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.