Day of rest, maybe?

Hello there. Today has been my official day of rest but it seems like I've achieved loads which is great. I feel tired right now but it is a satisfied tired so I'm quite pleased; I can feel myself smiling as I sit here.

Yesterday evening I rigged up the sound system again onto A's laptop so we could watch a film. I played my traditional opening music for it (starting with Andrea Bocelli singing "Nessun Dorma" and then followed by dancing with A to Metallica and "Nothing Else Matters") which was really good fun. We ate pizza and wedges while watching Training Day sat on the comfy chairs and it was a lovely evening all in all. We were both quite overwhelmed by the moving pictures and sound (Louise was discombobulated by the whole experience which reminded me that she has never seen a TV before) so after it finished we went and sat on the balcony looking at the stars and just allowing peace back into our heads before sleep.

Enjoying the morning sunshine

It was another warm night, 28 degrees according to my thermometer by the bed, and the fan was going pretty much all night. The sound of it doesn't really stop us sleeping it seems however I suspect it does prevent us reaching deep sleep as once again I woke up feeling very tired and got myself a little lay in after A got up and took the girls. When I did finally wake she was out on the balcony sat with her coffee, a book and the puppies. I joined her for a bit as we once again listened to the birds and enjoyed the steadily increasing heat, even at that time of about 7.30am.

Fruitful pear tree, and a single flower returns

I took a short turn around the balcony to look at the things that are growing well. One of the best things this year is how well the apples and pears are doing around the land, particularly on my favourite tree right next to the balcony. We also found a couple of trees down the front which last year didn't have any fruit on them are this year turning out to be either apples or pears. Another pleasant surprise that we spotted was one of A's blue flowers, which we thought had all died, and another bloom has appeared. Brilliant.

Light switch which works

After setting on the balcony for a while I dragged myself out of the fun sun and went in to do the small amount of work that I had planned for today; I wanted to prove my wiring and the fact that the lights will work it was just a broken light switch. It took all of ten minutes to swap the switch out and prove this which was good. I then decided that I'd put the new light switch in so I could call that job completed. The new switch was almost as annoying as the old, with no screw contacts but a little gap to hook the wires through, but I made the early decision to have a choc-block join to the main wires so I could do this fiddly stuff sat in the good light at the dining table and this worked really well. I pretty quickly connected it all in, turned the power back on, and celebrated as my switch worked. I had to put the switch on the wall sideways so I could take advantage of the wall plugs used by the old switch but that's a feature, not a flaw.

Sassy saying hello

While I was working away at the dining table Sassy was coming to see me at the gate; she has been really friendly really and is settling in around the puppies as well, coming to see them quite often. Thelma still does her huffing sound but this almost seems like a default sound rather than anything aggressive towards Sassy. I can't wait to get it organised so Sassy is more part of the family again.

Chasing along the top bank

Impact!

Wrestling in the dust

Yet more chasing

A kung-fu move, I think?

Top speed

While I was working A was still out on the balcony and she had let Thelma and Louise go downstairs to play outside. They love the dust bowl where the spoil pile used to be and played for a fair old while down there, chasing around. A took her camera with the long zoom and got a raft of excellent pictures of them. I've taken ages picking out these ones here from all the ones she snapped. Brilliant.

Breakfast location perfection

I rejoined A on the balcony after completing the light switch wiring and then after a little while reading we decided it was breakfast time so I made us bacon and egg butties and brought out a brew as well; aren't I a lovely person. The eggs were just lovely, such a rich colour, and tasted amazing. Nothing like enjoying bacon and egg butties sat in the coming-on-to-broiling sun on your balcony. This life is such a struggle.

Huge birds, these storks

As we were sat eating a stork came flying over the valley. At first I thought it would go too far away to get a good shot but then it circled and came back over the land, going behind the pear tree and across the other valley. I have gone off the idea of encouraging one to roost on our land (they are noisy, dirty and smelly) but it's excellent to see them flying so close.

Putting the last on the first load

Not long after we finished breakfast I headed downstairs to start another job on our list. I have no idea why I suddenly decided this should be done but anyway. This was to start collecting all the dead wood from around the land into one place so it can be chopped and start to dry for use in the petchka maybe this winter or next. I got Thomas in on the act as there is a LOT and loaded him up with the wood I had pulled out from around the hugelkultur a few weeks before.

Second load is even more substantial

A came and joined me after a bit and got stuck in helping out which was great; I filled Thomas once, then drove round and unloaded up near where the old trailer is now on the dust bowl. We then loaded the last bits from by the front and I pulled round to just near the front pathway where there was another couple of piles of collected brush. We fit loads and loads in this time, I'd go far as to say I couldn't have got any more in at all, and then drove round and we unloaded. It was really hot so this was our limit for this task today but now we have only one more big pile of pre-collected wood to shift and then it'll be my task to go round the land and extricate more deadfalls.

Beautiful flowers

The excellent plant growth we are seeing around the land is continuing on the porch; here are more blooms just there. We had got out yesterday evening in one of our mid-film breaks to get a watering round down which was good; the water has (touch wood) been a little better recently and we were even able to get a washing load done today, and A got a smidgen of hot water in Room 13 so did some quick washing up as well. In this heat having water is so important for all living things.

Swelling going down on Baker

And so to a little bit of slightly better news; Baker is seeming to be a bit better today. She had eaten from her scattered food over the evening and then A has spent time on a couple of occasions to hand feed her and encourage her to drink more of the water. It certainly seems as if the swelling in her eye has gone down and her character seems much happier and more alert. We will keep her separate as planned until tomorrow and ask Bekir what he thinks; I'm wondering if she may not end up being a house chicken as I'm concerned about her health if she goes back into the flock and they peck her as badly as they did - we actually found exposed bone near her wings where she had been pecked so badly. Anyway, at least she seems to be recovering.

I'm as happy as I look

After finishing the wood-shifting, sorting the chickens and sitting inside at our desks feeling hot, sweaty and dirty I decided I wanted to have some grooming time. I found a beard comb and worked it through my knotted and tangled facial hair. It took some time, and I pulled quite a large amount out in the process, but after a while the comb was running smoothly. I then got the clippers out and took the overgrowth off my head and finally went outside and had the most amazing wash in the oil drum. I think it was helped by the fact that A gave a hand with the jug throwing water over me. Anyway after this I felt so much better and that feeling carried on through the whole day.

This is part of what I did today

The mobile shop came today and A headed over to get old bread from him; we can use this to supplement the bird seed and grit that the ducks and chickens are getting. We had a light lunch of toast with blue cheese, then some cheese, cooked meats and olives and this was just enough for us. A carried on with her day or rest while I carried on refusing to rest. With the early success with the light switch I decided I wanted to get the rest of the lights along the part of the roof the men are working on done for tomorrow so I spent the rest of the afternoon sweating away up a ladder fitting three lights along the rafters. I tried to do it without cutting the earth cable which added some complexity however you don't learn without effort.

WE HAVE LIGHTS!

When I came downstairs, turned the power back on, and then went back and flicked the light switch I was over the moon when all the bulbs lit up and we finally had good light in the roof. I admit to whooping a bit and also dancing around with A in success. Now that we have these lights in it is easier to see where the next bulbs need to go and this may be a task for during the week or next weekend. I was not prepared to stop there however and before finally finishing up to watch the tour I rigged a plug socket in the roof as well. This has meant that there is no longer an extension leading across the landing to the attic. What a great success and while I did work hard my sense of tiredness was suffused with the pleasure of a job well done.

Huge grin while getting fussed

The rest of the day, what was left of it, passed with the Tour de France on, drinking a small amount of beer, then water and juice, and playing with the puppies as they snuggled up to us. Louise has the biggest smile I've ever seen on a dog and she loves to be fussed so much. Thelma is also quite affectionate sometimes and has the longest tongue I've ever seen. If you aren't careful she can strike from a fair distance and make you spit.

Dinner out on the balcony

Dinner was pork chops and together we worked out an accompaniment of thinly sliced potatoes roasted in spices, roast carrots, fried peppers in a local style and the lovely beans done the same way again. We sat on the balcony to eat which was lovely, while the girls dozed on the beanbag behind us waiting for their food.

Now as I draw this update to a close I'm going to go and feed Sassy, help with the watering round, then go back onto the balcony where I want to sit and read and enjoy the peace while the sun goes down and the stars come out and share this with A. Lovely plans, I'll tell you about it tomorrow I'm sure.