Tank Tales and Fan Tales.......

Have I mentioned before that the above ground tank is struggling to fill? It was a conundrum which had us beat for a while. Rick, not one to be beaten, eventually worked it out. The inlet pipe, sticking up just above the tank is actually about 2.5 cm (or 1" in old currency) above the gutter. So if left the tank will never fill and the carport gutter never empty. Meanwhile our underground tank was actually full and more rain was promised. Rick had a brain wave and decided to pump the water from the underground tank to the above ground one. Brilliant move as it turns out as we no longer have to prime the pump everyday.

And then we noticed wet patches appearing around the sides of the tank! A couple of emails to the manufacturers later and it was explained that the tanks are fully tested before they are sent out and this can sometimes happen when the tank is filled too quickly. We've no idea yet if these damp patches will compromise (rust) the steel reinforced mesh inside the tank walls. That's another conversation for another day...

The Doors

Have been a wee bit of a challenge but I think I may just be starting to get the hang of stripping them. Though it seems to take me a very long time I think the effort was worth it.

The very first door finished and hung... ok so it doesn't yet have any furnishings BUT this is our very first door and Rick did a splendid job with the architrave.

Only another 8 left to do!

Deb has been a total star as usual and in between all the things she does (very busy lady) has helped Rick finish off his shed. It looks like it has been there all the time. Just needs to have the gutters connected to the fire fighting water tank and a floor of some kind done and it will be up and running.

And then I spotted it was already being tried out for size by Dora and Landy

The plan, I'm told, is for the big shed to be cleared ready for carpentry work to begin in ernest. 

Spinning Yarn

I've been very slowly working my way through a bottomless bag of wool (it seems never ending) and found I had some very short bits of staple. Deb suggested I used the Spinning Groups Drum Carder and blended some of the longer staples in with the short.

It was a brilliant idea which has worked very well BUT I managed to injure myself in the process and wasn't able to walk properly for about a week. I know the mind boggles doesn't it. 

The drum carder needs to be clamped to a table to hold it steady and the only old table I had was very low. Rather than sit on the floor I used a very low stool and must have lent at an odd angle to work the machine, whilst holding the table steady with my legs. Oh dear... I spent the week not moving very far and feeling quite sorry for myself.

Rick to the rescue. Rick was brilliant and made me a table out of bits of wood left over from the house build. What an absolute star. It's fantastic and works a treat AND I have room to do other crafty things, I am a very lucky girl.

The Weather

It's been raining and thankfully our tanks have been slowly filling up...... very exciting.

We have had a couple of really cool mornings but once you start to move around and get a hot drink inside you and of course rug up it is very comfortable here.  It seems the louvre sections of the roof are working really well. When the sun does shine it comes well into the room. We have noticed on the days when the floors have been warmed up in this way we don't have a need to light the fire in the evening. The heat sink works.

And with the cool mornings anything which can seasonally drop a leaf has and we made this discovery in one of the trees.

Not quite sure whose nest it was maybe one of the wagtails, which are also known as fantails here.

Very different from the Willie Wagtails in the UK. These little fellas are much bigger and really dance they way around as they chase the bugs. The tail is fanned out and waved about very enthusiastically, they hardly pause for breath. The other day we noticed one dancing on the outside shower wall carefully picking off the bugs and spiders as he went.

The Veg Patch

I'm still sorting out the veggie patch, determined to grow as much as I possibly can this season. There are still 5 butternut squash (pumpkin for those this side of the planet) on the vine and they are ripening albeit slowly.

The big bed now has brussels sprouts, carrots, beetroot, sweetpeas, turnips, broadbeans, peas and English Spinach. The parsnips have still to be sown. There is garlic in abundance and I've got a bag of Desiree potatoes ready for chitting and then planting.  It is very exciting.

And then there is Tess, who I think I have introduced before. We think she perhaps gets a bit lonely with her family out at work and school all day. She she takes herself off and visits the neighbours for a bit of fuss and attention.

Last night we got a text from her boss asking if we'd seen her. She had paid a visit but had disappeared off (I thought home) about an hour earlier. She had missed home completely and trotted off to visit someone else. I thought I'd best check she wasn't here so had a quick look outside to find her curled up by the front door!