Everything's broken!

Not having much luck at the moment.  All week we have had real trouble connecting to the internet, the camera has given up the ghost (just too much dust and muck has finally got to it I think) and the bandsaw is broken!  Bob phoned Orange today who said that some maintenance work they had been doing just might have affected our connection, they talked him through a different way to connect which I think resets the modem or something.  This meant we could get in, but I'm not sure if that is it sorted or not - we'll see, but I thought I'd better grab this opportunity for a quick update while I can.  No more photos for a bit I'm afraid!  And then the bandsaw threw a wobbly - literally.  So, we have bearings and belts and stuff on order to see if we can sort it out.  Just when we need it for cutting window sills, oak lintels and so on.

On the positive side, the plumber came and got everything done in one afternoon.  So first fix is complete and the system has been pressure tested.  You cap off all the pipes then pump water through the system.  That can be done with some sort of hand pump or, if mains pressure is good enough you can use a hose pipe.  Our pressure is 6 bar which is quite good I think, so hose pipe it was.  Bob was on tap duty, switching on and off when instructed, the plumber did something with a manifold and I was in the house watching all the pipes.  Suddenly water started pouring out upstairs, really pouring out!  Once everything was off, the plumber realised he'd forgotten to cap one of the pipes . . . .that explains it then!  Easily fixed and then we tried again, no dramas this time, phew.  You then leave the system pressurised for a while and then check all the joints for hissing, dripping or spurting.  Reminds me of my childhood which was mostly spent in awkward positions checking copper pipe joints for leaks as Dad tested his latest addition to the plumbing system of our house - see this is all in my blood!  We are now ready to get on with a whole lot of plasterboarding and so ordered a delivery for Monday.  Then it will really start to look different.  It will be very strange and probably a bit annoying not to have loads of little shelves in the form of the studwork for putting tape measures, pencils, mugs, radio, etc on.  Not being able to see through walls will also be time-consuming - we'll have to walk INTO rooms to look for things!

Yesterday we did lots of bits and pieces, the last bits of studwork, last bits of insulation around the re-routed pipes, a mock-oak-post in the bedroom to hide some cables and wires.  When I say mock, it is real oak, but the post doesn't actually do anything structurally.  Then today we have been doing more domestic things - usual Sainsbury's/launderette trip and lunch out for a treat.  We are off visiting for the weekend - calling at Laura's, then to Mum and Dad's for  couple of nights and then to Bob's Dad's on Sunday and finally a cuppa with Ben and Lucy - so we have also had to do stuff to make ourselves presentable in the outside world.  Boots are now polished, car has been cleaned, jeans washed and so on. 

As I can't take any photos at the moment, here's a couple from last year.  We had so many babies to keep an eye on last year - it was quite a responsibility.  Blue tits nested in the wall in the chicken run and when they fledged two of them just sat on the path tweeting.  They were just soooo cute!  The parents eventually collected one, but the other was left by itself.  We kept an eye on it from a distance, but eventually had to get on so we put it in the chicken run and shut the door so the chickens (or any other predator) couldn't get it.  The blue tits can obviously get in and out through the wire, so the parents wouldn't have any trouble.  Later in the day, it was still there and not looking too perky.  We had to go out, so had to put the chickens in the run.  So I made a 'nest' from moss, put the baby in it and put it on the roof of the run where the parents could find it.  When we got back it had 'gone to sleep'!  Aaah, it was very sad.  We also had a wrens nest in the top of the wriggly barn and actually watched the babies fledge.  What a way to waste a whole afternoon!  They took ages deciding whether to come out or not, getting right out and scurrying back in.  Now, if you think baby blue tits are cute, you should see baby wrens - just little brown balls of fluff.  This one sat right next to me while I was hanging the washing out and then waited patiently while I got the camera.  We also had three robins nests - I think it was actually the same pair.  The first nest was really low down in the grass bank the other side of the lane - doomed from the start I think.  One baby had hatched and there were a couple of eggs when the nest got pulled out and destroyed by something.  The parents then got busy on a much more sensible site in the top of the wriggly barn (opposite end to the wrens) and they all fledged when we weren't looking.  Without a pause, the adults started on the next nest and we saw the newly fledged chicks in the hedge one evening.  The nuthatches used last year's woodpecker nest hole in the half dead beech tree behind the caravan and brought their babies to show us and Laura was treated to a real show with them hopping about on the fence in the wren picture and along the hedge behind the caravan.  The young greater spotted woodpeckers came to the peanuts a few times and the young buzzards drove us mad with their incessant seagull-like calling all day.  I have already told you about the baby tawny owl that entertained us one evening with its bobbing and funny calls.

The reason for all the talk of baby birds is that it is obviously on the minds of the birds around here.  They all have their very smartest outfits on, the robins and nuthatches are actually hanging around in pairs instead of chasing each other off and they've all started singing their little hearts out.  It's quite noisy sometimes!  Earlier in the year, the electrician was here helping us move the electric box before we built the extension and he said 'It's like being in a flippin' jungle round here!'.