Burn baby, burn!

Easter Sunday arrived all too early and I rolled back over as it was still dark outside for a second sleep. I didn't even bother looking at the time.  I awoke at around 8am which is perfect for a day off without workers and a particular plan. I struggled this morning with getting my eyes to work and also my brain to function and so it was straight for the coffee and to feed the animals. A second coffee was required almost immediately and I still couldn't motivate myself to move further than the fridge. It was going to be one of those days!

Having messed around on the internet for a little while and also tidying up in Room 13 for the potential soup making activity I had planned for today, I drank a lot more coffee and finally woke up enough to begin.  I had already lit the petchka as it was particularly nippy this morning. So I set to chopping the required vegetables for my potato and leek soup. Garlic and onions were also added. I am quite pleased with doing this today as it was the first meal I have made from scratch only on the petchka. Anything I have done previously has merely been reheated.

Potato and leek

Although I have had no sightings of any rats or any signs of them being around, I am still being vigilant about the traces of food lying around or in bins and so I was soon off up to the burning pit with the waste.  I need to keep on top of it as much as possible.

Burning waste

Do you see in the shot there is wood piled up on the grass? Well this has annoyed me since the snow melted and I was able to see it so, against the "take it easy plan" in my head for today I started to carry it all up to the site of the bonfire. Rambo did come up with me a couple of times but got bored of repeating his steps so cleared off to the porch again.

Before the fire

I had not planned to light the bonfire today as like I said, I was planning an easy day of cooking and pottering around inside as the weather was not great. I got coerced into setting fire to it by the Mr back home. So it is his fault it smoked out half the village.

Schmokin'

There were clothes, boxes, polystyrene, sleeping bags, leather jackets and all sorts of stuff amongst the fire so I am not quite sure what was causing the black smoke but there was a fair amount and as the wind was quite gusty I had also brought with me some water so that should anything spread outside the ring of fire (that just happened, sorry) that I was ready to stop it.

Precautions

Soon enough it was going strong.  It actually worried me slightly that the thing that actually took light very easily were the two sleeping bags.  A mere flash of the gas cooker lighter in their direction and off it went. So flammable and most likely very dangerous.

Blazing

I stood watching it for quite a long tome and the sound of the cracking was, in my mind, unusually loud. I am not quite sure if it was the window frames crackling and popping or what it was but if you listen beyond the sound of the wind you will hear for yourself.  Fire fascinates me in how it moves and spreads.

And so, today was mainly about fire and food.  I took the rest of the afternoon off to eat some soup and then some more, watch some Allo Allo and generally take it easy.  The fire has been lit all day for the cooking exercise and it is toasty in here now.  Here is the rats nest wood from the attic that I am burning.  Urgh, but a girl has to keep warm.

Wood

So I have just been dragged from the comfort and heat of Room 13 to check what Rambo has been barking at.  He has been unusually vocal today and I have had to tell him off a few times, but this evening he has not been chasing the village livestock and has been down towards his enclosure barking a lot.  I walked down to where he was and he was very excited and bouncing around.  I stood for a while and watched him and he seemed to be sniffing at the grass all around the coal house and edge of the green buildings and that is when I heard the little buggers.  RATS.  Scratching around inside the green building.  I could hear them scuttling around, so they have obviously dispersed (hopefully) from inside the main building and set up home in there.  We'll see about that.  I plan to redeploy the poison and put it down in there.  Of course, that means actually going in there, so I will see how brave I feel tomorrow when it isn't dark!

Leka nosht!

A xx