Deer

From my kitchen window most mornings. These are Fallow Deer, you can tell by the white fur on the rump. Got more pics this morning I'll add them later.

Another Fence.

This was a nice easy wee jobe that just took a few hours.

I start off by using the sarking boards to mark off where the holes are going to be.

I've dug three holes but the centre hole is in the area where drainage pipes are located so can't get it exactly where I want it, but it's workable.

Using postcrete I've secured the three posts. This stuff sets in about 30 minutes so off to Rembrand Timber for some more sarking boards and a couple of marker posts.

No nails here only screws. Screws make a far better job.

 More or less finished apart from trimming the end posts and giving it a coat of preservative.

Quick fried rice with beef and fresh greens.

Quite handy in the kitchen as well. I love Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, Greek, Mince and Tatties, Stovies, Donner Kebabs just about anything really. This is a good way to use up leftover roast beef and veg. I've Julienned some beef and ham and chucked it into a hot wok with some oil, garlic and concentrated Chinese black pepper sauce. I use Lee Kum Kee products that's what most Chinese chefs use.   http://www.matthewsfoods.co.uk/eng_about_us.htm

 

 

Stir frying on high heat and chuck in a good handful of frozen peas.

I've blanched some asparagus, green beans and broccoli.

Chuck them in and stir fry for a few minutes and get them really heated through.

Beat a couple of eggs untill they are watery, this helps it to pour rather than slide of the bowl in a lump.

 

 

Pour them on to the meat and veg mixture. If it's really hot the egg should cook on contact.

 

This Veetee rice is perfect for frying, just a couple of minutes in the microwave and it's good to go.

Stir fry until it's mixed through and roasting hot.

 

It's ready to serve with just a wee drizzle of sweet soy sauce.

The chopsticks are just for show, I use a fork ;-) 

 

Slabs and monoblocs.

I don't actually do slabs and monoblocs personally but my mate Stu does. This is a patio he did for me last summer. He did the skilled part while I did the donkey work.

Might actually put a greenhouse there this year and grow some tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers...

If you need some slabs or monoblocs laid please give me a call.

Exterior Painting.

 

This is a cottage I painted back in 2008. First pic was taken a week or so before but I hadn't set the clock on the camera so it's showing 2004. Two coats of white masonery paint and prepped with Thomsons Water Seal after a good wire brush and pressure washer.

 

Sow's Ear.

 

 

Silk Purse.

 

Brenda's garden.

The gate isn't quite finished yet, I still have to rip a slat for the centre and apply some wood preserver.

 

 

 

There was a line of connifers up the middle but they had been badly cropped so much that it wasn't worth keeping them. I felled them all but they never went to waste, I took them to Riverside Composting Complex where they will be ground up and used for compost (obviously).
I cant figure why so many people fly tip this kind of material because it only costs £26 per tonne to dispose of. My van was stacked to the roof with branches and it cost less than £6 to dispose of.
They (fly tippers) probably use more in fuel going out to the countryside looking for a place to dump it.

 

 

 

This will look great when it's coated.

Garage refurbed.

This is Ewan's garage. It came with the house he bought in Forfar but hadn't been looked after very well. It needed painting, the roof leaked, and some of the roof timbers were rotten.

I scraped and gave it two primer coats, removed the felt, which was nailed on, and replaced the rotten timbers. My son Gordon is an expert flat roofer and he dried it off with his gas torch, and applied a covering of primer felt, followed by a covering of thick, heavy duty green mineral felt.

This is all melted to the timber rather than nailed. I finished it off with a hardwood trim all round. This not only looks good, it secures the edges, and the job should last twenty years at least.