It was a bit chilly at the start of the day but the sun began to make an appearance and by the time I went to work in the afternoon it was sunny and reasonably warm. I did a bit of tidying up and last bits of painting this morning. Before work I went to the wood merchants to buy some wood for the windowsill so that I can finally finish off the job. I went in clutching my piece of paper with my drawing of the sill and its measurements only to be told that the widest wood they sold was 8 1/2" while I needed an 11" plank. Barnstaple recycling centre (the dump) was just around the corner so I thought I would go and see if there was anything in there. They have 2 big containers for people to throw wood into but you can only get to stuff on the top and most of it was mdf or laminated chipboard. Then I struck lucky and found a solid beech blockwood worktop. At 4ft x 2 1/2 ft and nearly 2" thick it was more than ample so I heaved it into the back of the car and drove off happily. 
Looking out towards Exmoor.Coming home from school the sun was still shining. I have seen a few lambs around but not many yet up here in the hills.. We don't even see that many sheep around these days. Fleeces are worthless and although lamb is expensive to buy in the supermarket I don't think the farmers get a good price.
I don't know what breed of sheep these were but some of them seem to have remarkably long ears.
Back home I wrestled the wood through the circular saw and got a fairly good fit. There were a few surface scratches on the wood so I shall, at some point, sand the whole top down and then revarnish it. But it has made a good solid windowsill which cost me nothing.
5 comments:
What a wonderful find, I love "recycling" especially nice wood! Your windowsill looks great.
Even though we live in the city our neighbor has permission to keep 2 ewes and this spring they have 4 lambs. I get to feed the ewes when the owners are out of town, I like the silly creatures.
Hi Lea,
I'm now thinking what I can do with the rest of the wood. Because it is blockwood I can't use it as a bench outside but I'm sure I'll find a use for it. Any off cuts will end up in the sitting room wood burner.
Lambs are cute but they do grow up. Hand reared sheep have no fear and we once had to defend ourselves with sticks from a aggressive full grown sheep that had wandered into our garden and refused to leave. Being hit full force by a charging sheep is painful.
Your windowsill looks really nice.
I think the sheep are very much like Texels, but the one's photographed look a bit fluffier than the ones I have seen, maybe they are a cousin, but gee they look like Texels an English neighbour lady has in my paddock here in Australia.
I think the sheep are Cheviots, plus maybe a few show signs of having been cross-bred with Scottish Black-faced. Wool has taken a beating over the past decade here in the States, too. Lamb prices ARE high! Here, though, farmers are getting some of the "gravy."
Hi, Ruta! I am gradually catcing up! Haven't read back through your posts yet to discover where you are heading on your vacation! I'll get there!
Elora
Hi Elora,
Spot on with the sheep identification. We're off to St Mary's, the largest of the Scilly Isles off Cornwall. I'm crossing my fingers it doesn't rain too much.
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