Garden gate-gate

Good evening! Today has been quite a lovely day. 

I was questioned last night as to why there were so few sunrises and sunsets and my answer was that they have been a bit rubbish lately. Just to prove me wrong, last nights was pretty impressive with a great glow.

Sunset

This morning was less appealing. I had set my alarm so that I could get up to stream the Mayweather fight but my phone died and I overslept until 6.30. I saw a thick blanket of fog which made that time much less appealing, but I got up anyway and was pleased to see the fight hadn't stated by that point. Quickly out to let Rambo out and the fog pushed me back through the front door to my coffee.

Misty start

I watched a pretty bad stream for the fight which kept freezing, so I just didn't really enjoy it. The Mr had been up all night at his friends watching the whole show while I was snuggled up in bed. He's supposed to be the clever antisocial one!

I had wanted to check the garage to make sure that my bird proofing had worked and that I hadn't wasted my time yesterday, so I headed down to have a look. I found THIS! HOW? I was raging and grabbed the broom, opened the door and proceeded to chase it around the three rooms to try and get it out. It was like a Benny Hill sketch, all that was missing was the music.

HOW?

Suddenly, it took a diversion and flew straight through the hatch between the garage and what will be the kitchen and by the time I got down the corridor, it had disappeared. My first thought was that it had gone out the door and out into the rest of the house. I sighed and swore and huffed and puffed, but on my way through the kitchen and spotted the portal to the outside world. How I have never seen this before I do not know, I spend all the time cutting wood up for the fire in this room.

That is how!

 I soon rectified that!

Not any more, Sunshine.

 And also doubled up on the outside. I have a new found love for our staple gun!

Nor here

With that done I was feeling hungry and I was spending some time with Rambo and gave him a bit of exercise, as well as myself and then headed off up to the School to get some food. I had only just got to the top of the stairs when I heard my names being shouted from the gate. Little lady had obviously heard my stomach rumbling and she was stood by the gate with three triangles of eggy bread. I do love this and she knows it. She also asked if I would like some milk, but with the Mr not here I would hate for it to go to waste, so I told her no thanks.

I gobbled up the yummy bread and set to the next task. Yesterday I had cut the framework for the new garden gate and drilled out some holes in preparation for treating the wood and off I went to make a start. After spending quite a while trying to find the treatment, the only one I could find was the one the men had uses on the eaves of the roof. A dark gate would be perfect.

Treating the frame

It was very warm today and so I tried not to stay out too long at any one time, but I enjoyed the smell of the treatment. I have always been partial to all the smells I shouldn't be. Permanent markers and nail polish being my favourites - hah. Here is the gate frame in progress.

Result

I realised as I finished the last of the shorter parts of the frame that it hadn't rained very much recently and I took myself off to water the silver birch trees and the flower seeds I planted the other day up on the top bank. The trees are really doing well.

Silver birch

I also spotted a jumping critter. Grasshopper presumably.

Critter

I sat on the swinging chair reading for a little while while the frame dried off in the sun and threw Rambo's Kong which he kept dropping on my legs, full of slobbers. He is very kind.

Drying off

I am not very good at the whole relaxing thing and soon got bored. All I can think of at the moment is how much work needs to be done here in preparation for the puppies arriving. I recruited Rambo to help me clear the path to the front gate. The oak tree had suffered a few branch breaks over winter and Bekir had kindly chainsawed it all up for me but I hadn't got round to picking all of it up. Rambo was a big help. With his love of sticks (and branches) I passed the branches up to the top of the steps where he was and he dragged them to the patio. What a clever dog!

Unpaid helper

I had meant to get a picture of this the other day and when I spotted it again I grabbed the camera. Some of the spiders here live in holes. There are lots and lots of them all over the land, even in my vegetable beds. This one was unusually large, which is why I noticed it initially. I stood very still above the hole and tried not to shudder until after I took the photo. The hole is about 2-3cms diameter, so that means this beast is huge!

Spider in a hole

I decided that Rambo was enjoying my company too much to leave him alone and I wanted to go to the terrace for a sit down as there is always a bit of a breeze up there. I poured myself a beer and grabbed my phone and went up to set the rocking chair up. I then went down, grabbed a bowl of water and had to coax Rambo inside. He is not allowed inside and he knows it, but I think we can stretch to having him up on the roof every once in a while, he loves it up there and just stares over the wall at the views and who can blame him?

Happy place

Other side

I took him down a short while later as it was so warm and he was struggling with nowhere to shade. This was not before he had a wee against the chimney and pee'd on a flying beetle who then could not fly! Honestly!

Having been in the sun most of the day and possibly the beer on the terrace, I was feeling very sleepy and decided to have a half an hour nap. It was much needed indeed and I awoke feeling much better. I got another burst of energy and thought that if I cut the planks to go onto the gate and treated them today then tomorrow I can screw it all together ready for hinges and latch to be fitted, so I did it!

Panels

Whilst treating away which was hot work, I spotted the first of the flags to blossom. What an amazingly beautiful plant. There are hundreds of these all over the bottom area of the land.

Beautiful flags

Just so that you do not think I am paying someone to do all of this stuff for me, proof that I do actually work sometimes. The task was getting tiresome by this stage and it was still very hot. I actually very nearly stopped and left it for tomorrow. I quite often get this feeling when I have started a task and want to just leave it.

Proof I do work sometimes

Maybe I am lazy, or perhaps that is just the wrong word; it is like I just lose interest when something takes longer than I envisaged. Luckily, I also have stubbornness as a trait and I stuck at it and  finally it was done!

And done!

It was very late in the day for me by this stage and way past Rambo's evening feeding time, so he gobbled up his chow, I sat on the chair waiting for him and then I came up here to do this. So many photos today, so apologies for the long drawn out ramblings.

This was my day. The moon is bright in the sky straight in front of me and I have just eaten the rest of my curry. Now, it is snooker time. The final.

Leka nosht!

A x