KW-37 As one era closes, so another opens

I'm not much of a monarchist, but I am still a Brit.

This week, the weather took a strong turn towards the decidedly inclement. I might still be wearing short trousers, but trench foot is looking ever more likely.

all atmospheric over the barracks.

It’s rained every day, which is great. The desperate lack of waterry sky stuff all summer was definitely a cause for concern, but I managed to keep everything alive for long enough to develop a bit of a root system, and when the rains finally came, everything has boomed into life.

At least two of the five or six pumpkin plants which eventually took hold look like they might get far enough along to produce something edible - which will be nice - and the vineyard is finally looking super productive.

The craziest thing about the vineyard is the quinoa. Last year, I bought a pack of seed, and tried to grow quinoa in the vegetable patch. I didn’t really give it the care and attention it needed, and it soon got swamped by weeds. Lots of things went wrong last year! But, it did make about half a dozen plants. Quinoa is actually super easy to grow. I saved the seed, and sowed it this year in the vineyard - seven rows or 35 meters each. And just look at it! It’s the bobble-headed stuff between the rows of sunflowers.

I tried to do a very rough estimate of how much I’m going to get from it. The short answer is that I have absolutely no idea, but there are thousands of plants here, and each and every one of them is making a really fancy-looking head of grain. I dunno - kilograms of the stuff for sure.

I just realised that I don’t have any pig photos from this week. But, I do have a tale to tell. They are an emotional bunch of porkers, and always let me know what sort of mood they are in. Brunhilda is the most changable of the three, and sometimes, when she is in a particularly sensitive mood she just wants to be with her human, for scratches and rubs and words of encouragement and self-actualisation. She complains most pathetically when I have to go and do something else. She can’t quite understand why she is being abandoned to the company of pigs!

I have been making tomato sauces like they are going out of fashion. Over 50 so far! The winter may wint.

The absolutely most stoic, unchanging of the triplets is Tony. He is impervious to all. Imperious over all. Well, when I go and feed them, we always have a little chat, and they get a passing friendly slap on the haunches or scratch behind the ears. One day this week, I don’t remember which, I gave Tony a particularly robust tap of affection as I was leaving the pig pen, and he looked up, and fell to the ground as if shot, rolled half way onto his back, kicking two legs into the air to demand scratches. He’s not done this all year and he has never done it while eating! Can you imagine - Tony preferring a belly rub to a snout full of vegetables? That was lovely, and I will admit to teasing him about it ever since!

I am a grubby pirate!

This week, the job list is quite straight forward.

1. Make a Pizza oven.

Of course, it’s not going to be just a pizza oven. It’s going to be a pizza oven, charcoal grill and solar cooker all in one. More interesting, perhaps is the job list for making a pizza oven. I think it looks a bit like this:

1. Chop up metal frame thing (see picture). The panels are for the base and the grill. The edges are going to make the BBQ griddle

2. Make a nice strong cement base

3. Make a wooden mould to pour a cement top into and make a cement top

4. Clean and collect a couple of hundred whole bricks for the structure

5. Same, but half bricks for the pizza oven.

6. Make the whole dang thing.

Bricklaying is one of my least favourite barracks jobs. Mostly because I am not very good at it, so I guess I should see this as an opportunity to improve. I still don’t like it much though!

Ok. This newsletter is a bit late. I’d better hit send!

Sorry about the lack of piggie pics. If you would like a special pictorial pig update midweek, like or comment. If we get.. hmm… 36 likes, I shall send a bonus pig-filled newsletter out midweek. How do you like them apples? :)

Much pirateeeey love until next time

Your Pirate Ben

xoxo