May 22, 2008
May 17, 2008
Week 66 - 67 28/04/08 - 05/05/08
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Apologies again, but at least I've got the pics posted!!!
I shall now go away and write an essay!
Watch this space!
April 24, 2008
Week 63 - 65 07/04/08 - 21/04/08
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Sorry only home for 24 hours and no time to add words to pictures, so I will have to update you next week, as I haven't arranged a broadband connection at the house yet!!
April 19, 2008
Week 61 - 62 24/03/08 - 31/03/08
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Hi guys, sorry for the delay, but believe me I wrote a nice big blog update a week ago, very early on the Friday morning before we left for the house and I was only seconds away from posting it, when it literally just disappeared, taking the already posted pics with it!!! I didn't have another couple of hours to spare to re-write it then so here goes, I'm going to have a go now.........
But I've just decided I need some sleep........!!!
So....where was I....... it's been a busy couple of weeks!
The first week the plumbers & electrician came back for a mad final finishing day! So we now have flushing loos and the decking lights give a subtle blue colourwash to the walls as night falls.
Our two new Barcham container grown trees also arrived that day: one a Betula nigra, or river birch, which will have gorgeous orangey/cinnamon peeling bark and the other a Salix alba chermesina, or scarlet willow, which will have attractive red branches in the Winter. They both thrive in wet soil conditions so we've just got to decide now where they are going to live!
The ramp is now complete and nicely matches the rest of the decking and balustrading and hopefully it won't be too long before it's all in the right shade of green! The brickwork to close the space beneath the decking will commence soon and should give a more finished appearance overall!
The start of the second week saw the 'builder's clean' get underway and this was followed the next day by an amazing amount of mastic-ing inside and out!!
The bed arrived on Wednesday, 2nd April and we spent all afternoon putting it together! So we decided to stay our first night in the house, a double celebration as it would have been my Dad's birthday too.
The amazing sunrise as I opened my eyes next morning was an unexpected treat, as was the sight of swans, Canada geese, Egyptian geese, a coot, a moorhen and a million rabbits wandering around the garden, not to mention the entertaining dawn chorus from a choir of unseen birds!!!
Pure bliss!!!
March 24, 2008
Week 60 - 17/03/08
Happy Christmas everyone.......oops sorry I meant EASTER!!!
Though you'd be forgiven for thinking it was! Freezing temperatures and snowstorms have made it a very white Easter holiday!
Quite a contrast to last year when the holiday weekend was warm and sunny and we were excitedly looking forward to moving into our house in the Summer months!
Anyway I'm sure you're expecting me to say what does the weather matter as I pull a chair up closer to our lovely blazing wood-burning fire in our super warm highly insulated new home while we watch the snow falling outside?!
Ok fantasy over.........
Yes, you've guessed it! We are NOT in our house - yet!
I'm sure friends and family are well aware of the stresses and strains this particular project is giving us, and by now possibly getting a little tired of reading this blog............?!
Suffice to say for now, that there have been problems with supply and the inevitable knock on effect that that has had on the overall project timing.
However, we really think the end is in sight now, and we are expecting big results within the next 2 weeks!
Watch this space!!!
Week 58 - 59 03/03/08 - 10/03/08
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Who needs fairies at the bottom of the garden when you can have swans?!
My regular scattering of swan food around the waters edge is obviously paying off! A lovely pair have taken to appearing soon after we arrive on site, and the male in particular boldly strides up for a food handout whilst generally making himself at home and checking out the new pond under construction!
These last two weeks seem to have run into each other we have been so busy!
The newly fitted enclosed stairs have been treated with fire retardant and all the trims and skirtings fitted since the summer have been varnished, together with another coat on the window frames where necessary.
The outstanding materials apart (that's another story!), Tony and I have cleared the entire house of it's temporary floor covering of cardboard! And jolly hard work it's been too!
We first had to clear the floors of all the redundant materials - timber, tiles and tools - sweep the floors and then start on the painstaking task of removing metre upon metre of masking tape from around the perimeter of each room on our hands and knees!
However, as this week's photos show, it was worth it! What a difference it's made, the house is nearly a home!!! I had forgotten what the floors and the kitchen looked like, well last summer was a long time ago!
All we need now is the builder's clean, though of course it would be nice if completion came first!!!
Sad footnote: the 4 goslings are no more; whether they were eaten by predatory pike or succumbed to the wintry weather is pure conjecture, but I am sure mum and dad will try again soon!
March 23, 2008
Week 57 - 25/02/08
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Well I have to start with the WOW of the week:
Investigating the source of some very agitated geese noises in the garden, I came across a pair of resident Egyptian geese....... shepherding 4 tiny goslings through the rough terrain in the direction of the lake, with accompanying warning noises to keep the way clear!!!
An amazing sight to see on the 29 February! Unfortunately by the time I had rushed inside for my camera they were already entering the water and hotfooting it to the island, so though I got a couple of pics, as usual they're rather distant, but I've put them on the album anyway, if only to mark their birthday!
It's all go outside this week!
Some new trees have been planted at the front and side of the garden. Young birch trees and mountain ash from the adjacent forest have been planted now, so maximizing their chances of survival before they break into bud, fingers crossed!
February 26, 2008
Week 56 - 18/02/08
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We finally managed to fit in a long awaited trip to Welney Wetland centre on Friday. I wanted to see the migrant swans on their last day of official feeding, which means very soon they'll all be heading off for their summer breeding grounds!
Thousands of Whooper and Bewick's swans, not to mention thousands of male Pochards too (the females over winter in Spain - clever girls!) all gather at Welney from October through to March. An amazing sight, especially when you spot them, as we did a couple of weeks ago, in a farmer's field a few miles away, where they go to feast on waste sugar beet tops in between their 3 feeds a day at Welney!
So had to include a few pics on the album this week! Though they're not very good ones as they were taken through glass, just as feeding time was about to commence!
As you can see, the TV unit (or Punch and Judy theatre, depending on who's reading this!) is nearing completion. All we need now is the TV!!!
The pigeon ( or in our case geese) spikes have been erected on the beam above the 1st floor balcony to try and curb the geese perching, and subsequently fouling, the decking below!! Oh, the joys of the countryside! The photos show all!!
The one remaining bird nesting box was found to have a roof leak, so remedial repairs have been carried out (see pics) and next week I'll take a pic of it hung in-situ in one of the garden trees. I'd love to know what the local bird population is making of this sudden glut of homes to rent!!! Mind you at the rate we're going we may well find ourselves renting one too!!!
February 21, 2008
Week 55 - 11/02/08
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Now I know this is cheating a bit, but I just haven't got many interesting house pics for you this week, though I can assure you we haven't downed tools just yet!!
The pictures of the house were taken at dusk, (which thankfully is appearing to be getting later all of a sudden) and after yet another lovely sunny day!
So for a change I thought I'd show you a pic of our narrowboat that has been 'home' to us whenever we are on site, as it is moored about an hour away and has made the constant to-ing and fro-ing from site a little more manageable!
These pics were taken very early on Sunday morning (a rare day off!) and the frozen river and frosty landscape looked magical as the sun came up!
The other pics show my old friends, a pair of Mute swans, who normally come to the side hatch on the boat for their meals, but had to wait for me to bring breakfast to them as the river was temporarily unnavigable!!!
I'm looking forward to striking up a similar relationship with the swans and geese at our new house!
February 14, 2008
Week 54 - 04/02/08
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The weather has just been amazing and only serves to underline what we're missing here. So can't wait to move in and get to know who we'll be sharing our garden with on a day to day (and nightly!) basis!
All this sun inspired me to take lots of outside pics, as everything looks so wonderfully enhanced in the sunlight!
And we were praying that the weather would hold for the installation of the flue and chimney, an intricate procedure that would definitely have been hindered by wind and rain! Luckily we weren't disappointed and hey ho we now have our wood burning stove installed!
Just to round off the week, we managed to put up half a dozen nesting boxes, as there is most definitely a 'Spring is in the air' feeling around here!!!
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