Walloped!

Today, I finished cleaning out the pony paddocks, did a little maintenance to the brambles along the border and set about sorting out a composting bin. Thankfully my son was able to lend a hand as the corregated iron panels I'd found were just too difficult to bend. Moomin and I jumped up and down on them for some time before Son started bashing them with a mallet. We then bent them to form an L shape and put them together to line the inside of the compost area. A couple of pallets were staked in place to hold the shape of the bin. Then the manure from the paddocks was shoveled in along with two months of kitchen waste. Later we sorted the windfalls and threw the rotten ones onto the compost and divided the rest into eaters and pony apples. It took us nearly all day to get so much done. I had to pop out to Bricomarche at one point to buy stakes for the corners of the bin. I'd wanted to use only things I could find on the property, but all the logs and branches were too rotten and snapped under the slightest pressure.
I'm trying to approach all work on the land by using the permaculture principles, but sometimes you just have to buy something new. In the long run, I'll be saving effort and time, so a little purchase now can be forgiven.

After all that hard work, it was good to take the time to sort the laundry. The sun was going down, dinner was cooking and I only had this last job to do before a hot shower and a cold beer.

On my way back to the house, I noticed Dexter having a quiet bath in the shade of the chestnut tree.

Most of the time his tongue is out, I think because of a jaw injury. However, this face was just too good to miss :D Can you see how wet his side is? Most of that is dribble and a little licking. No wonder his coat is so clean! We adore him to pieces. It's funny how quickly he's settled in, I think he was waiting for us.x