There was a brief moment of panic on Friday when I got home from work to the sight of the builders merchant’s lorry parked outside the wrong house. Fortunately, it transpired that the massive load of aggregate and gravel had indeed been delivered next door earlier in the day while my neighbour was also out, but she had the good sense to ring the number on the side of the bag on her return and so managed to catch them before they closed for the weekend. The lorry was in fact on its return visit to crane the load to its rightful place when I cycled onto the drive.
Panic over, Mr Greedy Gardener has performed miracles over the weekend while I was out at work. The tyres are now filled with a mixture of rubble dug up from our allotment, aggregate and cement, tamped down and every nook and cranny filled. It’s setting nicely so should make a good solid base. The surrounding area has been gravelled over and levelled with the existing paths. He’s going to cast a layer of concrete over the lot to add extra insulation before the bricks that form the base of the oven are laid next weekend.
We had originally planned to cover the tyres with bamboo screening but I think I like it as it is, integrity of materials and all that. The unfortunate pink spray paint on the tyres shouldn’t be too difficult to shift and a judicious sprinkling of a few seeds will soon soften the edges and the whole thing will weather in no time. The chickens are somewhat bemused by the operation, but have enjoyed the extra worms unearthed during excavations.
