Essential Accessories to Barn Life

Sunday provided, what has become of late, a rare elongated period of dry weather.  Much of the day was spent clearing the steep embankment by the brook.  Despite the bite of the wind, jackets were discarded as the sun shone and the smoke from the incinerator permeated our clothes and hair.  New shoots from the weeds are just beginning to peek through but so too are the shoots of plants yet to be revealed.  Spring is an exciting time for any gardener but more so when you are about to discover what’s hidden beneath the bank of weeds.  This and small glimpses of life from the bare trees and plants are a welcome enticement to say goodbye to what has otherwise been a long and difficult winter.

We have been assured by our new friends that this season has been exceptionally wet and windy.  By the time storm Dennis hit we thought we may have peaked.  It felt rather apt that the storm was called Dennis.  We once had a friend called Dennis, sadly he is no longer with us.  He, like the storm, was a force; powerful and relentless, unwavering and loud.  Our friend was a fighter, refusing to concede defeat and likewise storm Dennis did not leave this plane without considerable disruption.

No more babbling brook in the garden; as storm Dennis became storm Jorge, the ground at the top of the hill squelched ‘underwellie’ and the banks of the brook leaked rivulets of water, trailing into the raging torrent below.  Fields on the lower ground became lakes and roads in the town and villages became impassable.  The words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge came to mind, ‘Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink’.  Whilst the Ancient Mariner was referring to salt water, we were unexpectedly referring to our water supply.  So smug were we when we told people about our borehole supply of wonderfully clear and pure tasting water.  How shocked were we when one Sunday morning nothing came out of the tap?  No longer so smug once the borehole electricity unit was dried out and reconnected only for our water supply to turn muddy brown.  So much rain had fallen that the water had penetrated the chamber, not only soaking the unit that powers the pump but topping up the 280 foot hole with surface water from the fields.  Even the two-step filter system in the plant room (first for impurities and second for bacteria) couldn’t cope with what was coming in.  Fortunately we are now back to normal but the real test will be over the next few days through the latest weather warning of strong winds and heavy rain.

The rain has blown in this afternoon, already lashing the windows.  As the wind rattles the slate roof and the rafters groan and creak we will be hoping at least that the water problem is resolved.  You may be asking yourselves how we manage to sleep through the storms.  The Guitarman has an impressive (and somewhat envy evoking) ability to sleep through pretty much anything.  As for me, my latest must have accessories to barn life are earplugs.