I know! Since I'm not sure I can physically move at the moment, I'll use the excuse of the need to blog progress on the farm to sit here on my (increasingly toned from humping heavy shit about and being on the go all the time) arse for a bit longer.
As I reach the final furlong of a lovely two week hiatus, it's as good a time as any to reflect upon all the doings that have been done in the past few weeks. There's no room for smugness or a sense of satisfaction because, as we are learning, where the list of things which have been done grows longer, so does the list of things still to do. I had a conversation with young Phil this morning about this very thing (me: bog eyed, splendidly attired in jim jams and wellies, him: bright eyed and bushy tailed having been up and at 'em since 5:30, as farmers do); how with land there is also a long long list of things to do. We of course are small fry compared to him; we have five acres, he has 500 :) but the underlying principle is the same. Besides he has more machinery than we do and is accustomed to it (I tell myself). This brings me to the importance of a Zen mentality in all of this. It is not the final goal that is important, but the journey, and each step and goal achieved in that process is something to be celebrated. I actually love that, that this is such a big project that will keep us (a) busy and (b) divested of any disposable income for years to come.
So with that in mind here's a nice celebratory list of the things we have recently achieved. I shall not be writing a list of things yet to do, as I might wither and die at the keyboard.
* electrics on the yard all done, aside from the final connection back to the main house. Meanwhile we have separate lighting for each row of stables, and for outside.
* a load of hard standing done. This shortest sentence for the costliest bit so far. Natch.
* The muck clamp is done and filling nicely. Although almost unfeasibly costly for something intended to store shit in, I am really glad we had it done. There are endless benefits to it.
* The top floor of the house has been redecorated. Sounds easy when you say it quick but behind that small phrase lurks 3 days of my time spent stripping wallpaper, sanding, painting and tidying, and that's just one room. But the rather skanky shade of lavender (!) has been replaced by a relaxing creamy hue and it now looks fresh and clean and inviting, and there is no half ripped wallpaper hanging off the corners.
* I have cleaned out the stable next to Q which will be the room for rugs, grooming equipment, boots etc, and transferred the feed to a new stable, all scrubbed and clean and divested of the stenchful accumulated mud and horse shit as previously mentioned. The yard is taking shape!
* I have put up a series of rug racks in the rug room (using the drill and everything) and hung what might be described as the boys "spring wardrobe" up in there. In fact I went a bit drill-tastic and put up bridle racks, salt licks, you name it.
* We've had a man with a telehandler (let's call him Mick, cos that's his name) come to spread about the earth that was dumped in the summer paddock from when the hard standing was done and which we fondly came to refer to as our "giant mole problem". Mick, a dour farming type, was clearly impressed with the work done thus far, proclaiming the place prior to said work "a shithole". LOL. I don't know why that tickled me so much but I was grinning like a fool while he proceeded to expound at length about the importance of the earth drying out and what a £($&£$" the former owner was. I really like these farmers - they are straight and honest and they don't fuck about when they've got something to say.
* I can now say that I know what a telehandler looks like.
* We've got a cunning plan for the garden, which will involve a lot of work but which will be awesome when done.
* We have redecorated the bathroom. Sid has put a great deal of painstaking work into it, after the fashion of the OCD Frenchman. The only thing is we're still not completely convinced about whether the colour scheme is a mark of genius or a kaleidoscope of putrid wrongness.
* The yard has been swept and power washed once more and that layer of skank and mud and filth has finally gone.
* We have taken delivery of unreasonable numbers of railway sleepers, which were originally intended to do something cunning in the garden, until we had a long conversation with Phil in which there was much scratching of nuts and rubbing of chins (and that was just me) and decided to do something completely dfferent. Sid and his excellent mate Rob have pressed them into service for other purposes, using an ancient but effective technique of rolling them along on poles to get them from A to B. Do you have any inkling how heavy these things are? No, I didn't think so.
* I have discovered that if one is having problems getting one's favourite farmer to come and visit to discuss plans, it is an effective technique to ring him up and threaten to nail his nads to the telegraph pole in the garden. He turned up that very afternoon, walking oddly and wearing an ingratiating smile.
* I've ordered enough grass seeds to reseed 5 acres and Phil will be along tomorrow to harrow, seed and roll the fields. It's a funny thing, that nad comment really seemed to galvanise him into action.
I think that's it for the moment. Today we will hold off on the headlong development work in favour of cooking and preparing for the week ahead. I think in the last two weeks I have pared down the boys' doings sufficiently that I feel I can cope with the workload, and now have a plan for exactly hat gets done and when during the week. Will report back on that how that turns out in reality.
No comments:
Post a Comment