Summer is here!

Summer is finally here; time to kick back and enjoy the rare good weather. We've made good headway with the Holzleg so far. The roof is up and secured (OH) and the posts have been weather-proofed (Random). OH has dug up a stubborn forsythia root in the searing afternoon heat and has improved the drainage in that corner by recycling the building rubble from the excavated chimney. He has been pounding seven shades of hell out of it with our new mallet. Once that's done, I'll probably make up a rough foundation out of the old allotment shed, dragged back to the house on our little handcart. Completing the rubble-breaking and screwing together the wood base will be my task today (photos to follow).

Yesterday, I got side-tracked into doing more weather-proofing around the house and garden -- I got a canister of cheap Lidl fence varnish in the spring and used almost all of it up re-coating the backyard fence, which is still rickety and no protection against zombies, but at least it looks a lot tidier now. I also finally got round to giving the wooden Poolhouse another layer of varnish. I never got into glue-sniffing in my youth but yesterday's whole-afternoon creosote-fest was VOC heaven and thus I spent the rest of the evening on a pleasant, perfectly legal high. Then again, that may also have been caused by the sun-induced endorphine rush plus all that open-air exercise that I haven't had because of the rain.

We also managed to scavenge more perennials destined for the compost heap -- yes, official permission was given -- and now there are several more grapevines parked up in our backyard, adding Perlette and (not sure here) Reichensteiner to the 3 Mueller-Thurgau already there. OH is definitely serious about growing grapes and making our own white wine. But that also means we need another plot. Our Allotment Secretary, collared just after he had got back from a holiday, was understandably uncertain about what was happening. We've got our eye on an unused and by now massively overgrown plot -- well, I have, because I love the way it backs onto trees on the eastern side at the back and has a lovely ramshackle shed system at the bottom. Plus it has a greenhouse frame. It'll be a beggar to clear but such brute-force jobs are just the ticket for me.

I said to OH "If we get this, I'll move my cottage/veg garden down there and you can recreate everything you need for your micro-vinery/-brewery on the sunny plot!" I have no doubt OH will master wine-making in no time so as his next challenge, I have researched hops varieties -- I'm sure there'll be space for a giant hop frame somewhere in amongst the currants, berries and grapes -- so that he can brew me my Continental beer according to the German 'purity law'. We've only just had the roof re-done so converting part of our attic into an oast house will be a doddle.