Wasps!

Quick weather update  . . . blimmen 'ot!!

 

We have now finished the steps (bit by bit in the cooler parts of the day).  It's quite funny to watch the chickens going up and down because, like us, they were quite used to the old layout and now they have to learn a new one. 

As the front of the steps are higher than they used to be to make them level, they are quite big for the chickens to negotiate - about as high as their legs are long which we'd certainly find awkward wouldn't we?  Next job with the steps will be to disguise the fact that they are cemented into place.  I have already planted some lemon thyme in a couple of nooks and I'll hunt around for some other little plants.  Other bits can be filled in with some of the lime dust we have from the quarry which sets quite hard when compacted and will certainly look more natural than the grey cement.  It should all soften up quite nicely in time.

 

The other day Bob and I were looking at the steps and contemplating the next bit to do when I noticed a wasp fly up under the eves at the back of the workshop . . . then another . . . and another.  Closer inspection revealed what we thought was the beginnings of a wasps nest about the size of your fist.  So, we found the longest stick we could find - actually a small tree stripped of its branches which was waiting to be chopped up.  Bob then stood at the top of the steps and managed to poke down the nest.

Gosh, those wasps weren't happy!  Loads of them suddenly appeared buzzing around the area.  Good time to go inside for a cuppa we thought.  We were quite surprised that there was no sign of them next time we looked (last time we had a nest - in the fold of a sunlounger mattress in the shed - the wasps kept coming back to the site for days after.  It appears though that the bit we could see was just their porch and assume that the main nest was between the soffit and the roof and so the wasps had got over their initial indignation and then gone back inside to get on with whatever wasps do.  The next day they had rebuilt the porch.  It really is all quite impressive and fascinating, but you don't really have a choice but to get rid of them.  We bought some spray foam from a little hardware store in town not really expecting it to work.  You have to wait until the wasps have gone to bed and then stand 2m away, be ready to run and spray.  Its quite impressive that it actually sprays 2m, but even more impressive that it worked!  My goodness the buzzing was really, really loud, but in the morning all was silent and no sign of any wasps.  I guess in the winter we'll take the piece of wood down and get rid of the debris.  It's funny because a couple of days earlier I saw a wasp and commented that it was the first I'd seen all summer!

 

Bob has now finished his first ever chair in the new workshop (it's actually number 63 in total).  Today he did the exciting part (in my opinion) which is oiling and waxing it.  It just transforms the wood, bringing out the colour and giving it a lovely lustre and just making you want to stroke it.  Now he can finish off the little stool that has been almost done for a while but has been waiting so that the chair can have the first number for the new workshop.  There is another chair kit almost complete but just waiting for the Ash for the arm bend.  Unfortunately, the woodyard at the farm in the hills that we discovered a few weeks ago has had major problems with its sawmill.  It is a fairly new state of the art German machine which has been plagued with problems and was already waiting for a new something or another to be delivered from Germany when something else went wrong.  They got the part for that but somehow that blew something else when it was wired in. . . . and so we wait patiently for it to be fixed.  Vorsprung durch Teknik!!

 

I now have a new job, still at M&S but doing something completely different.  The job title is A&A which stands for Accuracy and Availability and is basically making sure that the store has accurate stock levels by pulling off stock records and checking them against actual stock and make sure other people carry out accurate checks.  Now, you may think that that sounds extremely dry and boring . . . . and, to be honest, I think you're absolutely right.  I think I'm supposed to be flattered that all the managers keep saying I'm definitely the right person for the job, but I'm not so sure it's a compliment.  I was asked if I'd be interested in the job and said that it didn't really excite me and they should ask around to see if anyone else wanted to do it, but if no-one did and they were desparate I give it a go.  A few days later they asked if I would do it and so with some misgivings I said yes only to find out within hours that someone else really wanted to do it and had even taken the books home to find out what she'd have to do.  Now that was all really awkward and I felt pretty bad about it and, I have to say, a little cross.  Anyway, she is going to be trained to do the job too at a later date so that there will be three of us to do it.  I started it on Tuesday and could have cried when I got home as the training was quite chaotic and it all seemed so convoluted and illogical and not enough time to do it properly.  I did it again yesterday and it did seem a bit clearer doing it alongside the other person who usually does it, but next week I'm on my own as she's on holiday!!  I'll be crying again I think!  This means that instead of working until 7.30pm, I am now part of the morning team doing 7am - 3pm.  I think those hours will probably be better especially in the summer - ask me again in February if I mind getting up at 6am though.

 

Anyway, that's got all that off my chest and I now have five days off work.  It's my weekend off and I asked if I could swap Monday because Ben's here for the weekend and so I'm doing Wednesday instead which gives me a nice long break.  It's Ben's birthday on Sunday and he is coming tomorrow until Monday evening which will be nice.  We don't have much planned, just chilling (in both senses - relaxing and trying to keep cool).  Meal at the village pub tomorrow and a BBQ on Sunday and that's about as far as our plans go.

 

Have a good weekend.