Nom nom nom

Nom nom nom

So, yeah, mice are eating the mud shed.  Not all of it, just picking the seeds out of the chaff in the render, leaving little divots.

It's quite cute actually. They prise the seeds out individually, climb up to the window ledge, husk them and eat them.  Dear sweet little soon-to-be-ex mice.

I really should rethink that plan to make the top coat of render out of gingerbread.

Sour-dough render cracking

Meanwhile, the render has dried well.  It has cracked about as much as I was expecting.  I think I could have reduced the cracking if I'd been here when it was drying, to do another few passes with the the float when it was about the texture of plasticine and starting to crack.  But really the cracks aren't a problem.  The render is adhering well, and the next coat will fill the cracks and look prettier.

Today's rock work

We only had half a day to build, because we went shopping for a few supplies at the Wesley Hill Market near Castlemaine.  It's the most beautiful local market, with organic food stores and genuine crafts and a laid-back arty greenie vibe. Every ten metres you see someone you know, and stop and chat - typically friendly country people.

I have a few friends who sneak in at dawn to avoid seeing anyone, because once the sun is up and the coffee tent is pumping it takes three hours to buy a beetroot.

But we did get the big East Wall rock footing mortared into place. I find cement mixtures challenging, and rocks are heavy, so I don't enjoy this job.  But I enjoy having finished it, and the rocks are quite beautiful. They have all come from around the house, but not from natural areas.  I think the bloke who built the house dug them out of the ground when the house site was levelled.

Freshly mortared rock jigsaw

It's the easter break, so we have two more days to play in the mud, and glorious Autumn weather.  Crisp mornings and warm days.