Siminoc Diary for 29^th August 2010

Hello Everyone
Well we have had a really busy week here and are feeling very pleased with the work we have managed to get done, but I am afraid that with this in mind it might be a bit of a boring Diary. The work has consisted of mainly sorting outside and it has taken a long time but has needed doing for a while now and we have finally got down to it. So I will make the diary as interesting as possible.
So on with the Diary

Monday
After all morning job were complete with no problems we start planning the day. As we had run out of dog food it was Woody's turn to go to Constanta shopping for the dogs and cats. He was also picking up some washing powder as I was running out very quickly. I was left at home with the animals and what would normally be the goats that gave us constant hassle today it was the pigs I don't know what had got into them but I spent most of the day keeping them out of mischief in between this the washing machine would beep at me every hour to tell me the next load of washing was ready to be hung out and the next load should go in. I managed to get a little bit of sorting done while Woody was gone but not much due to pigs. It was about 3pm when Woody rang and asked if I could meet him in the village. He needed help with the shopping and I am not surprised as he was carrying 30kilo's. I wander down to meet him and we had lunch before we carry on with the day. There was not much time left to do much more of the clearing before the evening jobs got underway and at about 9pm we had had enough for the day and head inside to start dinner and settle down for the night.

Tuesday
So after yesterdays hassle with the pigs we decide to install a new security system on the fence to the greenhouse. It is called 'The Ultimate Missy' it didn't work quite as well as we had hoped though as most of the day she spent sleeping with the goats, you should just be able to see her in the picture. It was another lovely day and the washing machine was in full action again, I think I am managing to get about 11 loads done a day, and I think the washing machine is getting tired. All the pigs bar 1 were stars today, Betty was a problem though she has found a patch of weeds on the outside of the fence and she keeps heading for them, straight through the fence. Woody is in charge of pig chasing today and lets me get on with the clearing of the patio, in between he starts clearing the straw from the drive, we are clearing a space for the wood delivery we are hoping to have soon. Today we had a two hour lunch break it was back into the 40's and was too hot to work, but after that it was back to work and evening jobs started on time, and there was time spare to do a little more sorting. Just as we were finishing for the night we heard Colleena's Son shout us we look up and he is telling us an animal is out I do a head count of the goats and sheep Woody does a head count of pigs no one is missing so who is out we wonder, and under the fence creeps Peter Rabbit. The little pickle. We thought he was one of the animals that didn't escape, but we were wrong. So with everyone including Peter Rabbit in bed and accounted for we head inside for dinner.

Wednesday
Not so much of a productive day but very eventful. I woke this morning to about 50 birds on the land, I am not sure which type they are but they are big and black. Now this may sound very uninteresting but, Romanian Superstition say these birds bring the winter, so as you can imagine I was not very pleased seeing them in August. After I had let the sheep and goats out I was sitting at in the front garden drinking tea when a horse comes galloping along very happy with itself. It was Catalin's horse from the farm and I was sure I knew where he was heading and sure enough I look to the Lucerne and there he is next to Doina, Colleena's horse, it looks like Doina has a boyfriend. We lost water today so the washing machine has got a well earned break. During the morning we carry on clearing the straw from the drive, we have about 20 bales that were used as the bottom layer to stack onto to reduce the waste, and those 20 bales the pigs and goats have been quite happily pulling apart, and playing in, which has caused a lot of lose straw. Any that can be saved is being used for bedding and everything is creating a wind barrier, it is proving to be a longer job than either of us thought. After lunch we were just about to get back to work, when all hell breaks lose for about an hour. To start with the goats escape we get them in and start repairing the fence, during which Woody decided to hit his finger with the hammer and caused a very bad cut on his finger, we abandoned the fence and went to sort his finger it took about half an hour to stop it bleeding and I managed to dress it. We saw from the front window the goats had managed their escape plan, so I go to get them in the trouble was one of the sheep had managed to get stuck in the fence, I shout Woody and we manage to free him. We decide to let the animals out on the Lucerne now to save trouble, and just as we do Doina slips her tether and is off to see her boyfriend at his house we try and stop her but she wasn't having any of it, we shout to Colleena and walk with her to try and catch Doina. I stay with Colleena, while Woody goes to check on the goats. After half an hour even Colleena can't persuade Doina to come home so she leaves her with her boyfriend and decides to collect her later. After all the commotion we have a quick tea and check Woody's finger, its hurting, swollen and sore but he will live nothing is broken just bruised and cut. Its time for the evening jobs to start, all went well even being one hand down. We have a little bit of an early finish, and were inside by 9pm ready to watch our favorite program and settle for the night.

Thursday
The plan for today was that I went to Constanta, but I couldn't be bothered so Woody very kindly went instead, this time for our food which is a lot lighter.
I spent the day finishing the racking of the loose straw and putting the odd bits into piles; Bricks, Wood for burning, Wood for using, old buckets for planting, and rubbish Harry has managed to collect, he seems to have a fascination for plastic bottles and tin cans. Woody was home in time for lunch and after lunch we carried on and were feeling pleased with our progress. Evening jobs came around all to quickly but we managed to finish the evening jobs in record time and the last couple of the hours of day light we carried on clearing. It was about 9:30pm when we really couldn't see what we were clearing, the sheep and goats wanted to go to bed and the pigs were a delight to usher to bed, everyone was tired including us. During the evening the view around us changed again, the Sunflowers next door have been harvested, this will make letting the animals on the lucerne a lot easier as there is nothing around us now but weeds.

Friday
All the morning jobs done and we carried on with sorting, and another fence repair job, the harvester managed to hit two poles yesterday and they have been snapped and needed replacing. It was another hot day and after the washing machine has had a two day break it was put back to work. After lunch it was that time of the year that all of the dogs don't look forward to, bath day !! All apart from Patch, who goes completely and utterly mad in a bad way if you get her wet, had a bath and the flea treatment. They were all very well behaved and didn't give us too much trouble. After snowy had his bath we let him go and he ran straight to the chickens dust bath, and looks dirtier than before his bath but all the others managed to stay clean for a couple of hours at least. Evening jobs start and finish and we head inside for a quiet evening.

Saturday
I started the day alone Woody had a major headache, we think he may need to go to the opticians'. I carry on with the jobs as normal and then continue my clearing mission, I had set aside two days for this job and a week later I am nearly finished, oh how I underestimate animals and Romania. Again that was pretty much my whole day washing and clearing/tidying and checking on Woody. Evening jobs complete we head inside with an early night planned, very inconsiderably the TV put a good film on and we didn't settle down till just before 1am. 2am and the dogs are going crazy Woody goes to investigate and finds someone trying to pinch the fence, he disturbs them and before he can get a good look at them they are off in their horse and cart. He wakes me and we decide to do a shift system for the night, just to be on the safe side.

Sunday
After a long night of shift work, we were both a bit bleary eyed. While Woody had his last turn sleeping I let the animals onto the Lucerne. I saw Colleena and we had a good old natter, she told me we were going to have rain today. After we had chatted for about half an hour we both needed to get on with some work. My first job was to check the weather and it didn't look good it say we have rain for the next three days, which just sorted out what the plan was for the day. So the day was spent, making sure everything was covered and protected ready for the rain. The rain never came, which I was pleased about and at 6pm when I checked the weather again it was saying we were clear until Monday lunchtime and then we would have rain and thunder through till Tuesday night. We had visitors all day today. Charcoal and Chalky, Colleena's goats were running lose this morning and they decided to follow our goats wherever they went, our goats didn't mind and they went in and out most of the day, they were quite happy. It was a easier day than the rest of the week, but we still didn't manage to sit down till 9pm, and then it was time to write to you good folks.

So that has been our week and as long as the rain holds off another hectic week is planned for next week.
So for now I am going to say
L8RZ Peepz Take it easy :)