So the barn owls have fledged which means we can now start to tidy up the wood shed. I have become a bit of a hoarder in the last couple of years. After all the building work I had accumulated a plethora of left over bits of wood, funny shaped bolts, bits of piping etc, but was loathe to throw them away, especially when I had a shiny big shed to chuck them all in. I must admit I have found all kinds of uses for these bits and bobs, but I now had a plan to turn a load of old wood, a barn door and some kitchen work surface into the centre piece of any self respecting DIY enthusiast's hideaway……..a work bench with vice!
To the casual observer it may not look like much, but she’s a sturdy girl, and I was pleased with my lower shelf addition. Not only did it provide additional valuable storage space, it also acted as a stabiliser for the three fence post legs. Next is to continue the tidying, bring some power to the shed, and I could use the chiminea in the winter to toast my toes when I get the urge to ‘make’ something during the colder months.
The Clay Oven –Part 3
I had a two day window of glorious weather to progress with the clay sculpture. I continued to dig clay from the stream bed, and the next stage was to mix this with wood shavings to apply a second coat of clay to the dome which will act as the insulation layer. At this point Philippa surprisingly went 'AWOL'. I don’t think her hands fully recovered from assisting me with the first layer. I also built the brick front with chimney which I was particularly proud of. Even though I was only using clay, amazingly the archway stayed up!
The last job is to dry it out and apply a final coat of a clay/sand mix, which should be just as autumn is descending so the window of opportunity for using the oven will be getting very tiny indeed!
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