Things were going so well . . .

The photos bear NO relation to the post today, but I just wanted to relive a summer memory. I am so sick of winter, and no colour. These was taken in the grounds of Abergavenny Castle.



You know that negatives always go in threes. We had two pieces of negative post this morning. Those we will have to deal with as best we can. The third negative concerned cutting firewood. We have been working on a large fallen ash tree which has been down about five years now. It's atop a steep bank, and was a tree of about 125 years old which had split in growth, so once the double top trunks had been cut through, we were left with a 25 foot length of double thickness trunk, slowly tapering thinner. My husband's been cutting angled slices off it for the past couple of weeks, and they have burned really hot, following a day's drying beside the wood burner.

All going well then . . . Until today. It was the third "thing". I am the "gofer", collecting the slices of wood as they are kicked down the bank to me. I then pick them up and stack them in the wheelbarrow. We had reached the part of the trunk which my husband could just about saw right through with the chainsaw, providing he did half from one side and half the other. He cut a 2 foot length of the trunk and then told me to move the wheelbarrow down the hill, as he was worried that the entire trunk might roll off the slope and flatten me - and the barrow . . .

Making sure I (and the wheelbarrow) were well out of the way, he gave the cut length of trunk a good push to set it on its way. It rolled slowly down the bank, gathered speed, hit the road, bounced . . . and landed on the front wheel of our 3-times-mended rusty wheelbarrow - and flattened it. I had only been thinking, minutes before, about a friend whose wheelbarrow had bitten the dust recently and thinking of the price of replacement wheelbarrows (you would think they were solid gold, as they are £45 for the cheapest and £100 for a good sized one!) That moment of premonition should have galvanized (sorry, no pun intended!) me into action . . .

Just at that moment, the biggest tractor and trailer belonging to Next Door (farmer) hove into view, coming towards us up the hill. I managed to manhandle the chunk of trunk and roll it across the lane onto the verge the other side, just before the tractor reached us. Then we had to call D down from his attic eyrie to come and assist. He carried the wheelbarrow back, and the sack truck was called into action to bring back the trunk.

OH is currently looking for fresh bits of angle iron to call into service to mend the wheelbarrow wheel support which got flattened. A replacement one isn't an option - mainly due to the mail first thing! It never rains, but it pours.