A Blog Post about a Bog, and Other Stuff

We had some very strong winds during February. So strong that the umbrella that was keeping the rain out of the compost loo blew down. The whole structure was very flimsy. I had made it as a temporary thing three years ago. So I decided to build one out of cob. I told myself I could do it in a week.

So I dug out a flat space and took down a few barrow loads of big rocks and some small ones and began to fiddle. Not bad for day one.

Day two had me trying to mix the cob on the hillside. I was going crazy with annoyance. It is very hard working at a slant.

So I demolished the old one, leaving me with the perfect place to work.

It goes quite quickly. I used beer bottles to keep the vertical levels and as infill.

It has been taking much longer than a week to do as I got ill, and I also have other things to do, but I have been counting the days that I've been working on the bog. Here is day four -

Day five

I've got as far as day six. I went to bed in the afternoon and spent 24 hours there.

I am using lots of bottles by now as we have lots and it means less clay. It was quite strange to hear the wind whistling over the bottle necks. I have started to plaster around the bottom using the mud left over from each mix which is left on the plastic. It is lovely and smooth.

So that is as far as I've got. Tomorrow will see me at it again.  The weather has improved one hundred percent so it will be much more enjoyable (not that I don't enjoy it anyway!).

The studio is looking good, and the garden flourishing.

Now we are waiting for Laura and Nuno to have their third baby, due the beginning of April. Rob has made a lovely rocking cradle which will hold the Moses basket. (Photo later)