Men done again

That was a really good quick visit from the men, getting lots done in three days, and now they're away again and they may not be back for the rest of this year!

Stork flying past

I'll open up this update with a picture I meant to include two days ago but forgot. I was mowing the lawn when I heard a strange sound and saw that a stork was sitting on the power pole just on the lane. I got a few pictures before it flew off and just managed to catch that as well. Rosie was very impressed as she loves nature.

The big dope got stuck

Getting ready to fit this as a gate

So many poppies, such a beautiful sight

Loads of bees around the poppies

And so to today. First thing this morning, just as we were waking up, Dutch got himself stuck inside the Green Building. He eventually managed to jump out the window again but we were laughing at him. The men were in on time and their first task was finishing the final stretch of fence and putting a gate. They made use of a section of Sassy's run to make the gate - perfect as this is really a stop-gap measure and we'll put proper fencing up soon. I got some lovely pictures of the poppies in the fenced garden as well; these will need digging out as we have onions in there somewhere!

Halil and Bekir hefting this heavy unit

Trying to put a neat hole through...

... but that didn't work so the chisel was brought out

Cutting mesh to put over the hole

The failed attempt on the left, and ventilation is in

Sealing the gap under the door frame

With that task completed I asked them to help me move two of the units out of the Games Room as I'm buying new ones to replace them. These are very heavy but we got one into the corridor and one into the roof space. They then moved on to putting in ventilation for the under stairs storage. Halil had an idea to get a really nice drill to make the hole look nice however once they got that back they found that the stairs are full of rebar so they fell back to using a chisel and smashing their way through. By the end of they had a good sized gap, with some mesh over it, and I think I'm happy now that we won't get damp and smelly in there. I was about to let them head off when I remembered the gap under the middle door by the glass room and so for the last half hour they quickly mixed some cement and filled that in. What a great success and many tasks completed that we didn't think would get done this year.

So there it is. I don't know when I'll be back next, though Rosie was just very excited to tell me she thinks the ducks are going to have babies so maybe if that happens it'll prompt an update. Thanks for reading, back whenever.

Fence nearly done

The men were back in today working despite the rain and got lots done. They almost finished but I decided to ask them to do the only other task we have for them so they'll be in to do that tomorrow now.

Fencing work

More fencing work

A good looking run of fence

Offering up the gate

Welding more frames

Clever little catch

Final run of fence work

Dutch stuck outside our garden

First off they completed attaching all the chain link to the first stretch of posts they had put up yesterday then headed down to the shop to pick up some more metal as they had to make four gates and I'd only told them about three. Most of the day was spent constructing these gates and they did a great job on all of them. Welding and bending and hammering and drilling. The little catches they made for the gates are genius indeed. With this done they went round the corner and I think would have stayed late to complete it if I didn't have the extra job for them tomorrow. After school we showed Rosie what had been done and Dutch was outraged to not be able to get in and then when the men left Xena was totally outraged that she can no longer run down to the front corner to bark. So funny!

Rosie swinging after school

I'll leave you with a picture of Rosie on her swing after school - she's loving it!

So there it is; thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

A lovely visit from Grandma, and the men are back briefly

Wow this is going to be a long update, and I've not got much time free to type so I'm going to have to get stuck in to it without preamble. Let's get to it! I'll try and break it into sections I think.

The transplanted Oak is going great guns

So much weeding to be done

Lovely orchids

Here's a tortoise

Thistles out the back bank

Yet more weeding done

Rowan trees by Grandma's bench

A new Silver Birch to replace this one that died

Loads of stuff pulled from the raised beds

Space for tomatoes

Mowed again

First of all some of the progress made in the garden. I've continued trying to clear and sort the invasive tree problem we've got in the wild area to the right of the driveway but rain and overwork keeps getting in my way. I did get out enough to do a load of weeding before my Mum arrived so we she wasn't looking at the garden and feeling like she had to get out and weed - it was pretty satisfying actually to get on top of it again. I've also mowed the grass a couple of times, and this time I avoided cutting down the lovely orchids (which are spreading - there are SO many up there right now!) and we also go to see some tortoises though they have largely hidden again with the cold weather we've been experiencing. I got to dig out a load of thistles from the back bank one day while Rosie was playing out there, so that was also satisfying. When I collected my mum from the airport I filled the back of Maisie up with trees including a few more Silver Birch, some Rowans and a decorative Japanese Cherry. All these trees are now planted and settling in well. When Angela came back she attacked the raised beds and cleared them all out and I went into the fenced garden and cleared a patch for us to put our spare tomato plants. Dutch has been digging up loads of our newly planted stuff from the raised bed (which is partially why the men are back briefly) so that was quite frustrating. It's been a very very busy time for me but I've been in the garden enough to feel satisfied.

Camping again! WAHOO

Eating a doughnut on the rocking chair

Sun worshippers

Rosie with her awesome collection

Very happy sat on Grandma's Bench

Trampoline fun with Grandma

What a wonderful birthday!

Out out for my birthday

Small sandcastle, and kisses from Xe

Another family meal out

BBQ time of year (briefly)

On top of that I got the big tent put up for me and Rosie to camp in while Angela was away. It was fun, but not the most successful of experiments, as the puppies would not settle. I had to go back inside for a little until they were ready for bed but Rosie stayed outside and slept without any trouble! We did have a nice time on our own with the weather being glorious (far warmer than it is now) and we were able to play outside lots. I collected Grandma while Rosie was at school and it was such a lovely time to have her here. Rosie particularly enjoyed doing lots of fun things with Grandma including baking me a birthday cake which was awesome! We went out that night for my birthday to a lovely restaurant as Rosie wore a new dress I bought her for the occasion. When Angela got back we all went out again to the new restaurant which is rapidly becoming a favourite and we've even managed to get a BBQ done already this year!

Setting anchors in for the swing

Very secure now

Rosie straight on the swing when she got home

Cutting the grass the traditional way

Digging post holes

Fence posts in place

The mesh fence is started as well

There's probably more I could pull out but I'm exhausted and have loads of other stuff to do so let's get to today. As I've mentioned Dutch has been digging in our garden and destroying so much stuff (the tomatoes and strawberries have really suffered because of him) so we asked the men to come and put a fence across to stop any of the dogs getting into that part of the garden. On top of that I bought a swing set for Rosie that needs to be tied down to the patio and they could do that quickly. The first thing they did today was the swing, drilling and bolting it down and this was done pretty quickly in the end and it is perfect. With that done they started on the fence. First of all some of the grass I hadn't got to (because it rained) was removed with the scythe and then they got old wood from our roof and dug holes and set them in. It will be good for a year or two, which is all we need for now. We even had a chunk of old mesh fence we could reuse. By the end of the day they had run all the poles from the front to the house and put some of the mesh up. This may take another couple of days, with the gates that we need, but it won't be a long job for them.

I had a lovely walk after school with Rosie up to the headland  but I'll leave you with a couple of videos. First of all an epic storm and secondly video of the nightingales that have been singing every night for a while now.

Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow.

Toilet done, men away for a while

The men were back in today, for the final day of working with us for a couple of months, but first of all let's go through the weekend.

Camping time with Roo

A quality early morning sky

Setting the stones under the bench

Old bench and new

Rosie on the swings

A party display at the park

Picnic in the garden

Friday night was awesome as I pitched the tent and me and Rosie camped the night. She just loves camping, and slept really well. I was up super early, as usual, and went out to do the final tasks on the bench which involved bringing up stones and spreading them, and shifting the big pile of spoil left over from digging out the footing. It looks great and Rosie has been sitting up there loads. She really likes the heart shaped stone that I dug out and have leant up against the fence. We headed out to the courier midmorning and stopped off at the park for some fun before heading home in time for a call with my family and then we took the blanket into the garden and had a picnic lunch.

The huge tent is set out for erecting

Rosie fits inside the bag for the tent

This tent is just superb

Excited to be back here again

Louise is grumpy that Angela isn't around

In the afternoon Rosie and I took down the small tent we'd stayed in, and then put up the huge family tent as Angela and Rosie camped on Saturday night. It went up really well, despite the wind picking up quite a lot, and then we rushed out the door for dinner and playtime at the restaurant up the road. It was a very lovely time, and we met a Bulgarian couple who live in the UK and were over for a holiday to visit family. They had a daughter the same age as Rosie and we invited them to visit next time they're in the area. That evening the camping was a relative success (though it rained heavily) and I had the puppies up with me who were sulking a bit that they weren't able to cuddle with Angela.

Smashed hatch glass!

This was so tasty!

A stunning sunset

Sunday was super busy for me but there was some drama. I was working and Angela was cleaning when I heard a huge crashing sound and went running to find out what had happened. It turned out that Rosie was trying to put the hatch down and it slipped out of her hands and slammed down super hard, smashing and scattering glass everywhere. Rosie was, of course, distraught and had run off to hide on the balcony. It took Angela and I about 40 minutes to clean up all the glass and make it safe to let the puppies back in and for us to walk around again. We're now waiting for the window people to come quote for a replacement with safety glass. Later on I took Rosie to karate, had a very lovely meal (that I cannot remember what it was called) and then as I collected her the sky was stunning.

Halil gets started sorting the spoil pile

Pipe is now being bedded in

Loads of bricks to be skipped

Drain from the downpipes being re-attached

Breaking out for an access hatch

Cementing in to finish up

Boxing off done and dusted

And so to today. The men were in on time and got stuck in to the final jobs to finish the toilet install. They sorted through the spoil from their excavations (they had dug up loads and loads of stones and old bricks) and then secured and covered the pipe over. With that done Bekir reconnected the drainage pipe into the main feed down to our grey water system and then put in the inspection hatch over both the access points (so we can clean the pipe if we get a blockage) and finally boxed off the hole in the wall as well. It was a good and productive day and Halil's friend also came past to do the annual service on Mo the lawnmower, who was immediately put to work as the grass is growing so fast right now.

Balcony dinner time

I'll leave you with us having dinner on the balcony for the first time this year. We even got to watch some cycling, which Rosie really enjoyed. A great way to end the day.

So there it is. The men won't be back for a fair few weeks so I doubt I'll be updating soon but thanks for reading.