Farrier Day

Richard normally does us at the end of his working day but this time around an early morning start. It wasn't raining but  cool (+5°C) and above all windy, so we retreated in to a corner of the stables. Not ideal for Richard but as always he insisted it was fine and to stop apologising.

While Angie & Richard did the horses, I got out the chainsaw to get it tanked and sharpened up for the impending "big blow". I like to be prepared if a tree ends up falling on the house! To check the sharpness, tried it out on some branches and ended up spending the next six hours clearing away branches and small "wild" saplings growing in and around the property.

Have now got a small pile of firewood for 2016 and even more twigs and thin branches to dispose of. We still haven't organised a chipper to get rid of our mass of cut hedge so will add it to the pile and hope soon we have a dry cold spell when I can drive on the fields without causing too much damage. Farmer Franz would like to have the wood chips for his central heating but it means he needs to get on the fields with large tractor and trailer. The chipper towed by the car wouldn't itself cause much damage, it's a lot smaller than the monster Franz used recently, has it's own diesel motor (ie not PTO driven) but can still manage up to 23cm diameter branches.

Perhaps tonight's impending high point of the storm will bring more work for the chipper - hopefully not.

PS Thanks Richard. You always seem to end up with your posterior or "halo" in the Blips and in this case you are also blurred. Added to this, Sultan looks sceptical and with ears pointed back rather unphotogenic, but I rather liked Angie's relaxed posture.