JULY - a wet one!

Lord above! The rain this month! Our second attempt to put in the rainwater tank and septic tank were very tricky as the water table was HIGHER than back in March when we had the first aborted attempt! I stayed well out of the way and the boys played with the digger and stood in the bucket and jumped up and down on the tanks and loaded in concrete and prayed that the things would stay in. The farm very kindly lent us their sprayer as a water source to fill the tanks as they went in.
















Drainage ditches were dug too. A mega amount on one of the dry days of the month.






Our new digger company just happens to be run
by our new next door neighbour! Lee of Olympic.
Let's hope neighbourliness extends to a reduction in the bill!! Richard, our Olympic digger driver, was a real find - jumping in and out the cab to help with the groundworks and always working with a smile on his face. And all the while waiting to become a dad for the second time. Bless.

There was some internal work done too. Blockwork walls went up and the fireplace started. The swallows in the barn hatched off another brood and obviously spread the word about the desirability of the Piggery/New Barn Farm location as another pair built a nest in the Piggery, just above the fire place! Builders not chuffed. Swallow poop all over their work!






Then a hole was made in the back wall - on purpose, the purpose being for the French doors to fit in. And they did, only just, as the top and bottom of the opening were adrift by quite a lot. Nothing about the Piggery is straight! It's an old building - what do you expect?!






We did manage a bit of r and r with friends visiting from down south. Mark and Erika came up with Callum and Olivia and we had a wonderful weekend of walks and picnics and pony rides. Such a good time was had by all that their were tears on the journey home (and that was just us!) Callum's bond with Tess was forged by his arrival with chocolate cookie all round his mouth - he let her lick it all off (yeauch!) and they were friends for life!