Well, this renovation / smallholding caper is certainly one of extremes. I began this week by exploring the woods opposite our land, walking over Lackan Bog, which is an amazing area of peat bog that has been colonised by birch woodland. Totally peaceful, and teeming with life, its a protected area.
Then we set to on the house, which has been full on, 10+ hours a day, all week. For two days our friends came and helped to strip back the decades of cement and additions, to reveal the original structure of the cottage below.
So now we are heading the other way, and repairing and creating our own new take on the cottage, which will hopefully stand the test of time.
The weather has been so kind to us, and at least twice a day I stop and marvel at the place in which we find ourselves – it is so easy to lose yourself in the work and forget to appreciate how lucky you are.
Even the demise of our hot water heater at the start of the week couldn’t dampen our spirits, as a little dirt is really not the worst that can happen.
The universe obviously felt that we didn’t take enough notice, as on Thursday night, our old horse Mabel took ill with colic, and a complication in the form of a twist in her intestines, which for anyone, is a Bad Thing. Sadly we had to take the decision to have her put to sleep, which she did very peacefully. She was only with us for a short time, but I think we made her last months enjoyable ones, as she went from a lous infested and rather moth eaten old mare into a rather shiny and jolly one. We’ll all miss her.
