Digging for gold

From this......

No, I meant digging for bricks. We still have no news on the planning decision so are continuing with clearing the site. This might imply that I have been doing the ground clearing but this would be a bit of an exaggeration, although I do get down and dirty on occasion! I usually provide support service such as lunch, trips to the tip and being in charge of domestic duties.

.......to this.

This week the focus has moved to the bonfire site which used to be the muck heap when the barns were a livery stable, and before that a general farm shed. This conclusion was reached in a 'time team' sort of way by the debris removed from the pile. Underneath all the nettles, ash and horse manure was the roof of the building, loads of concrete, assorted farm debris and a lot of bricks. The manure and ash have been dug out and piled at the bottom of the garden waiting for a time when we can build some raised vegetable beds. The rest of the pile was split into a giant heap of rubble, a smaller heap of bricks to recycle, and a selection of bins and trugs with assorted plastic bags, twine, engine parts, glass and rubber hoses. I had a go at cleaning up some of the bricks by hacking at the mortar with an old axe, and found that as the bricks got cleaner, I definitely got much dirtier. There's a load of them and I think  it will take me for ever.  Incidentally, this part of the building will eventually be the garage. Sometimes it's hard to remember why we are doing all this......