Today was a BIG day. The work started on the house and the old roof came off! It was amazing to see the interior walls with light flooding in. The old tiles are in good condition so we will use them elsewhere on the land, probably on a rainwater collection structure.
It’s fascinating to see the history of the barn as we unearth things. There are quite a few very old tools and metalwork pieces that we’ll keep to use as art pieces. You can see the stone hearths too. The floor is just earth. One room was used for animals and hay and the other looks like it was used to live in (minimally) because one of the walls is scorched where they lit a fire to cook and for heat.
We also tried our hand at a project of our own – building an enclosed area for Joey to stay in when we go out and have to leave him here. Neither of us are big DIYers so it’s not perfect but it’s good enough! We just need to make a gate now then try it out.
We don’t have running water so we need to collect rainwater in addition to using well water. We have a blue 5,000 litre tank and it’s been sitting in a field for months. Today we rolled it into position ready to fit guttering to collect the rain water ready for the rain over winter.
This afternoon our new friend Marc who writes a great blog called Our Farm Portugal came over for a cuppa. His story is similar to ours and is really interesting to read. He made the move to Portugal in August this year but he explains the practicalities and the emotions of such a move well. He’s also a West Ham supporter (as is Phil.. not me) so the conversation inevitably turned to sport! Football…rugby…it never ends!
We’re just waiting now for our friend André to pop over as he’s going to keep some bee hives here. They’re Spanish bees that he’s looking after for someone else and apparently they don’t get on with André’s Portuguese bees – hilarious! Over the winter, they are going to stay in a quiet area on our land. I’m assured they are very passive in the winter! It’s only 7.48pm now and we’re exhausted! See you tomorrow!
