Baba Marta Pause

I ended the last update expecting to be back the next day however unfortunately the men couldn't come that day, which was a lovely sunny day and perfect for working outside, and then Baba Marta did her thing and dumped a load of snow and only today have the men popped back to fix a problem, and complete some of the garden work. So, here I am with a MONSTER of an update, and quite a lot has actually happened, so go get a cuppa and then come back. I'll wait....

Sunrise is always a lovely time of day

Having a snack sat with me on the lawn

Up on the little bench on the top bank

This Bobcat has had its cage cut off

Rosie loved this shopping trolley

Sat on the ride on mower

Lawn fun time with the puppies

Out for dinner in the evening

Right. Thinking back it was a lovely weekend with glorious weather and we had a great time. There was lots of time outside with Rosie, picnics on the lawn and playing with the puppies on the lawn and the back bank. On Saturday we went for a Daddy Day Out to look at mini diggers (there were none at all even worth looking at, though this Bobcat with it's safety cage ground off did give me a chuckle) and then on to a hardware shop with the best trolly EVER and finally to the Husqvarna shop to see the ride on mower I was thinking of buying. Rosie sat on it for a bit but got a bit scared when the engine was turned on. We had another picnic on Sunday and then went out for dinner in the evening to a lovely restaurant. It was very awesome indeed.

Just a bit of snow fell in the night

The cranes for laying pipes

Angela and Rosie with Sammy

Beautiful blue sky

Rosie makes snow angels

Lovely view from the roof terrace

Icicles on the chair

The next day was a study in contrast. It had started snowing a little bit early in the evening and we woke up to a true dump of snow. It was Rosie's photograph day at school so I cleaned Thomas off and headed down with her but I was not able to get back onto the land because the corner by the gate was just too slippy. I very nearly got stuck but managed to reverse back up the track and just left Thomas at the top of the village. When Rosie got back from school of course we were straight outside and all three of us made another Sammy, this one with sculpted arms rather than sticks. It was such fun and Rosie was loving it, making snow angels while I enjoyed the crispness and the view. It was very cold, though, with some impressive icicles around.

Rosie stacking blocks into a tower

Still some snow around but it's melting fast

Putting air in the tyres to head to get pregletted

Rosie with Sammy's remains

We were given a cool hat

Meet Mo, the Mower

And then there was more snow

Rosie with her tower of cups

The following week was busy for me and I didn't get all that many pictures however Rosie had fun with building blocks and also running around in the melting snow. On Friday I took the trailer to get its preglet which it passed with no problems and that was a relief as, the snow having melted (and Sammy with it, sadly) Rosie and I headed back to the Husqvarna shop and bought the ride on mower! I think his name is Mo. Sadly a kid had turned the ignition on and flattened the battery and they hadn't realised until that morning so we had to wait while the person on a battery-buying-mission returned however when he did it was without a battery. They gave me a substantial discount and after a bit of fun driving it around (Rosie was SO good this whole time, and even jumped on my knee to ride along at one point) I loaded him into the trailer and we headed home. The next day it snowed again. Baba Marta was NOT letting go! Rosie also built more towers. She's getting so good at these!

Rosie playing Buckaroo

Very cold one morning

Xena looking out the window in Room 13

Lots of fun on the balcony

A beautiful colour sky

A small snow fall again

Rosie kicking the ball around

More football on the patio this time

And still we are talking about the time between the workmen being here. Angela bought Rosie Buckaroo (or at least she CLAIMED it was for Rosie but I'm not so sure) and we have had a lot of fun playing that. I'm rubbish at it. The weather has continued to be changeable with some very cold snaps and then even some more snow. We've had fun on the trampoline on the balcony, I marvelled at such a beautiful orange sunrise that I had to photograph to show Rosie as she loves sunrises and orange. We've also recently been able to get outside after school to play, kicking a ball around on the back bank and then I picked up a "real" football and we played for ages on the patio. Such fun!

A bucket on a string down into the sump

Bekir and Halil survey the mess

Cleaning the walls with a dog food tin on a stick

New cover takes shape

This will be much longer lasting

The new drainage channel

The exit is well protected now

A handle so I can lift it; they thought of everything!

And so to today. This actually begins a couple of days ago as I had to trim a branch off a tree that got broken in the heavy snowfall and when I dragged it over to the wood pile in the far section of the chicken house I got a shock as I saw standing water by where the sump was. A quick inspection revealed that the metal lid had completed rusted and rotted through and there was no cover on the sump any more. This, in turn, had allowed a load of dead leaves, grass and other stuff to fall into the sump and now the pump was not running and the water was backed up and filling the container right to the top. I spent the last two days after work with a bucket on a string removing the water and getting it as clean as I could and also I dragged the not-working pump out of the way and went and bought a new one. Today Bekir and Halil were back to have a look at this and they have done an excellent job today. First of all they finished up the clean-up job (Bekir is using an old dog food tin nailed to a bit of wood as a scraper) and they got all the dirt and other stuff out so the sump is nearly pristine. Then the new pump went in and was situated before they built an awesome new lid, a big high wooden structure that I can lift out of the way, and which won't have grass growing over the top of it no matter what happens. They also found where the end of the pipe that the pump exhausts through and built a little retaining stone pile and a trench so now it won't get buried again. Superb. I'm so pleased!

Sifting the soil before making use of it

Digging out for the tyres

Thelma and Louise check out the new tyres

With that task done they turned to shifting the soil that Angela wanted up against the far fence which the completed quickly and then finally they dug out and moved the tyres from the side of the raised beds to now either side of the ramp. They look really good there! It was so good to have them back for the day but now they'll be taking another holiday before the building season restarts some time in April I hope. We have a chicken enclosure to build, and a bunch more other things need doing besides.

That's not all - I got Mo working today and took him for a drive onto the top bank to test him out. He cut really well but I think needs some more fuel and oil before we try him again. It's going to rain all the rest of the week anyway however the best thing was Angela drove him down and I got a video and it is linked above!

Well as expected that was an epic update. I have no idea when the next one will come so watch this space and thanks for reading.