The stables sorted

Here was a surprise upon my return; the stables down on the orchard terrace has had a good bit of attention.

For the first time in twenty years.

Bebere and Etienne have created a new concrete floor with two levels to replace the dirt floor and rat droppings of previous years.

And judging by the look of the Somme battlefield around the perimeter, they have put in drains.

And levelled out the slope in front.

But curses; I wish I was here when they were working. I had emptied the stables of all sorts of lumber and rubbish. I sorted the lumber into two lots – those to keep and those to chuck.

But Bebere has chucked the lot. And the wooden animal feed troughs inside. I was hoping to recycle those. They were huge twenty foot long wooden beasts which could have been cannibalised for parts.  Grrrr. I wish I had been more explicit in my instructions.

But I suspect they were battling agains the appalling weather and didn’t give themselves the leisure to second guess my thoughts.  They know I’m a great recycler.

Still, it will mean that I can start the shelves on the stable walls with new wood. And I do have another secret stash down in the other small stable on the lower terrace. I must contact Bernard to see if he can do a spot of carpenty before Christmas.

And on reflection; seeing all the levelled soil and drain work, it means Beb hired a mini digger to do the work. Oooh, I yearn to have a go and do a spot of landscaping while the machine is not in use. I could have done a more creative job around the back of the stables which is just crying out for a proper level and sort. That will teach me to leave the farm.