I have not been active on the blog since some weeks.
Life got too busy on and off the farm and the writing needed to take a back seat.
In the last month we worked hard on the main farm road.
Pictures from left to right: material for the road repair – road work in the rain – JCB levelling
As mentioned in the last newsletter in July, we got financial support to give the road a new top layer with more stable material because our heavy clay becomes a real sticky mess in the rainy season.
We wanted to start this project in April but then the Covid situation made it difficult to get trucks of material in. Then when we passed this obstacle we had a hard time to find a contractor who could deliver the right material for a decent rate. Once we got some agreement, then the summer rains became the next hurdle. The rains during this summer have been extremely good; so good that it is hard to get the heavy trucks inside the farm and dump their loads on the right spots.
All this took a lot of energy and required being on site because besides the above, one has to keep a constant eye on the quality of the material which is being brought in; too rocky material or too much clay mixed in the material does not work for the road.
The biggest part of the work is done but since we had some very good rain showers in the last few days the work has stopped …. again. The contractor has already told me that the government permits to drive the trucks on the road has increased recently and the price of the material will go up. So more negotiation will be needed before the work can resume.
One of our 3 dogs died last week which was painful. Heba was a lovely dog and a very strong character and it took me some days to get my mind used to that reality. The world on the farm has changed without her.
