Hugelkultur and walls

Today it was back into the saddle with an alarm set and everything as I had to go and collect T (I've had Lucy for my guest so he had no transport) as he was working here all day. I woke up slightly before the alarm but lay there until it went off as I was feeling tired after my exertions yesterday.

Rambo waiting in vain for his breakfast

I hauled my tired body up the stairs and put the kettle on for my brew which was drunk and then it was time for leaving to collect T, I didn't even get to feed and water Rambo before leaving and I'm sure he wasn't very impressed with being made to wait. The trip over to get him was simple and he was waiting at the appointed place. We drove back towards my house and decided that we would go and order some bricks and more cement as the task he had would need them. I managed to make myself understood and arranged for the truck to send them today.

And so it was back up the hill, with a short wait while the huge digger machine that I had passed on the way down finished the drainage it was digging and left me JUST enough room to squeeze by; I'm thinking maybe it is the first step of the process of getting a tarmac road up to the village; that would be very nice. Unless it encouraged more people to come to my village *shudders*

The first Clematis is open

Anyway, I pointed him at the task at hand and then went to feed Rambo and do my watering round. Rambo was most pleased to be fed and today was the first day on the local food so I'll keep my eyes peeled for funny runny tummies and other upsets caused by it. Hopefully he will be fine and he certainly tucked into it well as I put it down. All the plants are still doing well and the flower on the Clematis has opened which is just super.

A lovely flower in Mo's domain

Talking of flowers when I watered Mo this morning I noticed that some of the weeds I uprooted to go in it have flowered and one of them is most beautiful. It took a bit of effort and a few abortive attempts but I managed to snap this picture. Stunning. On the subject, Mo is still really happy in there and hasn't tipped himself for days now.

Sassy Bunny

Part of my rounds every morning is also to feed and water Sassy, and play with her for a bit. As I've said before she has recently been much more affectionate and today was no different, with her hopping around and standing up to be stroked and generally being very loving and attentive. I stayed with her for five minutes or so playing and I know I should spend more time; every day I mean to spend at least an hour or two sat playing with her. Tomorrow I aim to have a quieter day so I may take my chair in there with my book and sit with her. She is so lovely.

He is convinced you MUST be there to play with him

Anyway I went to start frying up for my breakfast (classic bacon and fried egg on toast today) and looked out the window to see T attempting to get to work breaking some concrete which was causing a bowing in the fence, and Rambo was hassling and harassing him to play with him. He's a little sod when he gets like that and I watched as he kept picking up the Kong and dropping it insistently. I offered to put him away but T was happy so I left him; the fact is that as soon as the digging out of the fence had been done he would be in his enclosure all day anyway.

I want these stairs

I was hurried into shutting him away when Lubo turned up to collect the forms that had been signed by the kmet on the weekend. He also took away the plans I had scribbled on with the minor corrections including the door that was missed by Veselka. We had a few conversations about the spiral staircase as he had designed it in a little walled off space but I want it open (like the picture above) and he said (after a bit of conversation) "however you want it" which is about right. The idea has been mooted by my guest that we should have a patio door in the kitchen going out onto the playground (which will be my herb garden) and I talked that through with him too. It is all good and he was off to the Obshtina to get the last of the documents prior to sending to Sofia. This afternoon I have had a text saying he got it and everything is go. FINALLY!!!!

With filter.... and withou

I was trying to work, a bit, when T came upstairs with some post and it was my filters for my camera that my parents had really kindly bought me for my birthday. I am now going to be playing with these for quite a long time. I went outside straight away to try them out and this is the same flower one with filter, one without. IT does make a difference but I think it isn't quite right for flower pictures.

I was trying to work however because of issues in the office the actually requested tasks have dried up a bit and I am feeling bad just doing "make work" to be able to invoice so after an hour or so I went out to crack on with the chopping and placing of wood in the Hugelkultur. This has taken far more effort than expected and it has been this last little bit that has been the most difficult; the pile of wood seems to never reduce. Lunch arrived and it was a really rather rubbish potato salad as my spring onions had gone rotten and I just had sirene as cheese which isn't really the best cheese for a salad like that. I did remember the bottles of olives that I had bought when I first arrived so I chucked a load of them on and it filled a hole, if not in a very inspiring way.

Bricks unloaded and stacked on the side

The phone went just as I finished and it was the delivery driver with the bricks and bags of cement, double checking the location. I went down and within a couple of minutes he was driving along the lane and then through the gates and up to where I wanted the bricks to be stacked. Over here (unless you specifically arrange otherwise like I did with the fencing) the driver turns up and sits in his cab texting while you have to unload everything you have ordered. I managed to rip the first and second bags of cement I pulled off and then he took pity and helped with the last two, but then he did go and sit in his truck and me and T were at it lifting 120 bricks off in piles of four. Fun.

This is not the correct orientation

With the bricks unloaded, and the truck guided off the land with one false reversing manouvre where he almost drove over the large concrete tubes from the old drainage system, T set to with the first wall. He had spent the morning digging out all along the side fence to make way for the brick walls and now would be his first attempt at laying a brick wall. We had some conversation about the best way to position the bricks and after some consideration he went with my suggestion which would allow the largest surface area to cement. He calculated he needs about 20 bricks per section at this height so we should have enough for a few days yet.

Lots of stone moved, and a course of bricks in place

I set to with the axe again and continued chopping and splitting and placing and shoving and getting really bored with the process of building this Hugelkultur but I was finally seeing some reduction in the available wood to be put on it and T cracked on with his wall. He did a bit of research into the proportions for cement and then set himself to it. At first he wasn't very happy as too much gravel in the cement pushed the bricks out of alignment and there was a fair amount of bashing as he lined them back up again but after a while he was happy and the first course was laid.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with him building his wall and me bouncing in and out of my office doing the Hugelkultur and then having some video conferences with work. I have arranged to have all of tomorrow off in case I need to leg it to collect my new guest and this will take the pressure of both me and them in terms of finding work.

Both our tasks done for the day

The end of the day saw the wood for the Hugelkultur all done and T having finished the first stage of the wall. Sadly Rambo is still not able to be allowed out as there are huge gaps now dug below the wall but I'll just have to play with him loads tomorrow and, probably, take him for a long walk.

Gorgeous flowers

All done and tided away I paid T and then waved him goodbye and he has taken Lucy so I don't need to be up quite as early tomorrow which is excellent. I had noticed earlier that one of my plants from Kaufland had suddenly burst into flower which was quite stunning so I took the chance of taking the picture while I remembered.

Clouds building with sun still trying to burn through

As we were coming inside there was a rumble of thunder in the distance and I saw that the thunderhead was building out the back so I snapped this picture too. As per usual it hasn't actually arrived here yet and I've not heard any more thunder (though I have had Prodigy on rather loud while writing this blog so I probably wouldn't have been able to hear anyway) though the wind is whipping past out there. So much for "summer is here" it seems Sunday was an aberration not a change.

So I'm gonna sign this off, get another beer, and enjoy my evening conversation :) I really love it here, when I went out just now to get the torch the smell was amazing and it was warm and lovely. What a place.