Sunsets, Rainbows and Chickens.

I've been on holiday this week. Not for a rest but
to catch up on some projects, mainly the chicken
run. I started on the Wedensday by digging eight
eighteen inch deep holes. I then put in the posts with
concrete which I hand batched myself. Thursday
the concrete had set so I set about building the
compound. This has to be tight to the floor to keep
foxes and badgers out.

At this point I have hung the gate, and built the

three sides up with chicken wire. Still have to work

out how to do the front. I intend to have a double

stable type door and another mesh panel. I'll need

to resite the smoker. I'll need to start using the smoker.

Too much work and no play makes Jack

a dull boy.

Nice sunset from my front garden.

Looking out back and there was this nice part

rainbow.

Finally some leaves appearing on the beech trees.

Its going to be a good summer of hard work and hard play.

Canoe trailer project.

Myself and a few guys from the Paisley Pikers
Fishing Club have purchased Canadian Canoes
this year. The are many rivers in Scotland
suitable for open canoes and we will be doing
a few expeditions this summer through until
autumn and beyond. To do a river its a good
idea to have a trailer capable of carrying a
load of camping/fishing gear and anything up
to 6 canoes. I got this for the taking away.
Its an old caravan chassis, and formerly was
a towable holiday home for a family of four.

Not much to look at but great potential.

Here I have welded angled mild steel sections

to beef up the frame and give us some storage

space. A good mate gave it the treatment with

a wire brush and grinder.

Typically I give it a couple of coats of paint and

on comes the rain, but it was almost dry anyway

so no harm done.



Here I've made a start to timbering the floor and

sides, and fitted a replacement hitch as the other

one was beyond repair.

With a little help from friends I built the canoe

frame. It will take five sixteen foot canoes and

a whole lot of camping and fishing gear. Room for

another canoe on my roof rails if need be, and

more stowage space in the back of my estate car.

Cheers for now.

Gordon.

Plans for this growing season.

First proper post for a few months. The last couple of weekends have seen an improvement in the weather so I have made a start to the veggy plot. I now have 20 raised beds.


Shallots do'nt mind if its a wee bit cold.

This garlic was planted last October and should be ready about June. I have lots of veg started in small pots in the greenhouse including tomatoes, zuchini and peppers that will stay in there, and also some cabbage, beans, sweetcorn, fennel etc that will be transplanted into beds once they are established.

Other projects have included rebuilding an old Yamaha TT 600 Enduro motorcycle, converting a old race kart to an offroad buggy for my grandson, and converting a old caravan chassis to a trailer for transporting my logs etc, building a canoe rack to fit the trailer and lets not forget working 6 days and a couple of evenings a week. Sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in a day.....

Canadian Canoe.

Inspired by Mungo's canoe trip into the wilderness

last year I decided to see what it's like for myself.

Sandra bought this for me as a Christmas present.

It's a wee bit too cold just now and some of the lochs

are still frozen, but if its not too windy I will definitely

try it out this weekend.

Have to practice my J stroke....I'll report back;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5tEUqU0SL0&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=big+forklift&emb=0&feature=player_embedded

Merry Christmas.

My oldest son, Gordon, his fiancee Mel, Josh and Oliver (pictured), and my daughter Laurie came over for Christmas dinner today. We had for starters Chinese crispy duck with pancakes, spring onions and cucumber salad, and hoi sin sauce, then a hearty lentil soup with home baked bread. Entree was a barbecued fillet steak with pepper sauce, mashed potatoe with roasted sweet potatoe and caramelised red onion and a medley of spring/winter vegetables. Dessert was a Baileys Irish Cream cheesecake. Before they arrived Sandra, Meggy and I went for a walk along the farm road. It was cold and misty, the trees bare, not the nicest day for a walk but Meggy loved it. I dont mind this time of year because we are half way through the winter.
Santa Claus was good to me this year. Two bottles of Malt, a Cragganmore and a 18 year old Glenlivet. Lots of chocolate. Thermal socks, some shirts, a new jacket and chino's, but best of all, a Canadian canoe. Have'nt got it yet but the cash is there. I'll see what deals are on the go in January. Deliverance trips this spring/summer. I'll report back.........

Wood burning stove.

Its rather cold here in Scotland at the moment. Most mornings I am travelling to work on icy roads with temperatures of -5c. Whether I'm working or fishing its always nice to come home to a warm house. The stove has been on constantly for about 3 months now, and we have used three layers of logs from the woodstore. The cottage has a central heating system which runs on kerosene, but it's very expensive to run, so for the most part we only use the boiler for hot water. First pic is of the stove with Salem, our cat close by. She thinks she's a ferral cat I'm sure because she never comes in the house during summer. Between you and me she's a fair weather ferral cat. Salem was 13 last month and still very fit and healthy. She's well capable of taking small rabbits and birds, I think that her diet consists of the food we put down to her, animals and birds she hunts, and more than likely another couple of families who thing Salem, Blackie, Tiddles is actually their cat.

Second pic as a basket of dried beech logs. Hardwoods such as ash and beech are best for a wood burning stove as they give out lots of heat, but still burn for much longer than soft wood.