Free reign for Nick and I today due to Kits absence. Began by planting up the hedge bank that divides Kits from Nigel and Cassies. Planted Hawthorn, Hazel, Crab Apple and Field Maple. This took us barely an hour, after planting more along the perimeter bank, we knocked up a privacy screen in front of the compost loo using two fence posts and the ground sheet of an old tent. Again, to shield the neighbours.
Nick left after lunch, leaving me bricklaying solo. Delayed due to both the weather and another volunteer enquiring about the availability of our old caravan. When he told us it was to enable him to stay with, and help Ayres, it was a done deal.
Eventually I summoned up the strength and motivation to do two hours of back breaking brick laying. I couldn't have done it better. Two rows in two hours using and only requiring all of just one mortar mix. Perfect!
Proud, but exhausted.
M Jones
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Showing posts with label brick laying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brick laying. Show all posts
An Unavoidable Conclusion - Saturday 12/02/11
Have spent a fair few idle moments pondering the facts over and over in my head. The wind was strong so I adjusted my position. Once fully satisfied I was safe I proceeded to relieve myself against the earth bank. My LED head torch illuminated the droplets of rain that missed the back of my head. A strong lengthy gust forced me to lean back into the wind to regain my balance. At the same time the flurry of droplets increased, and started hitting my face. This was most strange being that the wind direction had remained unchanged. A dreadful thought occurred to me so I stopped mid flow. The 'rain' slackened off. I resumed the flow, the rain increased.
Try as I might to dissuade myself from the truth, the only conclusion I can unavoidably draw, is that for the first time in my life, thanks to the gradient of the earth bank and the high winds, I do believe that I did piss in my own face.
In other less disturbing news my new book and purchase Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game
arrived and has been a fantastic resource. Accurately describing and illustrating not only how to dress a carcass, but best procedures to humanely despatch the animal. Also followed by some really intriguing recipes.
Aside from brewing some beer yesterday and gaining permission to hunt across the one thousand acre farm next door. This week has been mostly similar to the one before. Bricklaying predominantly. Nick planted some broad beans, erected his awning with my help (I identified the reason he was having difficulties attaching it to his caravan, was the fact he'd failed to read step 1 of the instructions), helped plant the orchard, then, possibly due to a late last night, Kit reached his limit for the day. Early to bed tonight however, we're hoping to make the 08:00 low tide tomorrow and go foraging for razor clams.
M Jones
Try as I might to dissuade myself from the truth, the only conclusion I can unavoidably draw, is that for the first time in my life, thanks to the gradient of the earth bank and the high winds, I do believe that I did piss in my own face.
In other less disturbing news my new book and purchase Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game
arrived and has been a fantastic resource. Accurately describing and illustrating not only how to dress a carcass, but best procedures to humanely despatch the animal. Also followed by some really intriguing recipes.Aside from brewing some beer yesterday and gaining permission to hunt across the one thousand acre farm next door. This week has been mostly similar to the one before. Bricklaying predominantly. Nick planted some broad beans, erected his awning with my help (I identified the reason he was having difficulties attaching it to his caravan, was the fact he'd failed to read step 1 of the instructions), helped plant the orchard, then, possibly due to a late last night, Kit reached his limit for the day. Early to bed tonight however, we're hoping to make the 08:00 low tide tomorrow and go foraging for razor clams.
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| A fair sized trout fished from the leat. |
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| Half expected him to start singing... |
 |
M Jones
Bricking It - Thursday 16/12/10
The North wind has returned, bringing rain and snow. Not the best conditions in which to start laying bricks and mixing lime mortar...
Despite the mix coming out far too wet and sloppy, we have nonetheless laid four corners of the building and shall leave them to dry and observe what happens. More snow forecast of Friday and Saturday and some cold nights. Luckily, with this night forecast as being the coldest, Frances has by chance been invited to sleep over at Simon and Jasmines. A very lucky little girl, on one count for being able to stay in a beautiful hand built house, and another for being warm and able to sleep well in that house as opposed to our static caravan.
My Lantern is now running low on paraffin, so I shall sign off and turn in.
Good Night.
M Jones
Despite the mix coming out far too wet and sloppy, we have nonetheless laid four corners of the building and shall leave them to dry and observe what happens. More snow forecast of Friday and Saturday and some cold nights. Luckily, with this night forecast as being the coldest, Frances has by chance been invited to sleep over at Simon and Jasmines. A very lucky little girl, on one count for being able to stay in a beautiful hand built house, and another for being warm and able to sleep well in that house as opposed to our static caravan.
My Lantern is now running low on paraffin, so I shall sign off and turn in.
Good Night.
M Jones
Poor In Money, Rich In Life - Wednesday 15/12/10
An early-ish start being that Emma had an appointment with the midwife. An appointment she had in fact lost sleep over and was abjectly dreading. They wanted her blood. Four vials of it. My presence was required, about this there obviously could be no argument. Frances would be left in the company of strangers and charged with amusing herself. such was Emma's fear, she was quite at ease with this neglect.
To distract Emma, and also deter my own boredom, I regaled the midwife with my artichoke fiasco. It would appear people find my horticultural ignorance frightfully amusing. Or just frightful.
Back home I raked the beds until Beth, another volunteer, dropped by to say farewell and give Justin a lift on his Christmas visit home. She won't be returning choosing instead to head to mid-Wales come the New Year in her converted post van.
A few hours later Kit arrived back, with his step father John and some miscellaneous items and luxuries. Some of these luxuries were devoured that evening in a spaghetti carbanara we shared.
On and off I've been reading The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour
. In his introduction, it is clear we share the same views. He says "...Man was not meant to be a one job animal. We do not thrive as parts of a machine. We are intended by nature to be diverse, to do diverse things, to have many skills." I couldn't agree more with the words "Self sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is striving for a higher standard of living, for food which is fresh and organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings, for the health of body and peace of mind which come with hard varied work in the open air, and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully". With this in mind, I recall an article I read in The Guardian newspaper only a day or two before, in which it stated that a household that earns less than £16000 per annum is considered in this country to be poor.
We are not earning anywhere near £16000. I personally never have done. But never before have I considered myself poor. I have never gone hungry. Never have I or my little family been cold and powerless to remedy it.
This remains to be true, and yet now we earn nothing, subsidised as we are to the tune of £40 odd a week. By the standards set by others, we are currently amongst the poorest people in the country today. Yes, this entry is being written by paraffin lantern because I'd like to save our solar energy for another time/appliance.
To the outsider this could be seen as a mark of our poverty.
But the real truth is we've never had it so good. We generally buy local organic meat and vegetables, (lamb that's grazed on the wild windswept sides of the Presellis should be organic...) we sleep until we wish to rise. I work until I am tired/bored, whichever comes sooner. I certainly never work if I don't feel upto it.
Admittedly the latter is rare as to date I haven't suffered an illness or accident that has rendered me incapable.
We live in a beautiful valley near the sea, in a part of Wales people pay to visit and often travel great distances to do so.
Poor in money, rich in life. I couldn't be happier.
If I may I would like to quote John Seymour once more, this time from the foreword of his brilliant book.
"There are very few processes in this book that I have not performed myself; albeit, perhaps, some of them ineptly. Does this make me a jack-of-all-trades and master of none? Well I'd rather be that than a person who can only do one thing. To me that would be Hell. I have embarked on many an enterprise without the faintest idea of how to do it - but I have always ended up with the thing done and with a great deal more knowledge than when I started". That quote is both a view i share, and an accurate description of my current lifestyle.
Tomorrow, brick laying!
M Jones
To distract Emma, and also deter my own boredom, I regaled the midwife with my artichoke fiasco. It would appear people find my horticultural ignorance frightfully amusing. Or just frightful.
Back home I raked the beds until Beth, another volunteer, dropped by to say farewell and give Justin a lift on his Christmas visit home. She won't be returning choosing instead to head to mid-Wales come the New Year in her converted post van.
A few hours later Kit arrived back, with his step father John and some miscellaneous items and luxuries. Some of these luxuries were devoured that evening in a spaghetti carbanara we shared.
On and off I've been reading The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour
. In his introduction, it is clear we share the same views. He says "...Man was not meant to be a one job animal. We do not thrive as parts of a machine. We are intended by nature to be diverse, to do diverse things, to have many skills." I couldn't agree more with the words "Self sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is striving for a higher standard of living, for food which is fresh and organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings, for the health of body and peace of mind which come with hard varied work in the open air, and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully". With this in mind, I recall an article I read in The Guardian newspaper only a day or two before, in which it stated that a household that earns less than £16000 per annum is considered in this country to be poor.We are not earning anywhere near £16000. I personally never have done. But never before have I considered myself poor. I have never gone hungry. Never have I or my little family been cold and powerless to remedy it.
This remains to be true, and yet now we earn nothing, subsidised as we are to the tune of £40 odd a week. By the standards set by others, we are currently amongst the poorest people in the country today. Yes, this entry is being written by paraffin lantern because I'd like to save our solar energy for another time/appliance.
To the outsider this could be seen as a mark of our poverty.
But the real truth is we've never had it so good. We generally buy local organic meat and vegetables, (lamb that's grazed on the wild windswept sides of the Presellis should be organic...) we sleep until we wish to rise. I work until I am tired/bored, whichever comes sooner. I certainly never work if I don't feel upto it.
Admittedly the latter is rare as to date I haven't suffered an illness or accident that has rendered me incapable.
We live in a beautiful valley near the sea, in a part of Wales people pay to visit and often travel great distances to do so.
Poor in money, rich in life. I couldn't be happier.
If I may I would like to quote John Seymour once more, this time from the foreword of his brilliant book.
"There are very few processes in this book that I have not performed myself; albeit, perhaps, some of them ineptly. Does this make me a jack-of-all-trades and master of none? Well I'd rather be that than a person who can only do one thing. To me that would be Hell. I have embarked on many an enterprise without the faintest idea of how to do it - but I have always ended up with the thing done and with a great deal more knowledge than when I started". That quote is both a view i share, and an accurate description of my current lifestyle.
Tomorrow, brick laying!
M Jones
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