Busy busy busy

Today has been a super busy day, with visitors and progress and even me getting involved in the removal of the roof so, without any further gubbins at this stage, let's crack on.

Sun falling out back

So once again this blog starts yesterday; putting edits in after posting is something I don't think I should do. I was sat in Room 13 on the phone and every now and then I legged it out onto the balcony (joined by Ralf) to snap a picture of the sunset. It was stunning and at one point the light in Room 13 was literally red. Amazing. I got another nice early night last night and slept pretty well, though I was disturbed by a buzzing fly which both kept waking me up, and gave me all sorts of bizarre dreams of flies and mosquitoes (and not the cool airplane type) but I woke with the alarm feeling rested.

Sunlight under the trees

I did also get disturbed about 4am by the sound of Ralf barking which is unusual. He stopped quickly so I didn't react and dropped back off again quickly. I found out why later. When I left Julian they were both barking as usual but I staggered towards the house, only pausing to snap a picture I have contemplated a few times; the early morning sun shining through the tea trees across the scythed grass. It hasn't really picked up the glow that there is, but just imagine it for me, yeah?

First sight of the hare

Feeding was pretty standard, with Ralf barking and bouncing up a storm both when I let them out, and as I walked them back however as you walk he is bouncing further ahead and being a bit less aggressive at me. Which is good. I had filled a watering can from a very slow trickling free water to refill their water but it wasn't needed. I held Ralf this morning while Rambo finished, as he was off to try and steal and I think that just isn't fair. I watered with the hose (which was not quick - barely a drizzle coming out of the hose) and then went to do the watering. The boys came with and as I was walking down from doing the Magnolia and Zinnias I spotted a hare hiding out behind one of the bushes. I stopped and snapped a picture.

Ralf wants this hare!

This was a big mistake. Neither of the boys had spotted it up til then but when they saw me turn and take a picture Ralf was off and when I say off I mean like a shot. Rambo was totally oblivious but just ran to chase after Ralf. The hare was flushed very quickly and Ralf was after it, tho Rambo just ran to where it had been hiding and sniffed at the ground there; standard. I kept snapping pictures, thinking the hare would definitely leg it away from Ralf, down the land, and out where it must have got in this morning (I am thinking the barking of Ralf was this visitor making his way onto the land) and I wasn't too worried. Also Rambo was not showing any interest in joining in the chase.

Right on top of it

Shortly after it got obvious that Ralf was totally fast enough to catch the poor hare so I started trying to catch Ralf which is not the easiest thing at the best of times and certainly not now that he really had the scent of something he could chew on and he wanted to chew! My chasing then meant that Rambo took an active interest and he started bounding along and joining in the fun. After a few minutes of running around Ralf cornered the hare in the top corner behind the silver birch and this allowed me to grab him and pick him up. I was hoping to be able to pick it up and throw it over the fence (there is just no way out up here, T made sure of that) but when I went to grab it it snarled at me and my concern for it did not extend to getting myself bitten.

I left it lying there and, calling Rambo, walked down towards their cage to put them away while I dealt with it but then it made another break for it and this time Rambo did pay attention and, having taken a cue from Ralf, was after it and chasing and ignoring all my calls and commands. I ran after him, holding Ralf under one arm (poor little man) and managed to catch him after he had once again run the hare to ground and it was laid on its back gasping. I pulled him away by his collar and told him off, and then put them away into their compound. I understand that it is in Ralf's nature however Rambo was pretty disobedient and I'm once again thinking about the whistle training.

Tobacco on their drying frame

I was by this time totally exhausted having chased them for a while and went in for a rest and to finish my cup of tea. With the water still being off I was now more than ever in need of a shower, so I spread the hose out again in the hope that the free water would stay on for me to have an outside shower today. I headed off with plenty of time to collect the men and was able to stop on the hill up and snap a picture of the tobacco drying on its frames. This is a sight that is becoming more common all the time. On the drive I'd felt something on my neck and slapped at it, but it turned out to be a grasshopper which jumped onto the passenger seat. When I stopped to take this picture it hopped into the footwell then disappeared.

The first delivery of wood

I had a super busy morning planned this morning which I only made busier for myself. I asked the men to fit the door which they immediately got on with, but they asked if I wanted them to do the plastering on the roof as well so I initially said no then, as I was cooking my posh scrambled eggs for breakfast, I decided that they may as well get it started if possible so I said yes. This meant that I needed to take Bekir to my builders merchant to get plaster and other kit which meant I was going to be late for dropping Lucy off and meeting my friend at the garage. I was only 10 minutes late and she arrived very shortly after but I needed a cash point and to get to the shop but I was held up behind a person who had six cards which he knew none of the PINs for. Typical when you are in a rush. On the way back we had a call from Bekir saying the wood had been delivered and I needed to get back to pay but, as we arrived, the wood lorry was leaving.

Ralf chilling out

What a rush that was. It was then discovered that the plastic nozzle had dropped off the expanding foam and they needed this to fit the door so my friend and I headed back down to the builders merchant to pick it up. The road builders must have been getting fed up with me driving through their building site in one car or another today. It fortunately didn't take long as the owner was sat with our nozzle so, after my friend made a couple of purchases of her own, we got back and had a much needed cup of tea. I had let the boys out this time and Ralf came and sat with us and was really calm and cute; as always when I have guests.

Door in place

The men had got on very well with the bedroom, Bekir doing the door and Sally getting on with scraping the walls and my friend went and got involved helping the scraping while I had some paid work to do. After this, when they ran out of expanding foam, they finished up in there and went up to the roof.

Removing the bricks, plus an idea

The main task achieved up on the roof today was the taking down of the course of bricks around the edge of the roof, and the removal of the wooden outriggers all around. This was achieved during the afternoon and my friend and I went up at one point to help out. The cement on the bricks is so loose that it was possible to just pick the bricks up and brush the crumbling cement off with your hands. Scary. I have been going up onto this open area of roof for the past few days thinking how amazing it is up there, loving the views, and wishing the winters weren't so bad with snow that I could leave it all as a flat roof and have a terrace up there. I even said this to Bekir last week and he must have mentioned this to my friend because once when I went up there she said about it and as soon as she suggested it, and explained what Bekir was thinking, I realised that this was a possibility. I still need to run it past Lubo to get architectural and plan approval however I really want to end the roof before the chimney and put glass in there and have a terrace out side. Wow.

Tidy ready for new bricks

With all of us pitching in it didn't take that long to finish making all the walls clean and ready for the new build on top. Bekir mentioned about getting another couple of helpers which I was expecting so that is good. We also saw the hare again while we were up there, and Ralf was with us and made out he wanted to jump over the side - I grabbed him and he was straining to get away and when I put him down, he pegged it down the stairs to try the front door. The hare disappeared and we haven't seen it since, though I'll be checking before I let them out in the morning, and doing the watering round first, tomorrow morning. I popped into Thomas to get some stuff out the back and found the little grasshopper, sat on the back seat. I was able to pick it up and let it jump off me into the grass. Great.

Shiva - a bit shy

After this my friend left and then the men went downstairs to do some tidying around the front near the table tennis table. I heard a yell and didn't know they were down so went up and then saw they were on the ground floor. I got all the way down and was handed another tiny tortoise, this one the same age as Mo had been however with working legs and looking a bit healthier. I popped him in with Jesus and he has been named "Shiva" though I was very tempted by "Allah". I'm a bad person.

Current state of play

I took the men home which was easy as always, though we did have to dodge one tortoise crossing the road but I don't think it was missed by the following trucks :( I am picking them up at the normal time but helping Bekir with a chore in the morning; they offered to take the day off for this but I'd rather crack on with getting everything done if possible. The standard end of day photograph was taken when I came back, joined by Ralf, and I was a bit nervous because of the hare so carried him back inside as he seemed to be about to run off again. I need to find it and flush it out the front tomorrow.

Hugely tasty salad dinner

Dinner was a potato salad made with the tomato and some of the cucumber that the Little Lady had given me the other day and it was gorgeous; the tomato was huge, juicy and tasty all the way through. Lovely. While the tatties were boiling I went and climbed onto my scaffolding, obviously wearing my hard hat, and pulled a load of the old plaster off the roof. The room is now a complete mess but it won't take long to tidy. I only hope the window is fitted tomorrow.

So now I'm going to sign this off and go and chill and chat and get another early night hopefully so my busy tomorrow can go without too much of a hitch. Cheers.

One day of rest; hah

Well it's been a great day all round, and I'm not gonna hang around again; onwards with this new quicker (if not shorter) blog format. Quicker for me, that is.

A stunning late afternoon

Anyway we go back to yesterday, after I posted my blog and then went outside for a doze with a beer in the sun. It was lovely, other than the dog next door barking and barking and barking. I don't know how deeply I slept but when I dragged myself off the rug I had a dead arm. It was really lovely and I woke up starving so I came in and ate all the pasta that I had left over for dinner today. Oh well, I hadn't really eaten much through the day so I wasn't really being that greedy.

Early morning welcome committee

I was in bed by 9.30 after this and slept right through, waking up feeling refreshed and checking the time I found it was 12.30. In the morning. Ahh. I did go back to sleep rather quickly and then I woke about 7 and read in bed for an hour before getting up. It was really nice to be relaxed, particularly with having to get up at 6 for collecting the men. Just what I needed. The boys had been up and about since the early hours, barking at one stage and getting shouted out, and when I did emerge they were there again. Here is Ralf barking to high heaven, and Rambo about to start howling. What joy first thing in the morning.

Ralf pretending to be a farm dog

I made the brew out of a water bottle (yep, the water is still off) and then took a deep breath and went out to feed them. They were actually OK this morning, both as I let them out and then walking back. Ralf was barking and bouncing around as usual but I think he is getting better. I put Rambo's bowl down first today and Ralf came with me for his bowl and then it was like a speed eating contest. Once Ralf had finished I picked him up and locked the gate with Rambo still inside eating; I was going to take Thomas round the back again for the wood and obviously Rambo can't be trusted. I popped Ralf into the bed and drove round which he seems to enjoy, though this time going up the bank he had to struggle to keep his feet.

The first Hibiscus flower

I did not set to with the wood at this stage though but went and did the rounds with the watering can and the boys following. The pressure on the free water is also pretty dreadful at the moment so it took a while when I was stood watering the entrance flower bed and it didn't really reach all the way to the bottom either. The whole round went as standard but I was really pleased to see the Hibiscus has now flowered and there are SO many flower buds about to burst; this is going to be a stunning plant. I need to find out if it is hardy enough to be planted out and left over winter unattended.

Scaffolding put together

After a breakfast of toast and marmalade (but not my parents' marmalade sadly; some rubbish shop bought alternative) I had a quick phone call then headed to put the scaffolding up. I pulled it all apart and then set to erecting the framework. This turned out to be quite easy and including a few breaks I completed it in 20 minutes or so. I did, however, find that with the outriggers it was too wide to wheel through the doors so I'll be taking it apart when moving from room to room. Oh well. It is a perfect height and will work perfectly for me.

A very tame seeming grasshopper

This done I headed outside to get as much done of the wood sorting as I could today. As I went out the back door I saw that a grasshopper was on the fly screen and it stayed there throughout the day, never being bothered by the opening and shutting of the door and as far as I know it is still there now.

Ralf prefers the closeup to being photographed asleep

My day went onwards in the following vein; I went outside and shifted a load of wood and then got hot so came inside for food and / or a drink and then after a bit I went back outside and shifted more wood. Ralf spent the day with me out there, sleeping under Thomas or just in the sun, but every time I went for a picture he got up. This picture was taken as he emerged from under Thomas where he had been sleeping. Rambo joined me on and off, but mainly just to bark at the wheelbarrow that I was using to ship broken tiles to the collection point. I stopped this after three runs and went back to the wood as it was annoying picking up all the broken bits. That is going to be a MAJOR task.

Super unsafe roof beam

As I move this wood and sort it into reusable and burnable piles I am more and more amazed that the roof stayed up; look at how eaten away this beam is and, looking at the size and shape, this would have been right under the tiles as one of the girders. Scary. I can't wait for the whole roof to be replaced.

Finally snuck up on him

I had some bacon and eggs mid morning as I was really hungry and the toast just wasn't cutting it for me, and I also stopped for some chocolate and a carroti drink but I was outside for a few hours doing the wood and I made great progress. Towards the end of the time I finally managed to catch Ralf (after many attempts) still dozing in one of his spots. He saw I had caught him, sighed, and went back to sleep. Bless.

Much progress on the wood piles

Anyway I kept at it and finished off for the day as I was getting hungry and wanted my roasties and roast pork belly (which was INCREDIBLE) so I took these pics and left Thomas parked up and went in. There is some wood still to be sorted but he was full, and a lot of it is under dust, roof tiles and other rubbish so I decided to leave it for another day or so. I also wanted to get the scaffold through into the bedroom for pulling the ceiling down again.

Ready for me to use

I ate my dinner (amazing as I said) then went out and pulled Thomas round the front and emptied him of all the wood using the wheelbarrow. The boys were in their enclosure during this and were pretty well behaved when I let them out. I had managed to get the scaffold into the bedroom without having to take it apart by passing it through the window however when I put the top section on I found that I was missing two of the bolts, though there was a spare. This means that one of the tension bars is not fully attached but it is really tight and I had to really strain to get it to fit so I'm sure it'll be OK.

It is another lovely evening so I'm going to end this here. Tomorrow I will have that bedroom door in, will have pulled all the plaster off the ceiling, and then will probably paint the floor in the bedroom with glue to keep the dust down, ready for my special guest.

Lots of driving

Quick blog today cos I'm shattered and going to get a chill and an early night tonight (though I can't have a shower because the water is STILL off.. What was that about that being illegal if it is more than 8 hours?

Frog in the pitch black (with a flash)

Last night my day ended with a rather rubbish evening and then I went to bed. On the way out I almost trod on my little frog and I chased it across the yard with the camera until I could get a good picture for you. I don't know if this is the one that sings or I have others, but it is the one I keep seeing hopping around at night, sometimes inside.

The sun is about to appear

I was up and about at 6am as I had to drive across Bulgaria today to collect my scaffold which had been brought across from England by the man who brought Rambo. Talking of which, the boys were pretty good this morning when I fed them and this walking and ignoring thing is working with Ralf. So far. It was still an overcast day, and had rained in the night, so I didn't need to do much in the way of morning routine.

Starting a burn

While I was feeding them I found that the dog meat had loads of maggots in it. I determined to try and buy a small fridge to keep their meat in as the heat picks up. I put it to one side and actually burned it, though now I think I should have put it in the humanure. Never mind, I had a load of stuff in the kitchen for burning anyway.

My front lawn

As I was leaving to head out to collect the scaff the sun came out and I was struck, while I opened the gates, by what a lovely view it was up under the trees along the front patch. It is so much better since I scythed but you can see that I will need to do another pass at some point. I'm going to spend the entire summer scything at this rate. Who knows what I'll do with all the hay.

Old and the new

At the entrance to my village I was really amazed at the progress that had occurred on the road, and the old donkey was making use of it too. I snapped a picture then scooted down and made my way to the petrol station to fill up. I had free wifi at the petrol station which is just such a great idea and meant that some messages I had sent prior to leaving which had not actually sent, were delivered.

My wee stop

The journey to collect the scaffold was uneventful apart from the engine management problem happening on the way, just after I overtook a truck. I stopped and had a comfort break, decided a quick photograph of the field of waving corn was worthy of a shot, and then jumped in Thomas and carried on with no problems. I was an hour early as usual and spent the time buying drinks and some weird pastry type thing for breakfast, and then dozing in the car as I was tired. Ken arrived, we strapped it down in the back, and then I was on my way back; no stopping this time.

The journey back was equally as boring and both ways I listened to music to keep me alert. I didn't use the satnav on the return journey and did it without any problems at all. At the turnoff on the road which takes you over the mountain to the local airport there was a car crash which looked like it had just happened; I'm not surprised at this considering the insane overtaking manouvres that I see every day. It didn't seem like anyone was hurt and the car in front and I nosed round via the wrong side of the road and carried on. An ambulance and a police car were closing in swiftly from town anyway.

He's standing on his back legs!

When I got back I was exhausted and seriously tempted by a snooze however the draw of a cuppa was too great. Having backed Thomas up to the front door to unload the scaffold and carry it upstairs I checked the water and no it wasn't on so filled the kettle from the smaller of the bottles of water. I heard scratching while waiting for this to boil and it was Jesus, doing one of his vertical escapades.

Ralf climbed up with me

Rambo looking on

A cup of tea and a telephone conversation (much appreciated) later I made my mind up that having a nap was a bad idea so I set myself a simple target. First of all I would select out of the massive pile of wood thrown down over the past few days a couple of beams and planks for use in the bed head and foot. Then I would sort through the rest and select out wood for the petchka, planks and beams. For the first bit I had the boys out and Ralf was super happy to see me, jumping up to lick me. Rambo was pleased too and they both clambered and explored as I picked over the pile.

When I went to move Thomas round to load with the burning wood I put the boys away again briefly (as Rambo tries to kill himself by running in front of the car) but when I went to let them out Ralf tried to nip me twice and then went into an insane moment where he ran for about 10 minutes until going into his house and laying down on his back showing me his belly. I don't know what got into him but the difference in his behaviour between the first time I let them out and this, only about half an hour apart, is dramatic. I learned today as well that, far from what I understood where he was fine with other dogs, he had also growled at their dogs while they looked after him. If I had known this I would probably have held off as I am thinking he is a better dog to have a singleton. He certainly seems to bring the worst out of Rambo. Anyway, we are where we are and I'll deal. for being so naughty (Rambo was also very aggressive at me) I put them back in their enclosure and there they remain til now.

Planks for fencing, maybe

Beams separated out

Full load in Thomas

I took myself over to the back of the house and set to on the huge pile of wood, tiles and dust that Bekir and Sally had left. It was very therapeutic work and I settled into a routine picking around the edges taking what was loose and slowly filling the back of Thomas. My target was a full load in him and I just kept going til I decided I couldn't fit any more in. I had a pile of plans, a pile of beams and the back of Thomas full. I was going for about an hour but made barely a dent in the pile. Tomorrow I will have to attack it again.

I drove Thomas round again and reversed him up to the front door but I was tired, thirsty and hungry so I left him there and went inside where I cooked a vegetarian pasta with bacon in it and drank nearly two pints of beer to rehydrate. No water, you see. While I was cooking I put some cabbage in with Jesus and he went and started eating it. I realise I have not taken and video of him (and actually never got any of Mo either; gutted) so here he is, eating.

This will be for the petchka

After eating a lovely bowl of my pasta which was super nice and I have loads left over for tomorrow too I went down and emptied the back of Thomas. It took about four or five wheelbarrow loads and I had to dump it in the kitchen as you can't get a wheelbarrow down the corridor (another doorway to remove there; just have a straight corridor!) but it is piled next to the window into the wood store so another time I'll sort through it and throw it through in stages.

Now the sun is still up and I am going to go and lay outside in said sun and doze with my kindle and a beer; ahh the pleasures of a super fast blog post. Night.

A slightly let down feeling

It is funny how days go. Yesterday I was convinced that the day was going to be a bad day however it ended up being great and this morning I had the opposite feeling yet I'm sat here playing Metallica loud and feeling slightly deflated. Strange.

Very grey but still light

I woke to an overcast sky however the light was pretty magical across the valley so after I put the kettle on to make my morning brew I went to the balcony and snapped this. They boys were up and waiting as always and they did bark as I walked from Julian but they weren't too bad. I made the brew and went over to feed the boys.

I had decided, after the nightmare that was yesterday, to take a different tack with the boys and not react as much to the barking (I was trying to encourage Ralf to stop completely by stopping walking while he barked, and only moving when he was silent but this just frustrated me and didn't really seem to be working) and today I also decided to grab a video of them as I walked with the full food bowls. This is a pretty standard morning however he actually barked a bit last and went ahead a bit more as I kept walking. It is such a confusing thing, having a rescue dog.

While I was sat with them as they were eating Rambo was protecting his food so I belatedly decided to video. He didn't do his growling but it does show some of their interaction during feeding. I am actually quite happy as Ralf doesn't attack Rambo at all, and Rambo is purely warning and never actually snaps at Ralf. The funny thing is that Rambo loses food every day by leaving it behind. I'm not sure I should stop this happening as they are policing themselves quite well.

These don't look like peppers to me

These are definitely Tomatoes though

I have many buds, but this is nearly a bloom

I then did my watering round and this is taking a new shape, with new growing locations. First of all I fill the watering cans with the hose, then drag that hose down the entrance path and spend a fair amount of time spreading moisture over all the plants there, including the flags as I hope to get them to establish and bed in after the brutal way I transplanted them. I should then continue with the hose on the potted plants but they have been moved off the table tennis table so I forgot this morning and they were done at the end. Anyway, after that I do the standard route, taking both cans to the corner of the boys' enclosure and then taking the plastic one up to do the Magnolias and Zinnias (which have really started growing now, though I did pull my first weed this morning) and then taking the partially depleted plastic can, along with the full metal, to do the Silver birches. It is a nice thing and, when the boys are snarling at each other a bit (mainly Ralf going for Rambo to be fair) it is also lovely to have them trotting after and playing.

Door and frame strapped in

After this it was very quickly time for me to head over to collect the men which I did without any trouble and we headed down to the builders yard to buy a door and frame and hardware. The first place didn't have one opening the way I wanted it to do and, as they are with everything being very keen to keep the details correct, we went round the corner to another place and picked one up where I basically got the hardware for free as I only paid the list price for the door assembly. When I say assembly I mean it as it was literally pre-assembled, with the door hung from the surround already. I hoped they would easily get this fitted today.

While I was waiting for the men to finish their coffee and wander over to Thomas (I am always early) a little turkish looking lady in full get up (the headscarf, baggy blue coat and baggy trousers) walked past and I was most amused and thrilled to spot some dangly sparkly earrings. Something in me loves that she is dressed traditionally, but she has also put something special on.

Jesus and the cabbage

I was complained at (jokingly, but still) about the lack of Jesus in the blog yesterday and this was simple to solve as when I got back he was out munching on the cabbage that I had put in yesterday and his head was stretched out in such a way I grabbed the camera straight away. So, just for you and you know who you are, Jesus.

Sassy with her spilled food

I had fed Sassy before heading out to collect the men, and Ralf was super interested in what was going on. She was very cute again, has been all day actually including coming over for a good scratch and pet at one point mid afternoon. This was taken after I got back with the men and you can see that she has emptied her food all over the bottom of the tray, with the bowl no where to be seen and actually at the bottom of her ramp where she threw it.

Lovely new shorts

As I was sat in Room 13 I heard a whistling and I headed outside to collect my post. It was the parcel which I had expected about a month ago and nearly written off as lost, arrived finally. Contained within were some packets of lovely flowers, a big stash of tea bags, and these rather fetching shorts which I am wearing now. I was so happy that it finally arrived.

Sally was moving the tiles

So my plan for today was to work on paid work and do very little otherwise and that is exactly what I did, getting my task completed pending a final revision over the weekend. The men went straight up on the roof to continue taking that down and they were very pleased with the weather as it was far cooler than the previous two days. They were working on two different jobs. Sally was collecting the tiles that they had removed off the roof that were still good and piling them up under the yet-to-be-removed roof.

Bekir removing nails from a beam

Bekir meantimes was continuing to remove the beams that were still up, and taking nails out of good bits of timber that he thought could be reused. The rest went over onto the ever-growing pile that out the back that I am  now looking at and thinking may take more than two days to clear. Anyway, more of that later.

I hope this doesn't fall down

One of the times I went up today I looked over the front of the wall and was much amused to see that the really dodgy looking length of guttering, which is actually suspended over my mains power incoming, has been lashed on a little by some cable. This should stop it coming down, as this is not planned on being removed for a bit. We talked later about how they'll get this down and the idea I had is the one they had I think - lash a rope to the far end and, as it falls, pull it so it goes away from the building. Fun.

Lunch time the third day

It had suddenly become lunch so I took the obligatory status picture for midday, and also went out the front. Another lady was asking for some of my blossom which I said yes to though this lady isn't one who seems to understand quid pro quo and I am interested to see if I'll receive any gifts in return. No matter, I am happy that it goes to good use, particularly as the season is rapidly moving on from tea blossom time.

Ants on the patio

While I was outside chatting with Bekir about this I spotted a massive collection of ants that were clustered around a plant on the patio. I couldn't see a nest though I suppose it was actually underneath them, and they were large black shiny ones with plump bodies the like I'd not seen before. I snapped a few pictures but they move so fast it is tough to get a good one.

Tidying the floor of dust

I wasn't totally sure what was going on up in the attic so I popped up after I had my lunch of cheese and tomato butties and I found that they were sweeping up and shovelling the dust and earth over the edge onto the piles of rubbish below. Bekir was struggling with dust in his eyes so I went and got them both goggles and face masks which they gladly wore.

New technique with the wheel barrow

Later when I went up Bekir still had his on by Sally had discarded his and they had changed tactic, putting the dust into the wheelbarrow and then tipping it through a gap that they had made in the wall onto the pile below. This has now grown into a huge mass of rubbish, as I previously observed, and it is going to take a concerted effort to tidy it all.

At some point in the afternoon Rambo got bored so I went out to spend some time with him, as I had been tied to my desk so much. I decided to collect together another section of hay and drove Thomas round with the misguided idea of putting the hay in the back to get it closer to the collection point. Rambo promptly ran right in front of the moving Thomas twice, barking and almost getting run over as I emergency stopped and so I had to put him in the enclosure anyway. I finished off the collection and went back inside to keep working.

Super clean roof, and Ralf about to jump

A bit later I checked on the men, wondering if they were planning on fitting the new door, and they were still wandering around up there cleaning. I figured at that point that no, my door would not be going on today, and resigned myself to this. You win some you lose some. At least the roof is very clear. Ralf joined me and was looking over the edge through the gap though I shouted because he almost looked like he was going to jump on top.

End of day three

And so, soon enough, it was time to take them home which I did and said "see you on Monday" when the wood will be delivered but I will ask them to do the door first thing; I really want to seal that room so I can get the poor bird that has bean trapped inside out - I've tried to get it to fly out the open doors but it just won't so, once the new door is in, I'll open the windows and make sure it leaves. When I got back I took a picture for you of the progress at the end of the day and maybe you can see why I feel slightly let down; the momentum of the first day has steadily drained away and it has felt very much like more could have been done today. I am sure I am wrong, but that is how I felt particularly after looking at the difference between yesterday and today.

Storm heading in, from the roof

Feeling how I was, I put some Metallica on loud which has now finished but really helped me to shift some of the feelings I was having; it is just funny how such a positive day, where I was chewing over what excellent extra stuff I could achieve this year after the super progress that was being made, can end with me thinking "is that all?" but that is life, and you take the rough with the smooth. I had another marrow given me by the little lady which I prepared the same as before and put in the oven while I was blogging and headbanging and avoiding the sound of the storm which was blowing over. It didn't really hit me that much but the thunder was impressive.

Some sun appearing again

I settled with the music and every now and then got up to photograph the sky, as the storm was as I say passing. There was a light drizzle but it was never really over head and the thunder up til then had been minor. The evening was drawing in earlier because of the blackness of the cloud and the sun peeking through under the edge of the storm in the distance was golden and warm looking.

Bright light through the windows

After this, as I was nearly done with this blog, the lights in here almost went out and a few seconds later there was a huge peal of thunder which went on for ages and shook the house. Thankfully the power has stayed on though I think something important must have been hit. To counterpoint this the sun was streaming in through the windows behind me and I snapped this to show just how it fills the landing windows with light.

So I wrap this blog up looking at the darkest of dark clouds out of the windows in front of me (which was being lit up until a few minutes ago by lightning) and with a lovely clear sky with the remnants of a sunset behind me. The duality of nature, amply displayed. Tomorrow my plans have been thrown out the window as I'm off again all day to collect my scaffolding and this is earlier than my usual trips up there so no lay in for me. I'll just sleep when I get back, I suppose.