OneGuyFromBarlick

Hope you don't mind Sue, but I've turned your photo round to make it easier to see.

Sue - why didn't you just plead guilty, and accept a caution.
These Community Service Orders look awful.

Maybe Sue knows where the bodies are buried...

Now that would be telling. There are another three mounds like this to tackle afterwards, it has taken 10 years to pluck up courage to do this one but it's near the railway line you see and a bit of an eyesore.

If it was me I'd hire a small back-hoe and a dumper! Great fun and a lot easier.....

We thought of that but we cannot get one delivered, it would be too expensive, probably could not gain access, and would not keep me as fit!

Today's efforts.

I'm ready to be impressed by your efforts but would need to stand on my head to see them! Aren't the photos upside down for you Sue?

Not to me, no, but I have had this problem before. Apparently it is the way you hold your iPad when you take the photo, according to the help line but it seems to make no difference.

I see railway lines.....

Exactly. Massive effort. Grandchildren arrive tomorrow. Another days mound clearing for me. Well I manage a couple of hours then the aches and the heat get me. I am nearly halfway and it appears so far that there Is more soil than rubble, but thousands of tiny stones a bit bigger than gravel and bound to damage the lawn mower. I find a sieve useful and am using the gravel to back fill the wall we will build. The railway is one reason why we can't get a digger, we don't want any damage to prepared track and ground.

The ground looks dry, doesn't it?

It's incredibly dry. We have been here for over a month and we have only had a couple of light showers. My veggie patch is not growing well, we have used all the water from the rainwater stores and we are not allowed to use a hose pipe. We can only water between 8 at night and 8 in the morning. We are recycling our waste kitchen water to water plants but it is long way from the house to the field. Despite the dry ground the butternut squash are growing rampantly and are huge!

Today I removed 5 barrows of good rich soil from the mound and put it on the veggie patch. I then spent nearly two hours levelling. It doesn't look much different from yesterday except the pile is a lot lower and narrower. I will now have a break for a couple of days to spend time with my daughter, son in law and grandchildren before they go off camping for a week at Carnac. They arrive tomorrow morning. The girls are really excited that they are coming to France.

Hard work Sue, it will get you fit and as hard as nails but don't do too much!
I painted the shed in the back yard yesterday.... The paint dried before we had a shower. Looks a lot better now, only an old shed but it is bone dry and useful storage.



Another back yard maintenance job is beckoning.... One of the structural elements of my back gate needs replacing... I shall have to pop into B&Ds!

Boy do I ache today, but the job is looking good. I am looking forward to a couple of days off. It may even be Monday before I give it another go. Days of 30 degrees forecast!

The shed looks good. I love the brown and rust coloured coatings. I am not keen on the greens and blue Mr Titmarsh

Big improvement Sue! Glad you are having a bit of time off. Give your body time to heal up! 20/20 vision has manufactured another job, two rotten pieces of wood in my backyard gate.... I shall have to attend to this!
Later....



I noticed my soft toys were a bit dusty......

Stanley wrote:
Another back yard maintenance job is beckoning.... One of the structural elements of my back gate needs replacing... I shall have to pop into B&Ds!

What do you need? If it's a strap hinge you're in luck, if not it'll be B&Ds...

Stanley wrote:I noticed my soft toys were a bit dusty......

There appears to be a one-eyed yellow frog attempting to be over-friendly with a guinea pig. You could end up with some very colourful one-eyed jumping guinea pigs soon!

Inaugural run

Thanks for the kind offer Kev. The hinges are fine, it's two of the battens that are rotten.... I'm using treated timber this time, should last me out!

Bit of maintenance in the shed. Now I have a jig capable of holding the bigger ones I shall sharpen the lot. That'll keep me entertained for a while... These jobs are not riveting but make all the difference to working in the shed, so nice to grab a drill and know it is sharp. More drills are knackered by using them when they are blunt than by breaking them.

Back to work on the mound for a couple of hours before it gets too hot and before we visit a local Breton festival. My son in law quickly removed 6 large stones the other day so I can access more soil to flatten.

I feel a bit tired after my exertions yesterday but no damage. Don't do too much Sue, keep within the bounds of healthy exertion!
I shall be doing a bit more bending and lifting this morning in the shed.....

Back to the mound this morning while it is cool. About 1-2 hours is all that can be done before the sun gets too hot. It's slow but obvious progress