Good Friday but there is always the possibility I’m afraid, that a short week and high demand may force us to slip on or two in on Friday. We’ll see.

What bonkers weather, hotter than last summer. At least it has now cooled off a bit, just hoping it doesn’t get down to -9 as reported in one paper this morning, the plants won’t know if they are coming or going.

Naturally things are going very smoothly on the nursery as we get busier and busier. Our two old hot air heaters which give us a bit of frost protection in the propagation tunnels have both died at the same time so have had to order one replacement to see us through the rest of the spring. One boiler fault tripped out the supply to the main prop tunnel on two nights which meant no heat in there either. Luckily no damage done. The small van developed a limp towards the end of the week which resulted in a visit to the menders and a new tyre (at least we didn’t have a blow out). One turbine stopped earlier in the week with a wind speed monitoring fault and the other two refused to start up when we had a light breeze on Thursday pm. Mr Fixit came on Friday and guessed what the problems might be related to. He was right, it was birds nest building under the generator housing at the top of the mast. Jackdaws had tried to set up home during the recent still weather and there was a huge build up of sticks to clear out. They had been setting off the vibration sensor under the housing causing the turbines to not restart when the breeze picked up. We have now wired up the entry points which should stop them getting under again. Little tykes.

Had a long day on Thursday with a trip down to the Eden Project, combining a delivery with an evening group suppliers meeting. I was expecting a quick tea a pasty and a chat, but in fact had a delicious meal and drinks (orange juice for me), was entertained by a band and choir and then given a series of talks around the site of what they were up to this year. An inspirational place and I’m sorry I had to slip away slightly early missing the circus performance, but I had a long trip home. Lovely drive back, I came within a gnats whisker of running out of fuel as I struggled to find a garage open and then could only get the pricey premium grade of diesel. Mind you I was so relieved not to get stranded in the middle of Bodmin Moor with no fuel I didn’t care much what it cost! Then the A303 was shut and I got diverted to Yeovil and back to top all the excitement off. Still it kept me very alert and getting back at 2.30am wasn’t too bad really.

Eco News

It’s coming up to the end of the month and it has been another quiet one for wind turbine output. The high pressure area is good for sunshine, not so good for wind. We are still well in credit on the electric use front, generating more than consuming so that is ahead of plan but we would like a bit more of a steady breeze please to get things turning. We also use a very high proportion of the generated power ourselves when it is this quiet so that helps a bit. Today looks like a good day, we don’t need much.

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries