I like to rotate the physical jobs so today it was liming walls. My technique has gradually improved and today I got quite a bit done. My son kindly bought me some extra tools for my birthday so they were in action today. Liming is rather different from using cement. Cement makes a kind of hard casing whereas lime is simply crushed limestone rock that, when rehydrated then left to dry reconstitutes itself as rock. It thus has a different finish and a slight flexibility. In the old days buildings were generally stuck together with lime and the barn I am working on was no doubt the same. After years and years the lime washes away and the gaps between the stones are then mostly just sand, but when one adds new lime it reconstitutes. The atmosphere in a limed room is quite different to one that is cemented or that has walls covered with plastic paint because the lime breathes. I think it must also do something to the Ph value of the air. Anyway, it generates a nice effect, so it is worth all the hard work.
The last couple of nights we have had completely clear skies. The stars are wonderful. Orion stands guard over the house and over in the west the evening star outshines everything else in the sky. The moon is in its waning phase so does not come up until later. With no cloud blanket, the morning is frosty. When i go upstairs to write in the mornings, the fingers tingle with the cold. However, the light of the sun is a beam of bright silver and one knows it is soon going to warm up. By the time of my midday break I am sitting on the settee in the garden lapping up sunshine as well as good hot coffee. Actually, today, I fell asleep while sitting there - a little siesta does one good.
Tara does not like Sundays because the hunters are out. There is much barking of dogs and occasional shots. Tara knows it is all bad, bad, BAD and she stays inside growling from time to time. I go for a stroll around so that the hunters know I am about which should be enough to keep them off my land.
In the evening I did a bit of work in the Minerva Wood, cutting ivy from trees and bringing in logs to cut for firewood. This is the best time of year to cut ivy because you can see it, there being no leaves on the trees. I am happy that the trees from which I cut ivy last year are looking healthy. The Minerva Wood has a lovely atmosphere now. During the time I have lived here the trees have become more established and the formation of a canopy of green high above means that the undergrowth has largely died off now so that one can walk there with ease. It is satisfying to see the cycles of vegetation. Left to its own devices this area would be mostly oak forest.
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