In Spring we had a delivery of Larch in the round donated to us by a friend of Embercombe. Over the past few weeks volunteers have been learning how to use a saw mill on site to process the timber. All the saw dust from processing is used as a mulch on the land and the off-cuts keep us warm!
We then planed the timbers to size in our workshop and delivered them to our friends at South Devon College. The level 1 carpentry students have been working hard to turn them into tables and benches. They love doing the work because they are learning and building something of value. We have just picked up the first 4 tables and they are down at the Linhay. They are now ready to varnish.
Week before last we have been doing lots of smaller things. Sometimes the week is like that. The jobs going on are, trimming back various overgrown shrubs and trees, plumbing, fixing chainsaws and tractors. The site apprentice Tris and volunteer Roman have been putting up the beautiful signs made by volunteer Nadia. They are currently also working on a new sign post that will help people navigate our site. As usual we like to set them a challenge so they need to take a bent twisted log and make all the signposts sit square and pointing in the right direction. I have every confidence they will do it.
Diggers and Dreamers
This week we are making good friends with a blackbird. All week landscaping work has been going at the Linhay. Everywhere I dig there is soon to be a blackbird picking out the worms. I think it is the same one. I am wondering why only this blackbird and not all the birds around here? Massey Ferguson 35x is our dumper this week and is seen here being loaded with topsoil.
I should also express how much I am enjoying driving the digger. Is this work?
Digger has gone (sad face). There has been lots of work down at the Linhay recently. During the volunteer weekend Jo worked with others and tidied up the piles left by the digger and it now looks beautiful. Volunteers have been dry-stone walling. Slowly it is looking less like a building site. Also, the new directional sign has gone up. Later on this week we will be sorting though wood piles.