This place is going to the dogs

Once again I was woken in the night by heavy rain and it kept me awake for a fair while. I always used to find rain helped me to sleep (a legacy from when I used to camp and the drops would drum on the tent outer and I would sleep listening to it) but now, now that I really don't want rain (I think my hay is ruined, frankly) it just keeps me awake so much.

Sunshine and the wet balcony

I woke up dead on 7 with no alarm call and got out of bed pretty much immediately. The day was still overcast however the sun was burning through and by the time I had my brew it was actually shining. Brilliant. I popped out onto the balcony and the sunshine glinting on the rain water from over night was so pretty I took a few attempts to get the perfect picture. Rambo had come out to the gate but Rocky wasn't to be seen at this stage.

Good morning Ralf (yes, Ralf... keep reading)

I went down to feed the boys after this. Obviously as the first day with Rocky, I have a challenge ahead to work out how to feed them. Rambo is very bouncy and hungry and I would hate them to fight over food. This morning, as I had the new bowl out, I filled it first and took it over with me, then grabbed Rambo's and took him with me while I left food for Rocky. I shut the gate and then came inside for 15 or 20 minutes to give time for that to be eaten before I went out with Rambo's food. When I put it down I saw that the meat had been eaten, but he had left the pellets. Not good.

Rambo coming back with his Kong

Another not great thing was the fact that, when I went over Rocky came to the door and then Rambo ran past and Rocky growled at him; I'm pretty sure this was because of being stood on but yeah; it put me into a concerned frame of mind for a fair while. While Rocky was eating I played kong with Rambo, then went inside and finished my brew and waited for waking up time in the UK. Rambo had his feed pretty efficiently and he didn't try and eat Rocky's (though obviously most was gone) but it was pretty gratifying to see that maybe this can be smoother than I was worried.

Grey skies from a different angle to usual

After breakfast I was so worried about how they were together, after the slight growl, that I stayed outside waiting for T to arrive, and sat watching them. After a while the rain started again and it was quite nasty however I was still walking around with them, just in my shorts, as it was still warm. They were OK together though Rambo was way too enthusiastic still and kept running over him and scaring him. I snapped a picture of the overcast from an unusual angle cos I thought you may enjoy it.

Eating his leftovers

While I was watching them, and waiting for T to arrive (he was a bit late today, but more of that later) Rocky went back into the compound and he was obviously hungry because he went to the pellets that he had scattered to get to the meat, and ate them all up off the floor. Now I was glad that Rambo hadn't hoovered these up as I want Rocky to get used to feeding on this kind of thing; the meat is way too expensive to have as a single feeding option even though he gets so little of it.

It's a puppy

Eventually (after the rain stopped but not before I had been eaten quite badly my mosquitoes that were gathered under the tea trees) I heard Lucy coming up the land and then there was T however he was not alone. The reason he was late this morning was, I soon learned, that he had nearly run a puppy down on the road and when he went back to check on the mite, had found a tiny baby girl dog which he couldn't leave there. So he brought her with. We decided to put her in the garden enclosure and he had been to a shop to get milk so she could feed and she was pretty happy in there for the time being, snacking, crying and sleeping.

On his bed

While I was watching the boys I had been inside their house and sat on the back shelf and he had slept next to me on the bed I made for him, and the swallows that have a nest in their had brought a mosquito, still making it's high pitched whining right up until it was fed down the chick's neck. I didn't have my camera sadly so, after T had arrived, I went and got the camera, the long lens, and went and sat patiently waiting for the birds to come in and feed. While I did this Rambo was around for a bit but he got bored of me sitting still so Rocky got to just fall asleep next to me again.

Mid-feed

After a fair few false starts, when the sound of the motor in the camera disturbed them mid feed and then it took a fair while for them to trust and come back in, I managed to get one shot of the feeding process going on. This time there was no mosquito whine so I don't know what it was, however the baby seemed happy enough. It is interesting that this nest is so far behind the others inside the house where they have flown the nest already.

Proud, and protective, parents

While the parents were flying in and out and in and out and I was sitting waiting so patiently I kept the camera on and the flash turned off as the flash definitely disturbed them. A couple of times they flew in and rested on one of the window frames and I was able to snap them sat there. I really like this picture, and the brightness which indicates that by this time the rain had passed and the sun had burned through.

After this we noticed that Usmivka was in and, dancing around his feet was the puppy. It was worked out that the puppy had managed to squeeze under the gate and then had run up to Usmivka who had, I discovered, been up to Room 13 and dropped off a couple of pancakes. He told me they had guests from Turkey and I thanked him for the pancakes, and then took him down to meet Rocky. He was charmed. The gate was reinforced with many stones after this.

I was trying to work and getting things done however a bit later I heard a hello from outside that was the Little Lady and, after putting Rambo away, I found out that her guests wanted to come over. After ten minutes or so and no sign I went and let Rambo out again however shortly after she appeared with them so he was put in his compound again and I met the three ladies. It turned out that these ladies used to teach at the school and they went round the whole place, one of them getting quite emotional and teary at times. It turns out she was the librarian and she was most sad to see that the library is now a few water-damaged books. I really did want to try and explain that I aim to retain a link to the past but my Bulgarian, and their English, was not good enough. I just have to hope they'll come back in a few years and see what I have done. Before they left the four of them (the Little Lady and her guests) stood for ages pulling leaves and flowers off my tea trees to use in a cuppa later. They are shameless, really.

She is only quiet when she is asleep

After they left I had an unexpected telephone conference with work and then I was saddled with the puppy as a hawk had flown down into the garden and T was worried it would come back (though it was chased off by a large number of sparrows this time). She slept for a bit but then woke up and the only way I could get her quiet was to hold her and she just fell asleep laid on me. Now I'm a soft touch and love animals however this little one is a little irritating for me as she squeaked and howled for attention whenever she decided it was time.

Huge pile of wood to sort through

Because of the rain first thing T went up into the attic again first thing and worked away really hard (as always) carrying the wood downstairs. He found a few cool things, including a weather vane which I want to put on top of the boys' house, and also got so much stuff into the store room I really will need to go through it soon and put it into longer term storage outside.

Doing a burn

He got to a stage where there wasn't any more large pieces of wood (that weren't integral to the roof staying up) and so pulled a few wheelbarrows of burnable waste out to the fire pit. This was set on fire and burned through the afternoon and I decided that I'd take advantage of this by getting rid of all the kitchen waste that I had built up. With the heat in the fire my stuff burnt off really quickly and that is now gone. There is loads more to burn but it is getting cleared slowly.

Getting on with the fence

After putting my stuff on to burn I went to see what T was up to. He had moved outside and was building the forms for the next sections to be concreted. His progress really is brilliant and I am so pleased. Later on he drove Thomas up there with a load of sand in the back so he could be more efficient with his concrete making and it is this kind of thinking that I appreciate so much.

I returned to work and was irritated and amused in about equal measure by the puppy crying for attention. This video I shot to show just how high pitched she is, but very soon after I picked her up and she fell asleep again on my lap. After I spotted what I thought was a flea I put her back in the box and then, as she wouldn't shut up, I took her for a feed and then left her in the garden again until T went. She did scream and cry in there but I couldn't hear her as much.

First set of scything

The sun was now firmly out and I decided, on a whim, to get out and do some more scything. My plan was to get as close to the path as I could along the front under the trees. I took the tripod and set the camera so I could get my now traditional before and after shot and, by the time I decided that I was gasping for a brew too much to keep going, I got well over half way across. How brilliant. Usmivka came past at one point and hopped over the fence to give me a quick pointer on my technique but I don't think I'm doing too badly and he was that critical; it was just a slightly longer stroke but seemed to me it left some uncut grass behind; what do I know.

All the way to the path done

After my brew (and a very welcome telephone conversation) I went back out to finish my job and I got the target completed; right the way through to the path is now cut. Usmivka and the Little Lady were moving hay from one of their fields in HUGE (and I mean huge) piles of hay that they were carrying in tarpaulins over their backs. They stopped to watch and cheer me on as I got to the end of the job and I didn't detect that much irony in their comments. I think they are glad that I am giving it a go.

Another awesome spider

What is this?

While I was doing the scything there were a couple of interesting things, pictures above. First of all was a largish spider that went scooting up the wall by the humanure and then disappeared; another of the same type was on the handle of the scythe once when I put it down to move some rocks that were in the way. The second picture is an interesting looking plant (anyone know what it is?) that is under the tea trees.

Jesus getting some lunch

And so I returned to Room 13 and my evening has involved much struggle writing this blog, changing the name of Rocky to Ralf (and that is that; I'm not changing it again), playing with Ralf, watching Jesus eat lettuce, making a lovely pasta dish with a load of leftovers (I have a pot of it for lunch tomorrow too) and cursing as another storm has blown over with HUGE rumbles of thunder (lasting well over a minute each) and it is raining AGAIN. What is going on with the weather this year?!

Tomorrow I will be down to town to order the windows, and get some more cement for T. I hope as well to get more scything done (if the weather can improve again) and also to play with the boys and get them comfortable with each other.

Rocky arrives

Well that was a long and fun day and I have just sat down having eaten half of the stew I pulled out of the freezer this morning for dinner, washed down with half of the beer I just poured, and I reckon it is time to crack on with writing this blog.

Hazy but bright start to the day

My alarm was set for 6am this morning as I decided last night I was going to spread my hay out to stop it rotting in a huge pile, and allow me to turn it easily while I await better weather which I have been promised is round the corner. Unfortunately I woke up in the night to torrential rain and so when the alarm went off I hit snooze many times. Eventually I got myself out of bed and made a cup of tea then fed Rambo and then I had a shower. The weather was pretty nice this morning, with some clouds but they were high and the sun was just poking through.

Spreading the hay to dry. Again.

I sat down and drank my tea then realised that I would have time to do some of the hay still so I set to and for half an hour I carried and spread the hay in long thin lines over the scythed area. I was filthy by the end because it was falling all over me so I had to go and have another shower however I was pleased to have made a start and decided to ask T to finish the job first thing. In case you are wondering why I didn't put this into a hay stack straight away, quite a lot was still green so I was waiting for the to dry for a couple of days first.

The cheren put will be a cheren no more, soon

Not long after I stopped and had my shower T arrived while I was chugging another cup of tea so I collected my stuff, finished off the conversation I was having, and headed out. I snapped a picture of the road right at the top near the corner for my village as it is taking shape every day; they have done loads today and the grader was still at it when I came back up, pushing the road stone around to make a base. It'll be interesting the day they put the asphalt down; I'll have to drive up and out and down through the next village.

A stork's nest on top of a steeple

As you will know the purpose of my journey today was to meet up with Ken (who brought Rambo) and collect Rocky (who was a rescue they were looking to home and who matched my requirements for a friend for Rambo perfectly). The journey over was easy with no excitement at all however I did remember to keep an eye out for the church with the storks' nest on it and, as I drove into a village, I recognised it and so was able to stop in the bus stop just opposite and grab a picture. I had forgotten my long lens this trip so this was just with the stock lens. Next time I go past I'll remember the zoom and also I'll go a little further as when you look from the other side it is a better picture. No matter, at least I remembered.

Me and Rocky, first meeting

I arrived at Kaufland with plenty of time to spare and did a trip round grabbing a collar for Rocky, some more dog food, rabbit food and some rugs (an extra one to go on the sofa was included) and then I went for a coffee and then I waited by Lucy. It wasn't long before I saw Ken drive past and then there was Rocky and his collar fitted (on the smallest setting as he is TINY) and he was in my arms and shivering. This must be a very unusual time for him however I hope he can be happy in his new home. I put his lead on (his first time on a lead, apparently) and walked him to Lucy. He was a bit flighty but followed mostly and then was easy to help into the back.

Chaz had turned up while we were standing talking so we went into Kaufland for a coffee so I could send the pic of me with Rocky on and when we got back he was ok, but a bit unhappy at being left. We scooted round the corner to the normal cafe and this time sat outside so Rocky could be with us, on his lead. He was very well behaved, but yapped at a couple of dogs that ran past, and knocked the bowl of water I got for him from the waitress over after drinking a very small amount indeed. Lunch was a lovely stew but the flies were out in force and we left after a short while, me to get back on the road and he to get back to work.

He has a huge and ready smile

The journey back was even easier, if anything, though I did stop after a while to shut the back windows and check on him however he was very happy and didn't seem bothered by the travelling at all. Every time I stopped he popped up to look out of the window and I spoke to him on and off all the way. I got home and T had put Rambo in his enclosure so, for the first attempt at introduction, I got Rocky on his lead and led him to the fence. Rambo went nuts, bouncing and barking and wagging his tail but there was no way to really get them to sniff each other. The idea to video the introduction went out of the window at this point. I went into the enclosure, got Rambo on his short lead, and then we tried again, with T holding Rocky. Rambo was just so hyper excited (but in a good way) that it was very difficult to really let them near each other as he was scaring Rocky without meaning to.

Chasing around together

Eventually I managed to calm him down and we walked them together, still on the leads, for a bit while they both got used to each other then I carefully let Rambo off his lead and he started sniffing at Rocky and then was much calmer again. Rocky then was let off and they were running around together really quickly, though Rambo does forget his size and kept almost treading on Rocky.

I brought Rocky upstairs briefly to introduce him on skype and then went down and put both him and Rambo into the enclosure. There were a few reasons for this. First of all, Rocky had been very reluctant to go into the enclosure before, probably because it smells so strongly of Rambo, and I wanted him to get comfortable in there, both of them together. Also, T was heading off as it was the end of the working day and I felt it was a good time to get them really used to each other. Finally I'm not totally confident that the gate, and fence, is secure enough for Rocky while no one is watching him so I didn't want to leave him out alone. He has been down to the gate a few times and sniffed around already and not tried anything however later on the livestock will be going past and that could be a greater temptation.

Brick work for internal window

One thing that got done while I was away was the brickworking. I asked T to save some of the last mix so I could get it done and he smiled and followed me inside and stood staring down the corridor until I noticed. This means that I can get to the window place tomorrow and get them to come and fit that inside window, and maybe the window and door by the back as well I think. Progress all round.

Sofa covered with a blue rug

As I said earlier I bought an extra rug to use as a throw on the sofa. This is the most boring paragraph I've had in my blog yet I think. Anyway. Moving on....

Clouds with the sun lining them

Just as T had left a storm blew in and a few rumbles of thunder and some torrential rain later (standard at the moment, though hopefully this will change soon) and then the storm carried on and I have been left with what is actually quite a lovely evening. After leaving the boys in the compound together for an hour or so I went onto the balcony to see what they were up to and could see neither of them. The clouds behind my house were stunning however so I snapped a few pictures before going down to sneak up on the compound.

Rocky and Rambo together in their house

I actually snuck twice, the second time to get a picture of the hay spread out (see below) but both times I was successful in catching them inside the house and it is clear that they are very happy together. I'm sure I even saw that Rambo was laid down and Rocky was sat or laid next to him, the second time I went past.. Obviously pointing a camera at Rambo results in him running around and moving so imagine what this looked like a split second before when they were both stood looking at me calmly.

Hay now hopefully will dry

I did get the picture of the hay spread around in long sausages all over the scything part of the grass. Apparently it took him an hour and a half to finish this off this morning as the lower in the pile he got, the more compacted it got and there was just loads and loads to move. I will now be turning this in the morning (not a small task in itself) and hoping that the weather comes along that will dry it and allow me to store it.

So to tomorrow; the first challenge will be to feed Rambo and Rocky without one or other of them getting jealous and stealing the other's food. This could be fun. I then have to make sure that front gate cannot be escaped through by a tiny little animal chasing dog and finally I will want to get down to the window people, leaving T with them both, and hope chaos does not ensue. Finger crossed.