Ready To Spring Into Action

We've had two sunny days in a row up here in Castlewellan - bliss.

Sally has been taking advantage of the good weather and has taken to sunbathing on the doorstep. Good move methinks.

I have been joining her as often as I can. I'm nursing myself through a cold right now (I rarely get them) and although it is cold morning and evening the warmth of the sunshine is delightful (and with all the sneezing and nose blowing I haven't really been fit for much else).

I'm glad to be on the mend, for its really time to spring into action with the house building again.

Our official letter, the one they send a month after the initial decision - giving time for people to comment etc, was apparently sent out today. That will be 'the end of it'.

The couple of days of sunshine has been a morale booster - I'm dreaming of a sunny and warm Spring and Summer, with picnic lunches on the grass and moments of caught sunshine inbetween flurries of activity and general getting on with things. (Sally will be morale officer - usually found snoozing, as below)

We'll return next week - Sam wants the letter in his hands before he starts anything!

There are stud walls upstairs to put up, taping and jointing for me to do, the reedbed changes to sort out - it won't be dull, thats for sure.

Leo, another doorstep sunbather, is head supervisor - and cats are no pushover, so the work will have to be good.

In between my snufflings and sneezings, I've had moments of pure excitement - that we'll have a home again, that we can actively make progress and be where we want to be.

Until then, fingers crossed that there will be some more sunshine for Sally to enjoy.

Of course, it wasn't only the animals soaking up the rays. I've been tending to a few plants too. Here are the broad beans that we'll bring down to Leitrim to plant out.

Here's some garlic that will come down with us too.

Here are some saladlings that I sowed late last Autumn, as a trial. Now, there isn't a lot there, but they are coming on. There's pak choi that I might use soon and I'll probably pot on the lettuces and other wee orientals.

I did a similar trial, sowing last autumn, in the glass roofed barn. These are really coming on well (even though there isn't a huge amount, its good fun to see how well they do). Again, I have a mix of orientals - pak choi and mizuna, some lettuce and corn salad.

I also started some broad beans inside the barn early in the year and I've kept them inside until now. I'm not yet sure if I'll keep them in, for a very early crop, or harden them off - so they get to experience the great outdoors. I've interplanted them with some white viola - just for fun.

Earlier in the year, I sprouted some peas, to test their viability, and I used the tips as pea shoots. I decided to stick the remaining shoots in a pot in the glass barn. I don't know if they'll grow well - as the tips have been trimmed - but I intend to find out.

Last, but not least, are the tomatoes and peppers that were started indoors. I repotted them today and I'm hoping to transfer them to the glass barn now, before they get too leggy.

Next time, I'll post some pics from our last trip to Leitrim .. and soon, that will be our main focus again - thank goodness.

Weather .. and groundworks week 2

What a difference the weather makes. We seemed to make great progress this week and I'm sure that the glorious weather from Monday until Wednesday helped. It certainly raised our spirits.
When I stop to think, it amazes me just how much of a difference a bit of sunshine makes to everything. The landscape takes on a new dimension, the treetops glistening, the soft colours intensifying. Even being in the caravan was more fun again (well it can be a bit challenging in the cold weather) and everything seemed more homely somehow.
Anyway, the lads did a great job of the groundworks. Here is the progress.

Our new boundary has been tidied up.


The sides of the drive are being landscaped.Best of all, we have our main area for the house / garage / driveway stoned and the area for the house is specially prepared with stone to be ready for the scanhome team to come and pour the concrete next week.
Here's the view from the road.

Also, in a moment of sheer inspiration I got the lads to spare us some stone and lay it as a path up to the caravan from the new drive - that will save us from the mudfest that has been growing outside the caravan door.
For enatertainment this week, Sam has mainly been playing the mandolin.
Poor Sally (the dog) is a bit pahsed by the mud, but is much happier now that there's a path up to the caravan. We're hoping that the wet weather at the end of this week won't have done any harm and that it proves fair again for the scanhome team next week. Once they have been we can once more see exactly where the house is going to be and I can go back to my favourite pastime of sitting in the different 'rooms' and imagining what the views will be like from the windows. Then, in early March, the erection crew come, the house comes and then I'll get to look out the windows for real!