Friday a message was left on the home phone to say the tank and mudguards were ready. I went over to Swadlincote on Saturday to collect them from the painters. They have done a nice job.
I also got a call on Saturday from the farmer fretting about weed killer on the new allotments. I arranged to meet him and get the chemicals and knapsack sprayer off him. That done I went over to the lottie and following the farmers directions mixed the chemicals and walked up and down the new plots pumping and spraying. It was quite a still day and sun was shining so I took advantage of the moment. The wind, when it blew, blew across the plots carrying any over-spray away from the old plots. I gave the brambles a couple of doses. The contractors should be able to start the ground works in a fortnight. H and I went over to B&Q to pick up a few and pieces to finish dining room. After that I set about the fitting the remaining skirting boards. Then I fillered the holes and gaps. Next I fitted the oak capping on the stairs. I countersunk and piloted the holes. I screwed in the brass screws to secure the capping. It looks great.
Later on H and I went over to our friends in Measham for dinner. We had a lovely time.
It rained all night but brightened up towards the morning. After a pleasant breakfast and a short read of my book I started by sanding down the patched plaster in the dining room. I put some sugar and water on to boil. I was going to make some bee candy. Whilst the water warmed I mixed some wallpaper paste and liberally coated the new plaster. I finished off the candy and set it aside to cool. It prepped the room for papering. I had a eke that needed adjusting. I quick few passes with the electric plane and the job was done. I put the candy and eke in Degsy. Another brew and Degsy and I went off to collect the poo trailer and feed the bees.
The sun shone brightly but the wind was cold. As I walked up to the hives the wind dropped as I stepped in to the shelter of the hedges. The bees were flying and carrying pollen. That means the Queens are alive. When I took the hive roofs off I found that not all the candy had been eaten from the last feed. So regardless of my assistance the bees continue to do there own thing. I re-organised the ekes and feeders and dropped in the new candy. The bees were fairly active and a a bit cross but within ten minutes of finishing with the bees they had settled down. I picked up the trailer on the way back from the bees.
Another brew whilst a mixed the paste for the wallpaper. I set about the remaining wall. H had bought patterned wallpaper and it took quite a bit of work to get the paper to line up. In the end it worked out well enough but it was a trial. H got dinner going whilst I tidied up. I ran the poo trailer round to the lottie. I filled the bird feeders. I wanted to stay to a watch the sun set. It was very low but tea was nearly ready so I could not stay. I and drop in on Steve to collect some books. Tea was ready when I got home. We some very nice pork chops. That was a very busy weekend looking back on it. Day off tomorrow.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Mizzle
With H birthday a memory I could get back to sorting the dining room. This weekend I needed to move the radiator and sort out the wall. The radiator move was straight forward enough except:
A. The garage had to be emptied to get at the pipework
B. One joint insisted on leaking repeatedly. I sorted it on the second attempt. Luckily it was in an accessible place.
C. It started to mizzle.
My born and bred South Derbyshire neighbour came over to see if H and I wanted to join him and some other neighbours for a meal to celebrate the royal wedding. H and I have plans that weekend so had to decline the offer. Whilst chatting the weather was mentioned. In Manchester it would be drizzling. In South Derbyshire it was mizzling. I was in leak solving mode, with half the contents of my garage outside in the mizzle but he did not see my urgency. I was polite you will be glad to know. I dismantle the joint again, this time I daubed the joint with flux and tinned it then resembled the joint and ran in some more solder. That got it. I filled up the heating system again, no leaks so I was able to replace the lagging. Only then could I get all the garage goods back inside. There was not enough of the day to start the other big jobs so tidied out the garage instead, chucking rubbish into Degsy, and went off to the tip. From he tip I went over to the next town to get fuses and insulating tape for the bike.
I had a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast. I figured I would give my neighbours a chance to get moving before I started knocking the plaster of the wall. There was a dividing wall in the dining room. When I took it out I found that the original plasterers had plastered to different depths on either side of the wall. If I left it as it was it would show as a hump under the paper. I had to knock off only the plaster that was too high. Precision stuff with a lump hammer and bolster chisel. When I was happy there was no high spots I mixed up some plaster and make good the holes. I left it dry. There was a patch of wallpaper that could not be removed until to shifted the radiator. I got the trusty steamer out and in no time the wall was clear of paper. The another tidy up session.
With some trepidation I set out my stall to tackle the Oak plank. One of the many things I learnt as an apprentice plumber was to prepare your work space. Get all your tools to hand and set up where your power tools as needed. It is easier to do a good job when you are comfortable. I have been contemplating the plank this week. I figured it is not square. I pinged a chalk line one inch in the from the edge. Guess what? It was not square. I ran the circular saw down the chalk line. The strip of waste cut off was thicker at each end than in the middle. I now had a straight edge. I ran the plane down the new edge to remove the circular saw marks. H liked the chalk line. It as ancient tool. My chalk liner is just a modern application that re-chalks the line when it is retrieved. The Romans used chalked lines. My chalk liner is a metal case which contains a spool of string, just like a fishing reel, except the container is full of chalk, red in my case. As you can imagine the line gets covered in chalk. The end of the line, poking out from the case, is the end of the string with a tag so you hook the line at one end of the work. You just pay out the string to the other end of the work, place the string on your mark and pull the string tight. Then you pinch the string and lift it up whilst maintaining the tension then let in snap back on to the work. The slap of the string on the work transfers chalk to the work marking a straight line. You can mark very long, perfectly marked straight lines with a chalk string. Having cut down the plank I was able to make the wall capping. The last thing to do was to was drill the pilot holes for the screws. That done I gave the capping a good coating of Danish oil. It is in the greenhouse drying out. Then just a case of cleaning up.
H and I took Degsy up the the lottie. We dropped off the home waste for the compo bin. I filled the bird feeders. H had a sit on the seat at the far end of the lottie to watch the birds. I dug out the old big compo bin and tipped eight wheelbarrows worth of compost onto the Asparagus bed. with the Asparagus bed top dressed I tried up and had a walk round to see what wants doing. There is plenty to go at. Whilst I tidied up up the birds came in to feed. The stars for me were the Yellowhammer and Bullfinches.
A. The garage had to be emptied to get at the pipework
B. One joint insisted on leaking repeatedly. I sorted it on the second attempt. Luckily it was in an accessible place.
C. It started to mizzle.
My born and bred South Derbyshire neighbour came over to see if H and I wanted to join him and some other neighbours for a meal to celebrate the royal wedding. H and I have plans that weekend so had to decline the offer. Whilst chatting the weather was mentioned. In Manchester it would be drizzling. In South Derbyshire it was mizzling. I was in leak solving mode, with half the contents of my garage outside in the mizzle but he did not see my urgency. I was polite you will be glad to know. I dismantle the joint again, this time I daubed the joint with flux and tinned it then resembled the joint and ran in some more solder. That got it. I filled up the heating system again, no leaks so I was able to replace the lagging. Only then could I get all the garage goods back inside. There was not enough of the day to start the other big jobs so tidied out the garage instead, chucking rubbish into Degsy, and went off to the tip. From he tip I went over to the next town to get fuses and insulating tape for the bike.
I had a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast. I figured I would give my neighbours a chance to get moving before I started knocking the plaster of the wall. There was a dividing wall in the dining room. When I took it out I found that the original plasterers had plastered to different depths on either side of the wall. If I left it as it was it would show as a hump under the paper. I had to knock off only the plaster that was too high. Precision stuff with a lump hammer and bolster chisel. When I was happy there was no high spots I mixed up some plaster and make good the holes. I left it dry. There was a patch of wallpaper that could not be removed until to shifted the radiator. I got the trusty steamer out and in no time the wall was clear of paper. The another tidy up session.
With some trepidation I set out my stall to tackle the Oak plank. One of the many things I learnt as an apprentice plumber was to prepare your work space. Get all your tools to hand and set up where your power tools as needed. It is easier to do a good job when you are comfortable. I have been contemplating the plank this week. I figured it is not square. I pinged a chalk line one inch in the from the edge. Guess what? It was not square. I ran the circular saw down the chalk line. The strip of waste cut off was thicker at each end than in the middle. I now had a straight edge. I ran the plane down the new edge to remove the circular saw marks. H liked the chalk line. It as ancient tool. My chalk liner is just a modern application that re-chalks the line when it is retrieved. The Romans used chalked lines. My chalk liner is a metal case which contains a spool of string, just like a fishing reel, except the container is full of chalk, red in my case. As you can imagine the line gets covered in chalk. The end of the line, poking out from the case, is the end of the string with a tag so you hook the line at one end of the work. You just pay out the string to the other end of the work, place the string on your mark and pull the string tight. Then you pinch the string and lift it up whilst maintaining the tension then let in snap back on to the work. The slap of the string on the work transfers chalk to the work marking a straight line. You can mark very long, perfectly marked straight lines with a chalk string. Having cut down the plank I was able to make the wall capping. The last thing to do was to was drill the pilot holes for the screws. That done I gave the capping a good coating of Danish oil. It is in the greenhouse drying out. Then just a case of cleaning up.
H and I took Degsy up the the lottie. We dropped off the home waste for the compo bin. I filled the bird feeders. H had a sit on the seat at the far end of the lottie to watch the birds. I dug out the old big compo bin and tipped eight wheelbarrows worth of compost onto the Asparagus bed. with the Asparagus bed top dressed I tried up and had a walk round to see what wants doing. There is plenty to go at. Whilst I tidied up up the birds came in to feed. The stars for me were the Yellowhammer and Bullfinches.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Bockelin
Just before Christmas I had to put the demi-johns of wine in the shed to be out of the way. I brought them back inside the other day. As they warmed up I was worried they might start fermenting again. I could not bottle the wine if it was not finished fermenting. After a couple of days in the kitchen the demi-johns were up to temperature. I judged that all but one wine had stopped.
I had been saving wine bottles over the Christmas period so had loads to sort through. I needed thirty bottles. I tried to find five matching bottles per demi-john. Having sorted through the pile and found pretty much what I needed. Then it was just a case of washing the bottles, syphoning off the demi-johns into the bottles, capping or corking the bottles, checking the specific gravity, writing labels. Then the small matter of washing out the demi-johns and cleaning up. And that was the bockelin done.
The demi-john that needed more time has been put in the corner of the dining room until it stops bubbling. This d-j is the wine made from my own grapes. The finished bottles were put away in the shed until the summer.
I had been saving wine bottles over the Christmas period so had loads to sort through. I needed thirty bottles. I tried to find five matching bottles per demi-john. Having sorted through the pile and found pretty much what I needed. Then it was just a case of washing the bottles, syphoning off the demi-johns into the bottles, capping or corking the bottles, checking the specific gravity, writing labels. Then the small matter of washing out the demi-johns and cleaning up. And that was the bockelin done.
The demi-john that needed more time has been put in the corner of the dining room until it stops bubbling. This d-j is the wine made from my own grapes. The finished bottles were put away in the shed until the summer.
Quarter sawn
In the revamped dining room there is a ledge that needs a finishing touch. I was at Staunton Harold the other day with H and her sister and spotted a big plank of quarter sawn Oak for sale. I did not have the right car with us so I could not take away the eight foot by 18inch plank by 1inch. I went back the next day with the right car only to find a posh couple cooing over the plank. I went straight over to chap. He remembered me from the previous and was only too happy to have me press a bunch of fivers into his hand. The couple were a bit put out when the chap elbowed them out of the way and walked off with "their" plank and man-handled the plank into the car. The quarter sawing brings out the figuring.
I just have to run the plank down to size and fit it. Easier said than down. H wants a frame for a mirror from the planks as well.
It is really nice to think that we will have a bit of timber from the local forest.
I just have to run the plank down to size and fit it. Easier said than down. H wants a frame for a mirror from the planks as well.
It is really nice to think that we will have a bit of timber from the local forest.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Soggy stems
This weekend was H's birthday. H sister and hubby were to come over for dinner much later in the day so I had most of the day more less to myself. Miss L was home too so H and Miss L went off to do girly things. I went to the lottie. I filled the feeders and had a look round. I started by weeding the Asparagus bed. It had patches of grass over about half of the bed. It did not take long to pick the little tussocks out. A light raking over and bed was spick and span. Then I started the little flower bed next door. I was nearly finished when H and Miss L turned up. I and Miss L each had a little brown bag with them. A present for me. A cheese and onion pastie and a egg custard from Greggs, bliss but I am easily pleased. Miss L was feeling the cold so they went off again and left me to my pastie. I got the deck chair out of the landy and put my feet up to eat my repast and watch the birds on the feeders.
Time was getting on. I got the barrow out and walked round the vines with the secateurs. A snip here a snip there. Ten minutes later a vines were trimmed. I looked over the cabbage patch. The long winter and all the snow has put paid to all but the Savoy cabbages. I went round pulling out the soggy stems of the dead plants. They went in the compost bin. The soil was a bit wet for digging but pulling out all the stem disturbed the soil and it looked in good condition.
I am having a think about moving the black compost bins but where are they to go?
Time was getting on. I got the barrow out and walked round the vines with the secateurs. A snip here a snip there. Ten minutes later a vines were trimmed. I looked over the cabbage patch. The long winter and all the snow has put paid to all but the Savoy cabbages. I went round pulling out the soggy stems of the dead plants. They went in the compost bin. The soil was a bit wet for digging but pulling out all the stem disturbed the soil and it looked in good condition.
I am having a think about moving the black compost bins but where are they to go?
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Fat Black Bees
I got a phone call at 11.30am on Saturday for the farmer I was supposed to meet at noon say that he had been up lambing so could we meet at 2pm. I had to say yes. That left me kicking stones for a few hours. I was supposed to be plastering the dining room but the re-schedule meeting put paid to that. The weather has been quite mild and today was sunny as well. The bees have been on my mind so I decided to make some candy to feed them with. Take one part water to four parts water and a half teaspoon of vinegar. Bring the mixture to the boil whilst stirring all the time. Then bring syrup to to 240 degrees. When it gets there take the pan off the heat. Whilst it cools sort out some containers. I use roasting tins, mainly because they are metal. I line them with greaseproof paper. When it cools to 200 degrees start to whisk the mixture. As the mixture cools the whisking adds air. Soon or later the mixture turns white. I find that when a crust starts forming it is about right. Then pour the mixture into the tins and set it outside to cool. When it is cold it turns pure white and has the texture of fondant icing.
Two o'clock came round so Steve ad I went to see the farmer. An hour later we were done. The sun was dropping but the sky was still blue. I decided to go and see the bees. I put the fondant and my bee gear fettling in Degsy and trundled off to see the bees for the first time this year. Because of the crop rotation I have to go different way round to the apiary. The old route is under winter barley. The new route take me down the other side of the hedge line. The trouble is there is a second fence which means I have a bit of a walk over to the hives. I got the three trays of fondant out of Degsy and strolled over to the hives. There were no bees flying but it was quite cold so I was not expecting to see any flyers. I looked in the front of the hives but there were just piles of dead bees but that is normal at this time of year. I put my ear against the hives but I could not hear anything.
I took the roof off one hive I tried to pop of the feeder and spare super off the top of the hive. It was glued on, again no surprise. I rummaged in my bees gear box for the hive tool but could not find it. I used my pen knife to loosen the feeder but had to walk up to Degsy and back for it. I was smart enough to put the feeder on top of a crown board last year. That kept the bees and the heat in once the feeder was off. The bees started nosing round the edge of the hole in the crown board. So they are alive in that box. I turned out a block of fondant onto the crown board. I cracked it in two and put it over the hole being careful not to squash any bees. I cracked the fondant block so the hole in the crown board was not blocked. The bees looked fat and glossy so they have made it through the winter. I put the roof back on and moved onto the other hive.
The same process, roof off, remove the extra supers left on over the winter. As I moved round the hive I found my hive tool. I must have left it there in the autumn. It is good to know very few people go to the apiary and if any one does go there they keep their hands to themselves. As soon as the crown board was exposed the bees started investigating. These bees where a bit more active and again fat , black and glossy. I added the two thin fondant blocks to this hive making sure not to block the hole. The hole provides ventilation. Bees need fresh air circulating in the hive to keep it healthy.
The tricky bit is to keep them alive until the spring. The bees will have been huddled together all winter eating very little. As the weather warms up the bees tuck into their stores. The hard part is to judge is how much stores do they need to get them through to spring and the first flowers. The fondant is a way to ensure they have stores. I think my mistake in previous year has been to add syrup [one pound of sugar to one pints of water] rather than fondant. Syrup mimics the composition of nectar. A flow of nectar stimulates the queen to lay which has led to the brood chamber being congested. That in turn triggers swarming. I may not provide any syrup this year and see how the build up and swarming goes.
I carried the extra supers in the back of Degsy. I will have to do something about lugging hive parts back and forth. I took a few pictures of Degsy standing in the field. Peculiarly it felt good to have my hive tool back in my pocket. On the way back from the Bees I dropped in to see the horse folk. Now I have Degsy back I can start back on the poo run. After t'horses I dropped in on the lottie. I filled up the bird feeders. The netting has taken a beating so will need repairing. The snow has put paid to the Broccoli although Savoy cabbages have wintered well as have the sprouts. The over wintering onion and Garlic are still growing. The weed cover has held the soil together and despite the weather the soil looks in good condition. The path however are a different story. The grass in the path seem to had a life of their own regardless of the snow. I think I have a job on there.
Sunday dawned wet and windy and stayed that way for the the greater part of the day. I had a job to do in the dining room, plastering. I set up self up, mixing place, mortar board, water bucket, floats and brush. Having mixed a bucket of finish I plastered the back wall of the dining room in no time at all. I decided over a brew that I would tackle the ceiling. I sorted a staging to get me close enough to the ceiling. Two buckets of finish were enough for ceiling. I took it steady. I remembered my plasterer's friend wisdom, " don't hurry lad". I worked methodically across the ceiling and left it to dry. I got an 18inch finishing float based on something saw on the TV. It was just the job, it polished up the plaster a treat. I managed to do the back wall ceiling and corner. Then I just had to clean up, me and the room, have a brew and wait for it to dry.
Two o'clock came round so Steve ad I went to see the farmer. An hour later we were done. The sun was dropping but the sky was still blue. I decided to go and see the bees. I put the fondant and my bee gear fettling in Degsy and trundled off to see the bees for the first time this year. Because of the crop rotation I have to go different way round to the apiary. The old route is under winter barley. The new route take me down the other side of the hedge line. The trouble is there is a second fence which means I have a bit of a walk over to the hives. I got the three trays of fondant out of Degsy and strolled over to the hives. There were no bees flying but it was quite cold so I was not expecting to see any flyers. I looked in the front of the hives but there were just piles of dead bees but that is normal at this time of year. I put my ear against the hives but I could not hear anything.
I took the roof off one hive I tried to pop of the feeder and spare super off the top of the hive. It was glued on, again no surprise. I rummaged in my bees gear box for the hive tool but could not find it. I used my pen knife to loosen the feeder but had to walk up to Degsy and back for it. I was smart enough to put the feeder on top of a crown board last year. That kept the bees and the heat in once the feeder was off. The bees started nosing round the edge of the hole in the crown board. So they are alive in that box. I turned out a block of fondant onto the crown board. I cracked it in two and put it over the hole being careful not to squash any bees. I cracked the fondant block so the hole in the crown board was not blocked. The bees looked fat and glossy so they have made it through the winter. I put the roof back on and moved onto the other hive.
The same process, roof off, remove the extra supers left on over the winter. As I moved round the hive I found my hive tool. I must have left it there in the autumn. It is good to know very few people go to the apiary and if any one does go there they keep their hands to themselves. As soon as the crown board was exposed the bees started investigating. These bees where a bit more active and again fat , black and glossy. I added the two thin fondant blocks to this hive making sure not to block the hole. The hole provides ventilation. Bees need fresh air circulating in the hive to keep it healthy.
The tricky bit is to keep them alive until the spring. The bees will have been huddled together all winter eating very little. As the weather warms up the bees tuck into their stores. The hard part is to judge is how much stores do they need to get them through to spring and the first flowers. The fondant is a way to ensure they have stores. I think my mistake in previous year has been to add syrup [one pound of sugar to one pints of water] rather than fondant. Syrup mimics the composition of nectar. A flow of nectar stimulates the queen to lay which has led to the brood chamber being congested. That in turn triggers swarming. I may not provide any syrup this year and see how the build up and swarming goes.
I carried the extra supers in the back of Degsy. I will have to do something about lugging hive parts back and forth. I took a few pictures of Degsy standing in the field. Peculiarly it felt good to have my hive tool back in my pocket. On the way back from the Bees I dropped in to see the horse folk. Now I have Degsy back I can start back on the poo run. After t'horses I dropped in on the lottie. I filled up the bird feeders. The netting has taken a beating so will need repairing. The snow has put paid to the Broccoli although Savoy cabbages have wintered well as have the sprouts. The over wintering onion and Garlic are still growing. The weed cover has held the soil together and despite the weather the soil looks in good condition. The path however are a different story. The grass in the path seem to had a life of their own regardless of the snow. I think I have a job on there.
Sunday dawned wet and windy and stayed that way for the the greater part of the day. I had a job to do in the dining room, plastering. I set up self up, mixing place, mortar board, water bucket, floats and brush. Having mixed a bucket of finish I plastered the back wall of the dining room in no time at all. I decided over a brew that I would tackle the ceiling. I sorted a staging to get me close enough to the ceiling. Two buckets of finish were enough for ceiling. I took it steady. I remembered my plasterer's friend wisdom, " don't hurry lad". I worked methodically across the ceiling and left it to dry. I got an 18inch finishing float based on something saw on the TV. It was just the job, it polished up the plaster a treat. I managed to do the back wall ceiling and corner. Then I just had to clean up, me and the room, have a brew and wait for it to dry.
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