While waiting for the vet to arrive.....

We are waiting for the vet to arrive at any minute to take blood samples from our sheep. We are not looking forward to this job. Two years ago I was smacked in the chest by a leaping sheep, and last year Lester crushed his thumb. Hopefully no damage will occur this year, and at least the sheep still have their winter coats on so they will be easier to grab hold of.

So where is the sheep shearer? Not arrived yet. Lester said that he wanted to shear the sheep himself, but I said to wait until the numbers were down. The sheep shearer man is tall and burly, but even he kicks up a sweat as he shears, his bare chest dribbling with moisture and his black curly hair soaked all through.

Great things are happening in the back kitchen, the best being the covering up of the rat holes....

..... and here is one of them. When I first moved into the back kitchen a couple of years ago the walls were rough but there were no holes. Over time holes were made at floor level, but I did not know of the existence of these higher ones. I felt quite sick when Jim showed them to me. But now....

...... what's this! Feet and hands walking up the wall? Nooo, just Builder Jim  messing about in the wet plaster now covering the rat holed wall!

All three freezers are now out in the Middle Barn....

 

.... it was supposed to be a temporary move while the back kitchen was being done, but we think that we shall leave them out there. Not sure where Lester is going to put the mini tractor next winter, because this is the space he used last winter. 

 

And here is the now empty back kitchen.....

 

..... with the walls starting to get covered over. The door is the one which goes into the Middle Barn and the freezers, so they are still close by. This area is where the food storage shelves will be.

...and here is the right hand side of the space...this will be the laundry area, and on the left there is to be a sink and work top space which will be a mini dairy.

And turning round to look back towards the front kitchen.....there is to be a wall put up to separate this space, on one side will be the meat processing area, and on the other side will be the food prep area. It was not planned this way, but sort of arrived as work progressed. It is with some surprise, and relief, that I have come to realise that I shall have separate areas to do our food preparation and storage. It should make things a lot easier for me, and save a lot of time. It would be nice not to have to keep tripping over things. It would be nice to be tidier.

....well the vet still has not arrived, so I am off out into the veg garden to plant the onions which have been waiting a week to go into the ground. But first, in the middle of a patch muddle, here is Lester having a moment with Maz....

 

Vx