For me this day starts with documenting where the rain water ends up. Pierlo has told me that unfortunately there is a leak somewhere in one of the pipes that connects the cement containers he has installed in the area to the left of the house.
Actually I have more pictures of this in a later blog, but here's a rundown of the system. To Marion's left, there are 4 or 5 huge cement containers underground that have been filled with rainwater. They are connected both at the top and the bottom with a plastic hose. This way, if it becomes necessary to drain any one of the basins for cleaning or any other reason, a stopper can be put in so that the rest of the containers continue to hold water while one of the other containers is worked on. Pierlo has not had the time to worry about this problem and since he is currently connected to the public water system, it is not a priority for him. Later in the visit I will document his progress on finding the leak.
Early morning is a time to stroll around the grounds.
Here Marion opens the top of one of the cement containers.
When Pierlo arrives to take us to Dominique's, he realizes there is a flat tire. No time to do anything but pump it up and hope for the best.
Here Ana and Joe enjoy their breakfast on the terrace. I arise earlier so have already eaten and had my portion of the coffee I brew when I get up.
We arrive for the day at Dominique's and in playing with Ma (Pierlo's dog), Pierlo finds three tics! Oops. Where there are three tics, there must be more! A plan seems brewing for a mass doggie bath for all our four-footed friends.
Pierlo continues his search for tics on all the dogs.
Here Ana and Annelise begin the work of the day. I was never exactly sure what they were doing, but as this blog unfolds, you can at least see the results. I think they were putting in screws to hold pieces of wood to be used as a guide to attach the cross pieces that will support the triangles. How that for precise architectural vocabulary. Well, it's not as if I'm going to build my own straw house!
I have a new job of measuring some pieces of pressed wood to be used in a later operation. I'm a little afraid that my measurements might be off but later as I measure and remeasure, the answer seems to be that the piece of wood is not completely straight. What a relief! I'm sure I took too much time to do this operation, but I would also make a contribution again in cooking the noonday meal.
Everyone else has some job on the chantier and you can see the cross pieces begin to appear.
Here, they all begin to work in tandem to "upload" (well, I know more about computers than architecture) the "non beams." (Sorry, that's the best I can do for now.)
As each "crosspiece" is laid, it must be screwed into place.
It doesn't seem like much of an advance but it is not yet time to eat.
Marion and I are on cooking duty and here is one of the salads I made (raw beets and raw zucchini) with a delicious sauce made from "creme fraiche" with flowers for decoration. I think back to my trip to Japan with American students. Everything is more appetizing there because it is beautifully presented. I hope my colleagues here will like the presentation as much as the taste.
My cooking partner decides to make a chocolate desert. Delicious!
Now here you can see progress and we haven't even had lunch yet.
It's time to rest and because so much was accomplished in the morning, it is decided a long rest will take place after lunch and there will be no further work in the afternoon. Dominique looks happy about the advance on the work.
No matter how much food is made, there is rarely even a scrap of leftovers!
One of the dogs brings a dead bird perhaps caught by one of the cats. Pierlo looks carefully and identifies the bird. Another case where I should have had a notebook to write down what kind of bird it was.
As I stroll around the garden, I find a lovely, light green spider.
On the way home, the hay was being harvested.
I took more pictures to give you sense of the rural nature of this area.
Only an occasional house can be seen from the road.
Mountains Beyond Mountains (For some of the readers of this blog, this will be a familiar title - Paul Farmer's book on Haiti)
As the day is still young, we are not in a hurry. As we arrive at Pierlo's home, the young folks decide to play some "friendly" volleyball.
How's that for a view!
What a beautiful walk.
Ok, now the tricky part. Here is a fabulous patch of blackberries, but they are just out of reach. Joe offers to be a human ladder while I cringe.
You can see what everyone is excited about. There are sooo many fat juicy ones just beyond one's reach! I, of course, have already gotten plenty of scratches by barging deep into the patch just adjacent.
We get as many as we can before doing serious damage to Joe's back. Now the climbing is getting difficult for me. Everyone encourages me and I plod along, sometimes clinging to Joe's arm.
A walk, even if difficult, I wouldn't have wanted to miss.
Here we have arrived high enough to see the house and caravan from a distance. To the left you see a bird of prey that has caught its lunch.
This is a flower I haven't seen elsewhere.
This time Joe's glasses are in danger as well.
As I remember, these were tiny plums but really too far away to reach. Marion went in and tried to climb the tree, but the fruit was just out of reach. Hardly a place we can bring a ladder back!
And here the young ladies await the slow poke. Notice the paint bucket is half full. There was another bucket as well with at least as many berries.
And here the afternoon ends. I'm tired but happy that my friends all helped me enjoy this wonderful climb! Thank you Ana, Marion, and Joe!
Come and join us later for the weekend activities.
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