We ordered the timber and pipework, and Jane spent the week prior bulk cooking to make sure that we didn't need to do a lot of food prep at the farm. We teed up Tom, one of the next generation farm lads to give us a hand with stormwater, and most of the Crawford clan and Leigh drove out to spend the weekend with us.
The firepit - proved its worth in fantastic fashion
The deck is the size of a four car garage, so there is a lot of timber to go down. As it turned out, we went threw more than 3000 screws, and 650 lineal metres of cypress decking. We were incredibly grateful for the help over the weekend - and hope to be able to continue to invite our friends and family to come to the farm for working bees bookended with lots of good food, fellowship, fires and beer!
This year is our "iron" anniversary, and I decided to give Jane her present early. I got a couple of brake drums, and Leigh made a trivet and frame for them to sit on. The heat was more than welcome, as the temperature did drop into negative territory at least once while we were there. With some windows still missing and no insulation, we quickly realised that if it is -1.3 degrees outside, then it is -1.3 degrees inside also!
This shot was taken just before 0700... Lovely, but bloody cold!
Just another one of our beautiful sunsets
We got all the downpipes installed, so now just have to run them under the house to the tank. We did get the whole deck finished, and it looks magnificent. Every time we do a bit more to the house I just want to hasten our move to the farm.
Looking back at the house from the finished deck. The cavities will be filled with sliding glass. Can't wait!
The deck after its first coat of oil - Thanks a million to all who came up for the weekend!
Phyl always managed to find a sunny spot to read the paper. It might be a while before it is both sunny and quiet...
This is from a few weekends ago - our little "Jeremy Fisher" catching his supper at the trout farm in Harrietville.
