What we did with the camel poo and the supermarket table

The onward movement of the camel poo:

First the camel poo had to be made, and this was done with enthusiasm by the camels down the lane at Sarah's place.

Then the camel poo laid on the floor of the camel barn for months on end, becoming compacted into an earthen floor by the camels, the feet of which are very big and do a grand job of bringing the poo into a hardened mass.

So it came to be a day in late November when the barn needed to be emptied of the poo because otherwise the camels would lose head height room what with the poo flattened floor now being quite deep.

So we were asked if Lester would help clear the barn out, his 'reward' being the keeping of the poo.

"Yes", we said, although in truth I did little to help ... it was Lester and Paul (Sarah's husband) who dug out the poo,  wheelbarrowed it into the trailer, drove the car and trailor up the lane to our place, then deposited the poo in a heap in our courtyard.

The work took several days.

But a heap got made.

Then it got covered over.

 

Then Lester made the raised beds.

Time for the poo to be moved again, this time to its final resting place, which was in the raised beds.

This work again took several days, bless him.

 

 

Meanwhile, he had made a hat for one of the raised beds....

 

 

 

...here is the frame made out of old metal poles

 

.... and then made removable panels to put on it.

This is our first greenhouse. It might be tiny, but it is a start!

Now all that needs to be done is for weed control membrane to be put on the ground in between the raised beds, and then we are going to put stones down, which are to be 'harvested' from our river beach. This might take a while.  

It remains to be seen whether or not the camel poo will be adequate enough to support the growth of plants, but Sarah grows all her vegetables in the poo, and does well. The crown of rhubarb we planted in camel poo is also romping away, so hopefully we shall get a good harvest out of those beds.

 

Now you might have noticed the table with a green umbrella over the top of it, and here is how it came to be here....

Since we came here I have wanted an outside table and chairs, but the courtyard was always full of building stuff, and then the chickens came to live here, taking over any flat surface to roost on, which would have included a table and chairs.

But nevertheless I kept looking for a table and chairs when out shopping, with frequent discussions (often quite heated) about what sort of table it would be, with Lester preferring wood, but myself preferring plastic, mainly because they were at least half the price of the wooden ones.

 

Anyway, time rolled on, the building work became finished, then the chickens were rehomed, and the courtyard space became ours to do with as we pleased.

Originally I had thought of a Victorian type garden, maybe with a fountain  birdbath, a gazebo with trailing vines over the top, maybe a 'proper' BBQ (Lester's idea), a small lawn, some curving paths, an ornamental patio in front of the door. What a lovely vision!

 

So out shopping in our local supermarket last summer (2016) and on display were outdoor tables and chairs.  Idling along the display...... and ten minutes later we had bought a set, plus an umbrella. And it was a plastic set, but we were in joint agreement. Back home the boxed table and chairs were put upstairs. We still had the chickens. We did not want them to claim the table and chairs as their new roosting spot, which they most surely would.

Our plan was to put the table and chairs in front of the house, and that we would entertain people around it. That the courtyard would be a pretty garden, as in the 'vision' I had mentioned. I planned to make some pretty tablecloths, the umbrella would shelter us from the sun, and oohh la la, how swanky we would be.

 

Then all change. The Market Garden Project had arrived, and poof! out of the window went the 'vision'. But I am not disappointed about losing it, because it has been replaced by something better, something prettier, and something which better suits Labartere.

 

It came to be late morning of yesterday, there was a light drizzle in the air, the day was dull as a result, but it became time to get the table and chairs unboxed.

It took a while. Pictorial representation of the instructions to assemble the table still seemed complicated, but it got done in the end.

And wow, what a surprise....the table was huge, too huge to go in front of the house, so here it went, by the raised beds, and it will be shaded by the fig tree to the left, and the elder to the right.

 

As for that green umbrella.....well, we thought we ought to see if went up alright. It did. But then it was boxed up again. I doubt we shall be using it much. It looks a bit too 'bling' for Labartere. But a thought...... it might be useful to shade plants  under during the summer, so perhaps it will have a use.

 

 

As for our new 'dining out' set, it is unlikely that we shall be fulfilling that vision I had of using it as a social gathering hub, because the table is to be used as a potting table, and will probably always have plants on it, with a small area down one end at which we can sit and have a sandwich.

And you know what?! This is a better use of the table!

And it already feels like a quiet, meditative corner.

 

Just to mention, that I have also, finally, bought myself a sunbed. Just a cheepo one, plastic, nothing special, ....it is not intended for roasting myself to a brown frizzle, but I do love lying under a tree and watching the sunlight playing with the leaves of the canopy overhead. It is an occupation I could indulge myself in for hours on end, and is very soothing to the mind.

 

It is a sunny day today.

The sunbed is still boxed, which is probably a good thing because I have tons of things to do,

but I shall be definitely be sitting at the table,

probably potting some seeds, maybe drinking coffee, possibly doing some knitting / crochet / patchwork, but definitely enjoying this new outside space even though it is still in its infancy.

 

And here is another photo of our new mini greenhouse, but without the frames on it.

There is still a lot of the courtyard which has to be left empty of plants and garden things, because the tractor and car has to have their turning round room, but the ground is greening up now that the chickens are no longer scratching at the soil and making the place look like desert.

 

 

Ho hum.... need to go and make friends with that table and chairs.

Cup of tea / coffee anyone?

 

Vx