Photo Blog Week 83 - Wed 14th October to 04 November 2015
Hello again!
As I explained last time, my schedule of involvement at Lyme is in a state of change at the moment with my old Patrolling day, Wednesday, now being apprenticed to the Drystone Walling Team. I had hopes of running some Patrol Days in parallel but I am also assisting with some web administration work for the Estate Office which is eating time. It's a shame because I'm definitely suffering withdrawal and have now missed plodding through the autumn colours and watching the rut.Photo Blog Future Posts
I realise that the blog's character has changed and that many of you visited for the photo's of Lyme through the seasons. I am aiming to get a blog post out every fortnight with hopefully at least one patrol inso please keep visiting.
2 More Weeks of Walling
This period covers three weeks but I jollied off to Scotland the middle week so just two sessions. The walling days are full and during breaks social so even if I wanted to amble off to take photo's it'd seem rude. A big difference from the Patrolling role is having company, many days in winter I could go my entire patrol without speaking a word to another human, maybe the odd deer , sheep or cow but their conversation is very limited.Wednesday 21st October
Losing count slightly but about 4 weeks into walling and it is a wet misty morning.
View from site toward the Moor
Walling Tools
Wall in progress, well temporarily not in progress actually as it's time fro a brew and tools down.
I am seeing this as an extended learning process for a new challenging skill but I was still struggling to feel good about it. Today was very frustrating, a whole day and I suspect no more than one stone successfully built in. That said, the weather was no help. I have experienced all weathers in Lyme but patrolling you can get your waterproofs all closed up, hood up and plod on. Walling involves a lot of movement, twisting and bending so my coat ends up half fastened, I'm working alongside others so for safety my hood is down so that I can see sideways, my gloves are soaking, and all this while kneeling in wet mud and handling wet stone and tools.
A rare image of Delta-Ged
I've no idea what my hat is doing but the rest of the gear gives an impression of the working conditions today.
End of Day
Heading home at the end of a day I captured a few photos in a better frame showing that Lyme is still beautiful in all weathers.
North Face entrance to the House
The Cage fading into the sky
Beautiful colours alongside the main drive
Wednesday 4th November
After a week away I was back for more. I was allocated to the team re-building at Four Winds where I had been helping strip down a couple of weeks back.Becoming a Waller?
This day actually felt good and the dearth of photo's is due to being productively involved all day.I was with a team of more experienced wallers and had a clear run of wall to work on.
It was really interesting to see one of them having a bad day, he just couldn't find the stones and felt frustrated that he seemed to be getting nowhere. The conversation suggested that this happens to all from time to time. I made a mental note that I must remember this when I'm having a bad day.
I was lucky to be working alongside Bob who was incredibly supportive and really helped build my confidence today. Something as simple as chipping in that I was doing a good job when I was locking in packing material was a great boost to me. Bob and John opposite me hit that great teaching level of encouragement, offered tips, openness to questions (some dumb), and correction by suggestion of alternatives rather than pointing to error plus demonstration when needed.
Ranger Gary dropping off some more stone
Apparently, the stone we get, though still expensive, is almost scrap or reject material. Professional wallers would actually reject this stuff but would also pay a lot more. This was music to my ears as I look at these piles of stone thinking, "This is rubbish, how could anyone build a tidy wall with this." It also answers why hammers and chisels are so much in evidence on this site which are rarely seen in the hands of a Professional. So, when I think this stone is rubbish I can claim that I am telling myself the truth rather than finding excuses for failure. (that's my story anyway).
A Successful Day
To a casual observer it won't seem much but a lot of the 2 coarses on this side were found and placed by me today. I wouldn't have been impressed, and I'm sure you are not, but having done this for a few weeks now and appreciating the difficulty of finding, fitting and levelling each stone I am seriously impressed.
After Effects
The build stage here involved heavy stones 4-5" thick and the constant picking up and trying and then lifting, twisting, replacing and packing is really hard physical work. I am still very aware of building my strength cautiously to avoid injury. I wear an elastic back brace and try my best to lift correctly though it's difficult sometimes, especially on your knees in soft ground.Over the following two days, my fingers ached, my stomach muscles hurt, I had friction burns behind my knees from knee pads straps, my knuckles were bruised and scraped, the skin at the edges of my fingernails was sore and my knees were crocked. Healthy lifestyle eh?
End of Day
Outside The Stables building before leaving for home.
Fungi fest' - in the grass by the building
Fungi fest' - on a tree stump through the fence at the side of the building
The House with autumn dropped horse chestnut leaves in foreground
end
This Time Last Year
Have a look at This Time Last Year
1 comment:
An excellent insight into the work of the walling team. Cheers! I knew you were going soft as a ranger!
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