Baling begins

Thurs, Fri, Sat 24 - 26 Sept 2015

Window boxes all in place, and the ladder frames made and fitted, on the west wall and round the corner on the little bit of north wall.  But then it started to rain.  For two days we couldn't proceed, and Rowan disappeared off to his workshop.  Dave and I managed to do some little bits, especially around the front door, which has so many angles and curves and different heights that it really benefited from having considered attention, rather than our usual mad dash during bale raising.

 The corner of test-bed baling we managed to do on Thursday before it rained, now cowering under sailcloth in the rain.

 The north wall - circumnavigation!  This is where the latest section meets up with the music room walls that we did first - nearly two years ago.  Okay, we've left a five metre gap on the south face which will be made of cob, but otherwise, this will be all the bale walls in, once it is complete.

 The left-hand side of the front door, using the same softening technique as before ...

 ... in close-up, the ladder frame upright is stuffed with straw, and then an extra bit of padding is trapped tight under blue mesh to soften those corners.  The mesh is stapled to an upright lath, which is then screwed to the door post - this allows the mesh to be pulled very tight without distorting (my invention!)

 Paris, still hard at work, nearly finished with the whitewash.  Only the lower section up to the ringbeam is being done, otherwise we'd need to get the scaffolding in, and there is nowhere else in the house for the furniture, as all areas are affected by the baling.

 Meanwhile, I had asked an Albanian friend of ours if his Dad would strim the land clear of long grass, and he came up to do it.  I've been reading a lot about permaculture and forest gardens, and am very keen to start terracing and planting the land.  Clearing it is a small but significant start.

 Nearly up to the roof in the porch area

 This is my dry garden (xericulture in Greek) in the terrace alongside the wall we're baling.  I put down a mulch of straw and wood chip and watched our aloe vera plants gasp with delight.

The night of the 27th, when I should've been sleeping well before our bale-raising planned for the next day - instead I woke up at 4.30 am and stepped outside the see the moon eclipse.  I spent 30 minutes on the front step getting bitten by everything, then went back to bed, where Dave had a perfect view out through a corner of window, over the edge of the tarpaulin.