Monday 14 February 2011
We had a busy morning with errands in Nidri, and then home to make a casserole, before we packed our sleeping bag and drove up to the land. Dave then got up on the roof and fitted the panels, with my intermittent help.
In between, I set up this boat solar water heater - even if it doesn't get very warm (it's overcast and chilly today), easily accessible water is much easier for washing hands and rinsing mugs, etc.
I also started creating a little dry-stone terrace to level the land for about a metre and a half from the east side of the shed. This is where we'll build a platform for the solar water heater. Dave is still trying to decide whether the platform will be metal or wood. Metal is cheap and strong, wood is easier to work.
I enjoyed this little job, despite the backache - it involved scrounging around the site looking for largish stones. There's quite a few around a section of the back wall that has collapsed, just past pooh corner. The stones then had to be arranged firmly on the ground, where they'll jam together to hold in the soil. I also made a little stone circle to mark where the lemon tree will be planted - and where the shower and laundry drainage will go.
And then it was late and the sky was darkening, so we lit the stove and put the casserole on to warm up, opened the wine and lit the tea-lights.
Later we inflated the mattress, and only just squeezed it into the available space between the door and the loo (still unused, luckily, as we had our heads up next to it). When we went out to pee in the compost the stars were clear and bright, and my little white stone walls marked the pathways very clearly.
This is a wobbly slow exposure photo of the stove and tea-lights.
The shed was as warm as a sauna, we had to keep the door and window open. In the morning it was still warm compared to the outside air. Excellent insulation. The day dawned sunny, so we put the sofa up against the outside of the south wall of the shed and ate porridge in the sunshine.
I also started creating a little dry-stone terrace to level the land for about a metre and a half from the east side of the shed. This is where we'll build a platform for the solar water heater. Dave is still trying to decide whether the platform will be metal or wood. Metal is cheap and strong, wood is easier to work.
I enjoyed this little job, despite the backache - it involved scrounging around the site looking for largish stones. There's quite a few around a section of the back wall that has collapsed, just past pooh corner. The stones then had to be arranged firmly on the ground, where they'll jam together to hold in the soil. I also made a little stone circle to mark where the lemon tree will be planted - and where the shower and laundry drainage will go.
Later we inflated the mattress, and only just squeezed it into the available space between the door and the loo (still unused, luckily, as we had our heads up next to it). When we went out to pee in the compost the stars were clear and bright, and my little white stone walls marked the pathways very clearly.
This is a wobbly slow exposure photo of the stove and tea-lights. The shed was as warm as a sauna, we had to keep the door and window open. In the morning it was still warm compared to the outside air. Excellent insulation. The day dawned sunny, so we put the sofa up against the outside of the south wall of the shed and ate porridge in the sunshine.
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