On a cauld and frosty morning



Tuesday 11th December 2012
 

The chickens still keep in very obvious groups. Pictured here are most of the birds we hatched in the incubator last year - unfortunately nearly all cockerels. This group has taken to wandering widely and now regularly make it all the way from the chicken enclosure up the land to the farmhouse. I must say, I do like to look out of the kitchen window and see this.





On a different note, this week's main building job has been topping up the insulation in the lofts and boarding them out. The extra insulation is very timely and is the first thing anyone should do to make their home greener and more carbon-friendly. I was pleased to see that most bulk standard loft insulation these days is made from recycled glass bottles too.
There are some wonderful old roof trusses up there, complete with old-fashioned pegs and plenty of woodworm holes (all old damage). Around this have been constructed, at some stage in the past, the new supporting timbers. All this makes for some severely restricted access! Getting from one end of the loft to the other involves sliding along on your back or scrambling, SAS style, on your belly. But it's vital storage space, especially at the moment as the house fills up with furniture and boxes, all with no place to go as most rooms are affected by building work.

A new loft ladder makes for
easy access up to the loft.
This ladder is remarkably easy to
operate and very sturdy too.

Once up there,
access is not quite so straightforward though!