After much blood, sweat and tears... oh and golf

Phase 1 of the wall is almost complete! It's only taken Sam 15 months to get to this stage, but she has played an awful lot of golf in the meantime!

Phase 2 has begun (we are both allowed to contribute to this part), with the first foundation stones having been laid. You might be able to spot a huge pile of stones behind Sam, we think it might be around 2 tons' worth. All shifted by hand from the pile of stones that was the old cottage (we did use the trailer to bring them up here). With about a ton of stone to each metre of wall it's not going to get us very far, but it's a start at least. Or it will be when I get back from my next stint in Bahrain!

We have also tidied up the front of the property, photos to follow when all the strimming and tidying up is completed.

On a wildlife note we were unfortunate that the owl did not return to the nest, but we did spot a juvenile golden eagle scanning the moor on a hunting mission, and there are definitely red squirrels in the area. The cats are loving it here, but the birds, mice and voles aren't so lucky.