today was a strange day … very shifty … sun, wind, warm, cold …

started the day with pear picking … great fun … got a nice load (and plenty more is still on the trees) … planning to make both compote and jam.

spent a few more hours figuring out final construction details for the stove … this time also taking into consideration some subtle aesthetic qualities.  Everything except the 1st level of bricks is disassembled. I then carried the bricks over to the house porch (lots of work!) and sorted them into 3 piles depending on their condition (pristine, ok, dirty). I then played around with maxing a first mortar mix with sifted clay (available all around us) and sand (left over from the initial house renovations). It’s a strange mix … I think I’ll be adding a bit more clay to the mix when I actually build with it.

Our neighbor came by and gifted us with a huge (at least 20kg) sack of potatoes … just as we ran out and were contemplating getting a large sack to store as a winter supply 🙂

Amidst all this I also shortened the chimney for our existing wood stove … hoping that would improve the smoke situation (the house getting all smoked up from the stove … terribly unpleasant and unhealthy) … doesn’t look like it helped much.

Then rounding up and feeding the animals (dogs tried to kill each other again) … and dinner is almost ready too 🙂