Tuesday 28 January 2014

Water To Do!

Say what you like about Britain, but when push comes to shove there are some grand people out there who pitch up when you most need them and sort you out with great efficiency, fairness and humour.

As today, for example, when our Plumber Chap, Matt, came out to check that our shower wasn't the culprit or the partial culprit in our Leaky Hall Saga. He fitted us in during a busy day and Andy had to virtually force payment on him in return for him checking over the various bits of pipes and seals (no, not bag or grey!) and declaring them fine and fit. 

And as Matt went on his way, our new and now Official Roofer Chap, Antony, arrived, having also fitted us in at short notice, and he very efficiently sourced the problems (yes, there was more than one) and did repairs there and then, whilst entertaining Andy enormously by looking like a butch version of ex-BBC weatherman Dan Corbett (one of our TV personality favourites) and being a chicken keeper, too! 

It is at this very moment chucking it down yay verily with gusto (who'd have thought - more rain) and I feel very happy that roof repairs are done, and Antony will come back if the problem isn't solved. My biggest fear today (which, in the grand scheme of the world is quite small on the Fear Factor Front) was that the roofer would come out, say, 'Yup, you definitely need your roof fixing - I'll come back some time next week/ fortnight/month,' and therein would lie more fretting about water running down the wall. But no! He, Antony, repaired and mended there and then! And for a very reasonable price, too. Marvellous! 

There have been other water work issues occurring at MMM which were also sorted out today. Tybalt, bless him, is becoming a cat of a certain age. He will be 10 years old in March and recently has taken to sometimes missing the litter tray when peeing. He will insist on backing up into the corner of the trays (we have 3 - one for each cat) and because he is a tall cat he does not give himself enough backwards gush space. Luckily, the trays are in the 'conservatory' which has washable flooring, but really I would prefer pee to be inside the tray, so today I purchased two of the most enormous and high sided litter trays I have ever seen in my entire cat-owning life. Tybalt would have to stand on a step ladder in order to pee outside of these bad boys! Indeed, when he took one of the trays on its inaugural pee flight, he looked like a Borrower in an Olympic long jump sandpit!  And, as I have said, he is a big, tall cat. Mission accomplished! 

Needless to say, the rain has turned the hens' part of the garden into a quagmire of inglorious mud,  and so I have released Primrose and Daisy back into full free-range garden mode for at least part of every day because I am conscious of their foot health. They are enjoying their perambulations enormously because there be bugs, and weeds, and woodpiles to explore. I made them promise not to ruck up Andy's new lawn, and not to kick earth from the borders into my herb garden. So far they have been mostly well-behaved. They have also discovered the joys of fat balls. (Stop giggling at the back, please - you know exactly what I mean. Of the kind you hang up for garden birdies to peck at.)

And finally, (and this is something I am very excited about) in a few weeks' time a fellow blogger and I are going to embark on a Spirit Work project together! More to follow when the time is right, but suffice to say a new light has been brought into my world and there is Light Work to be done. 



5 comments:

  1. Ptolemy eats my fat balls here, so I can understand that Primrose and Daisy would be partial.
    Excellent news re roof. And does a mended roof now mean that it will stop raining do you think?

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  2. See? All that good stuff has balanced last week's cr*p nicely.
    It certainly is a Time Of Water. Hopefully to be followed later in the year by a Time Of Sun so the moth and butterfly populations (amongst others) benefit and recover.
    We get wood chips delivered from the local tree surgeon and put those down in the girl's run- no muddy feet and plenty of spaces to search for insects in. Worth a try? CT xx

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  3. Thank goodness all your leaks have been seen to. It is not nice to see water dribbling anywhere it shouldn't be.
    Yesterday our hens were paddling in the left over river water after the flooding of recent days. They looked very cute, up to their tummies they were, eating bits and pieces floating on the margins of the slowly receding water. And of course, with all this wetness, the earthworms are close to the surface everywhere, so our hens are having a great time hunting for them! Hope your hens do not cause to much mischief in your garden!

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  4. Unfortunately. Jess, it has rained here all day, so the theory had been disproved and then some. Too much rain. Horrid.

    Primrose and Daisy do have bark chippings but they need replenishing, so a job for the weekend, CT. But I hadn't thought of getting them from a tree surgeon! Definitely one to explore, especially if they deliver. And yes, Lovely Warm Sunny Summer please, for all our sakes! Xxx

    Glad your hens are enjoying their watery explorations, Vera. And aren't they entertaining as they go about their digging and bug hunting?!

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  5. The only thing to bear in mind is that they turn up here with a trailer full and dump a huge mountain of wood chips on our drive, which is big enough to take it. You might be able to get a few bag's worth from them if you didn't want your drive covered in a lorry's worth of wood chips? xx

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