We’ve had several days of constant rain. When it wasn’t actually raining, it was drizzling. The poor hens are looking very soggy and bedraggled.
I fixed a small leak at the thermal store (where I had installed the swing gate valve). I knew it was leaking because the little LED leak detector circuit light was flashing red on the control panel. I’m really pleased that I installed that item – it works well!
In the afternoon the rain stopped for a while, and a tractor drove past, cutting back the branches on the sides of the road past the property. We had a chat with the driver, who was only too happy to switch off the tractor and take a break. He works for the village, and because the new village council is more – should we say – business-minded – than the old one, the task of maintaining the local roads is now being done by the village itself. After all, they own a tractor, and branch-cutting attachments. In the past, this work was contracted out to private companies (at an obviously higher cost).
Because of this contracting-out, the village had tried to economize by neglecting lesser-used roads. We discovered that the work was last done here in the 1980’s. No wonder the road was a bit overgrown! It’s now looking much better; and is now wide enough for two cars to pass each other. The road surface isn’t brilliant though; it’s a sea of mud which is not really surprising as the ground is now thoroughly soaked.
I lit the boiler stove again today. Not in order to obtain hot water, because the thermal store is still at 50 degrees; but in order to get some warmth into the house. Whatever happened to that season known as summer? I think our next country of residence will be in the tropics!