I'm a lumberjack...

Today has been an infinitely better day than yesterday was. For this I am grateful as I do not like having days like yesterday. I should make it clear, however, that I do not wear suspenders and a bra, as the song would suggest. Clear? Good. I shall begin.

I heard each and every one of these drips

Last night I slept really well, other than being disturbed from early in the night right through until I woke up by a drip drip drip sound which I ignored as much as I could. The problem was it was not just one drip, which is easy enough to ignore by filtering out the regularity and tone; it was many drips all at different times and with different notes. It did not disturb me that much and I was also able to snooze massively in the morning which did help me through the day.

It was very foggy this morning

During the night I had been able to watch the stars through the windows a fair few times however when I woke up and finally obeyed the alarm call there was super thick fog which obscured even the edges of my own property. It did not clear all the time I was feeding the boys and was still around when I got back with the men. I was slow all through my morning routine, including taking much longer to drink my tea than normal but I still got to their village too early and so I ready my book for ten minutes parked by the cheren put. In the time I was stopped there the fog, which had been thick up near them as well, completely cleared and the sun came out. It was such a sudden transition.

Tidying the offcuts and spare wood

I had woken with quite a congested feeling in my stomach and, combined with the fact I had no bread in at all, this made me decide that I wouldn't have breakfast. I chatted as normal and during a pause in that went to see what the men were doing, as I could hear no banging of hammers. It turned out that, because the wood of the planks was so wet they were not getting started on the waterproofing but were tidying up the mess of the previous build, preparatory for the next section. It is good that time, which otherwise would have been wasted, is redeemed.

Sally on the roof, buckling it slightly

Ten minutes later I heard a different noise from up there so popped up to see what was happening. Sally was on the roof they had patched last year, taking it back down so they could easily pass the mokava up to the section of roof which was left to be waterproofed. If you look closely at the main picture you can see how the end beam is sagging much lower than the edge of the wall it used to sit on; this is the action of Sally moving around on top and I stood and watched it bouncing like that for a while, mesmerised, before I went back downstairs.

Unusual readings

When I got down there the mist was still really thick and I noticed the humidity was sitting at about 95%! The temperature, at least, had risen from the chilly 15 degrees which it had been stuck at when I was driving towards the men's village. I sat and chatted a bit more and then, deciding that breakfast was a bad idea feeling how I did, I decided to head out and do a bit of weeding around by the entrance gate, on the opposite side to my extended weeding session last week.

Old weeds ready for putting in the bucket

I had already been doing some pulling of weeds and just piling them up by the side of the drive and first of all I grabbed this already slightly rotten clump of the nasty spiky thistles and put them in a bucket. The spikes do not get any less nasty with having been sat rotting for a week or two and I got spiked a couple of times, even wearing the thick gardening gloves.

Making it a bit tidier

After this I started near the gate and worked my way steadily up pulling any tall weeds and particularly any of the spiky thistles and stashing them in the buckets for adding to my huge compost heap. It didn't take that long, less than 20 minutes, to sweep all the way up and make the whole entrance look very much tidier. As I was walking to empty the buckets I spent another few minutes starting to pull up some weeds which had already shot up across the "lawn" and I can see this being an ongoing battle that I will never win.

Water melons

There were more pleasant discoveries as well walking across including a rather long but large melon that hadn't been so obvious the other day, and the two main which I knew about all along looking very healthy and fat on their own vine. I put my (very muddy) sandal to show a bit of scale for the first melon and Ralf almost got involved as well but wouldn't sit still enough to get a good picture.

Clearing more of the roof away

The sun had been starting to break through before I went out to weed but by the time I got back it had completely burned the fog away and it was really rather pleasant. I returned from my weeding, waved her off, and went up to find out how the men were doing, and to offer them a cup of coffee. They were still on with the roof clearing, but had made quite a lot of progress. While I was watching Bekir chopped some of the planks with the chainsaw which coughed and choked and died as it ran out of fuel so I left them to it.

Could you say no to this?

I was drinking a brew and psyching myself up for the next task when I heard some yelling and saw Orhan heading to the gate to collect some pancakes and either milk or ayran from the Little Lady. This solved my breakfast question quite satisfactorily and I ate it with relish as it was hot and tasty. Ralf was very interested and looked even cuter and more desperate than he does in this picture, though he wouldn't pull the same pose for the camera and didn't get any of it.

My target, and the wedges cut with the saw

And so, to the main task of the day which was to chop down the tree which was blocking the sunlight from the smallest of the Silver Birch trees. I had a saw and an axe with which to do the deed and I was determined to not fail and fall back on asking Bekir to bring his chainsaw down. It was actually quite a big tree though which I hadn't actually realised. I started off by sawing straight into the trunk and then once I was a way in I cut downwards at an angle to take a wedge out. I did this a couple of times at the front, and then round the back, but it wasn't enough to bring the tree down and the weight of the tree was making it really difficult to get the saw to cut straight and true.

Bashing with an axe

With a good start made to getting through the trunk I picked up the axe and used it to chop away all around the circumference and reduce the strength to the heartwood right in the middle, which was really solid and tough to get through with both the axe and the saw. Every now and then I gave the trunk a good push and could feel it starting to give but I kept needing to trim some more support. I was a bit worried about going too far with the axe and having it fall on top of me so I stopped quite regularly during this process. I also found it quite tiring and rested up often too, so I would have the strength to catch it should it suddenly go. One of the times I rested was lovely as I sat next to Ralf and he came and lay next to me, cuddling and playing in equal measure.

TIMBERRRRRRRRR!

After a short while of this process I felt that the tree was ready to go but then I change my tack. I had originally been planning on dropping the tree over the driveway so I could start to cut it up for moving without any difficulty but as I assessed it's true size I realised this would cause it to land on the Silver Birch directly opposite; not a great plan. I switched sides and pushed and with a crack the heartwood gave way. I was able to lower it gently to the ground without damaging the front all of the Silver Birch I was aiming at helping and, with this done, headed inside for a drink and a rest; I was hot and tired.

What do you mean you're scared of heights!?

I rested for half an hour, sucking down the brew like the life giving fluid it is, and then headed up to see what was going on. The men were on the roof putting the waterproofing on the last section and they were quite insistent that I climb up on the roof to join them. Now I am not good with heights and the ladder they are using is pretty rickety; it almost broke as I climbed to stick my head out at the highest point of the roof and, even though Bekir offered me his hand to pull me up, I was not able to convince myself that I could then get back down again safely. This is Bekir smiling at me after I refused to get on the roof. He even went to the extent of getting a long beam and nailing it crossways so I had something to brace myself on but it was the getting down that concerned me.

Orhan's picture 1

Orhan's picture 2

Orhan's picture 3

Orhan's picture 4

As I refused to climb up Orhan took my camera and he got some cracking pictures of the roof as it stands now. I'm so pleased with these I show you them all. Sorry if you find them boring. Tough. I did go and have a look at the Bulgarian for "scared of heights" and when I took their next coffee up I repeated this. Bekir said he would get the more sturdy ladder and let me up there however it didn't happen today. We shall see
.

Lots of rubbish to burn

Shortly after this it was lunch time and I still had no idea really what to eat but then I decided on the only two items of junk food that I have in my larder; fish fingers and baked beans. This rubbish meal actually did me quite well and I felt better for some more solid food in me. After eating I became quite tired and decided to head to bed for a bit which I did and I read some and slept some but the wind banging the screen door disturbed me so I called Ralf inside and shut it however the moving around had woken me too much to really settle again. I got out of bed feeling quite groggy and made a brew which made up for the half cup I hadn't drunk because I fell asleep.  My burning rubbish had again piled up and overflowed the bucket I use to collect it (I need a bigger one) so I gathered it all together and took it to burn. It did not take long before it was flaming away very nicely.

So very nearly finished with the waterproofing

I snapped some pictures of the men on the roof putting the final bits of the waterproofing on the new section of the roof, finally, and I Stood watching them for a while without being spotted which was nice. Ralf was with me, off the lead, for this and I enjoyed having him trotting with me, then running off to sniff, then coming back again. Rambo had been put in his enclosure by Mahmet who has obviously tired already of his incessant need to be played with and after this I let him out for a run around.

Moving this tree made an impression on me

After a bit more time inside working I thought I had better get out and do something with the chopped down tree. I had left all my tools down there expecting to go straight back to complete the job earlier in the day but been distracted by other things. I spent a bit of time pulling more of the nasty spiky things from all through the wild area on that side of the drive and then finding more and more of them all over the place as I made my way up towards the boys' enclosure. I stopped this after I filled another bucket and went and wrestled the cut down tree (including accidently breaking off a number of limbs which were dead and rotten already. I succeeded, with much puffing and panting, and bruising, to get the huge tree across the drive where I looked at it for a bit; it couldn't stay there as I had to drive through that gate pretty shortly.

Ralf and some neighbours

I dragged it out the road and then looked at it again. I was sure I could haul it up round the corner so I made a good go and there was no way I was shifting it on my own. I retrieved the axe and spent a few minutes swinging it with purpose and before long had broken the large tree into three smaller sections which, with some more effort, I dragged round and deposited next to the tree which the digger machine had pulled up. When I went to collect Ralf and my equipment having moved it all I found that the stray dog which has been hanging around the village was there by the gate and Ralf was staring at him. I unhooked his lead from its peg in the ground and he went to the gate and stared. At that point the chickens came round the corner as well and I loved the shot so snapped it for you. He didn't bark or growl; he just looked.

Healthy chilis

Before heading inside I went to check on the chilis. They are thriving in their new location and I am very grateful to Bekir for advising me. I do see him, a couple of times a day, going and checking on their progress and I think now he feels quite a paternal instinct for them. As we were heading off at the end of the day today he advised me to water them heavily, but only every other day. This is pretty much my habit so it is nice to know that I have been doing it right all these years, Next time I won't plant with a thought for how it looks, but how sheltered the plants can be.

Various tasks being completed at the end of the day

By this time the waterproofing of the new roof was finally completed and the men had moved on to new tasks. Orhan and Mahmet (who had finished on the fence for the day) were sweeping and sorting the stairs and Sally was on the roof taking tiles down. Orhan also was involved in this and then later on Mahmet and Bekir were working together to sort through the piles of tiles under the new roof, and get rid of those which had been saved but were actually no good.

Current state of progress

And then it was time to leave. I had decided that I would not be coming back here to cook this evening but I would go straight to my favourite restaurant from dropping the men off so I gathered together my kindle, phone and camera, went on the bank to take the progress shot and was still ready before the men were to take them. It was nice, while we were driving to their village, to hear Mahmet joining in the chatter; up til then he had been silent in the car.

On the way back I was witness to some absolutely bloody insane driving by several Romanian cars in quick succession. The first one went past me approaching a bend presuming he had seen that no cars were coming but he almost took out a motorcycle coming the other way. As I beeped him to pull in he obviously got flustered and overtook the car in front but this time there was a car coming the other way and I do not know how those three cars fitted on the road together but no one hit each other. Later on the same thing happened not to one more Romanian but two. They are idiots. If they weren't going to hurt someone else I would wish they'd crash and stay off our roads. Insanity.

The wedding car, next to my table

When I arrived just round the corner from where this went on (and still chuntering at the stupidity of people) I found that the carpark was packed and there were cars in the overflow. There was even a coach. I figured straight away it was a wedding and I even found a spot in the normal carpark. The restaurant, despite all the cars, was completely empty but I took a seat outside, ordered a beer and some of my favourite dishes, and spent a very pleasant evening reading my book and eating and drinking while at first I was serenaded by the usual girl with the improbably high shoes who was then violently clashed over by music from the wedding which was loud, and in a different key. Painful.

I finished up and got back while it was still light, letting the boys out and enjoying watching them play together. I then sat down to do this blog but it has taken me ages as I have also had a very enjoyable conversation with my parents and then my Special Guest, who had her last day at work today, rang me. I am pleased at nearly 11.30 local time to finally be getting near the end of typing so I can finish my brew and head to bed soon.