KW 43 Hungarian Dance No. 5
I'm trying to learn it on the piano before Christmas.
This week, just after the last newsletter, I made the last checks on the Winter Palace - the fence seemed secure, the doors were firmly closed, and the master suite full of freshly cut, organic, home made straw. I swear, those pigs don’t even know they are born! And in the evening, before supper, I marched them over.
On the first day, Tony, Brunhilda and Marilyn, but I suspect mostly Tony (for he does most of the nest building), moved all of the straw out of their boudoir, and distributed it evenly around the field. They didn’t just bring it out, they spread it with a socialist equanimity that would make Peter Singer blush1. That was day one.
You may notice, that the field is full of sweetcorn and sunflowers. You probably can’t see the beetroots, of which there are many hundreds. On day two, they ate every last crumb. I don’t know how long I was hoping it might last. I thought it would be more than 48 hours. That said, Brunhilda was especially funny. While Tony grubs around in the ground, digging up his favourite roots, and Marilyn pecks constantly at whatever she finds on the surface, Brunny took to running around with her mouth open, chewing on whatever she flew in to.
The exciting things in the Pirate life were all about increasing the comfort of the loft. I cleaned out all the drains and rodded the downpipes to hopefully stop the rain coming in, and took down and rehung the main curtains for the 20th time.
For those who don’t know, three years ago, I found a whole room full of bolts of fabric. I took the most expensive looking ones and make curtains for the loft. There are almost three whole rolls of very fancy upholstery fabric hanging in front of the architectural wall of windows at the back of the loft.
They continually get caught on the old rusty runners, and I have to rehang them at least once a year. It’s a ball ache. This week though, as if possessed by the ghost of Nadine Hurley2, I sanded the runners with some 240 grit sandpaper, and waxed them all up with furniture wax. Just in a crazed attempt to make them less recalcitrant. Oh my, dear piratereader!, the transformation is astounding. They shoooosh from side to side, swishing silently and effortlessly open and closed and open again. With no shame whatsoever, I can report that I spent 10 minutes just opening and closing curtains. With joy!
In the week before us, there is much pottering to be done in the loft and also
cut, repot the roots, cover and bring inside the chicory for fresh, tangy leaves until at least Christmas
plant out a couple of nut bushes
tidy all tools and hoses and sticks and stakes for the winter
dig one bed, sow green cover crops
make a saw-buck. I started this last week, got the design completely wrong, and have to start again. This is actually the single most important thing to do this week.
And so with that, I think I shall get out and get on with the day.
Wishing you all the best of the autumnal colours, and until next week, much love,
Your Pirate Ben
xoxo
Sure, this might be an uncommon reference, but my first choice was Ramsay MacDonald!
Twin Peaks, and the story of Nadine and Big Ed Hurley, featuring the ongoing subplot of the silent drapes. It’s obscure reference day today.
That pic with the tomatoes is so yummy!!! Ahh i miss your tomatos so much!!
Yay swishy curtains! That must be the best. I remember all the trips to buy all the various SDS drills that still didn’t work to get the bloody curtain rails up in the first place. Wahooo curtains. (From the person who can’t be in a lit room at night without the curtains closed as it gives her the heebies and currently is on an urgent curtain quest!)