I keep thinking back to when you said someone had made a comment about you talking to much. When I watch your videos it's like going to visit a friend. And what do friends do? Talk. Keep being yourselves and thanks for sharing your lives with us.
Hi Lynn It is only an odd few that have "moaned" and although we try to ignore it, you still hear it in your head. We did talk to much on some videos, now sometimes not enough but you are not the first to say it is like chatting with friends, so thank you. We are still working on getting a balance of us explaining / chatting and being ourselves verses UA-cam expectations. I don't think we will ever find a balance that everyone is happy with though. Thank you for much for watching and commenting Lynn :-)
I think you’re at the stage where as long as you have drainage sorted, you can start repairing the cobblestone in the useful areas and slowly repair the courtyard. Remember that farmyards are organic in nature in that they are adapted to the needs of the farmer. You’ll never be able to “restore” it simply because how you use the land will be different from how it was used 100 years.
Hi and thank you for commenting with such an eye opening comment. It was a bit of an "oh, they could be right" moment where you highlight that we can't "restore" how it was and you are probably right. It would be lovely if we could but even when standing on it, uncovering it and studying it can we fathom it all out. Once all of the mud has all gone and we can see it for what it is, we will probably do things in that order. Drainage and repair, or something like that. Our plans are also organic..... have you noticed lol. Thank you so much again for your great comment :-)
What a journey back in time, I keep imagining the people who have lived there going back generations and before World wars. Step by step it's an amazing journey for your viewers..I thank you
Hi Vivien, thank you for watching and commenting. We, just like you try to picture and imagine what it must have been like way back when. These building are at least 250 years old.... I actually struggle to imagine what it must have been like. Luckily, things like the History channel play a big part in helping. It must have been hard, really hard and this is why we got so excited (even though it may not show) when we found something which is this old and was once used from being built / put there / made... pick a term :-) But we really do love things like this and what is really exciting is that it is "ours" and on our land. Incredible. Thank you again and we will share more as / if we find more.
Not boring at all Ben and Dawn. All you need now is a week of sunlight to dry the soil then you can brush off any excess. Sorry I forgot you are in Ireland lol XX
Hahahahaha - So we will go with the next stage of cutting the roots and jet washing off the rest of the mud... Sunlight, dry, brush off hahahaha, good one! Thank you Carol xx
Good evening and thank you for watching and commenting. Dawn started doing my hair in about 2003. I think I have been to the barber about 10 times since then and once was for our wedding. The worst that can happen is I have to shave it off. It will either grow back white or not at all haha. Thank you again :-)
They are great Laurie. Very friendly (with us) very funny and just a little bit bonkers hahaha. I think it is a ginger cat thing :-) Thanks for commenting :-)
Hahahaha, these cats aren't normal. We have had so many cats in the past but none like these, they are all a little bonkers. Thank you Chicken Lady for watching and commenting :-)
Aww thank you! Yes you’re absolutely right we need to remind ourselves more often because we are always amazed when we see how things looked before when we look at some of the older videos. ❤️
Aww, fantastic work doing all that digging! At least now you can see what you have to work with, and can decide what to keep, what to use and what to build upon. It's all appealed to the 5 year-old child in me, that last few weeks. Big Sticks! Mud! Cool Rocks! - it doesn't get much better than that!
Hahaha love it, I think it’s appealed to the 5 year old children in us too! It’s like your own real life treasure hunt! It’s lovely to be able to see it all in it’s a bit tired and weary glory! Looking forward to the small remaining bits of soil being removed so we can set about sorting it out. We’re very happy we could bring out the 5 year old child like enthusiasm in you too!
Guys, amazing achievement. Maybe when soil that is still there has dried you can blow it away with a leaf blower. The new stone area is great. Maybe a stone filled menure pit. Next project? Reroof old outbuildings? Looking very much forward to that restoration. Great entertaining vlogs
Thank you Wanda! Ooh great idea, we have a leaf blower…..somewhere! Lol! We’re really pleased with what we have there and it’s so nice to be able to walk out there without sinking in all of the mud. Oh yes re-roofing the outbuilding is most definitely high (probably next) on the list. Need to fix the wall first and fingers crossed that won’t be too much longer before we can get started on that! I for one can’t wait for that to begin!
It is still there Cindy, looking at us each time we go out there hahaha. It is certainly something we are pleased we never left covered up. And yes, it is much much flatter than it was. Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Dawns dad melted my heart with his comment, but i thought that Denise was quite rude with hers. Its your property your channel and you do what you like when you like. I look forward to your videos whether indoors or out. Keep ul the good work.
Good evening clummer, how are you. Dawn's dad is lovely.. A big, strong man with a really soft heart and he is soooooo proud of Dawn (and his other daughters too) It takes all sorts in this world clummer doesn't it. Dawn said I would like the comment but I thought I was quite restrained with my reply. We were watching one of Escape from Rural France live streams one lunch time and one of the comments said "Why are you messing about in the garden when you have a roof to put on" At the time our verbal reply to it was "Because Dan can do what he choses to do as it is his choice" A bit like us. But there we go hahaha. Thank you. Indoors, outdoors, who knows with us. That would mean we had planned something for once lol. Thank you for your great comment :-)
I am a hairdresser and I think you did a very good job on your hubby’s haircut. Blending with clippers isn’t easy but you did great. I’m really enjoying your videos. Thanks
Aww Lori, Dawn was chuffed to bits to read you saying that. I have always said to her that the worst that can happen is I need to shave my head if it goes really wrong and it will grow back. She has been cutting it a long time now, first with scissors and clippers but now pretty much the clippers. I have never hated it so far haha. Thank you for watching and commenting, it means a lot to us :-)
Hi Terry and thank you. Once we have it fully cleared we can have a proper look at what we will do with it. Some of it is rock solid, a little uneven but rock solid. Other bits seem loose and really uneven. Being beginners, a few UA-cam videos of books may be handy. Hopefully we can make it a nice, useable space. Thanks for watching and commenting tonight :)
Y’all are getting there. Great progress. I still see the vision and it will be gorgeous when finished. We are hanging in there with you. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. 🌳🌳🌳🪨🪨🪨❤️
Good evening Just Nana, how are you? Just knowing we are not digging it anymore is enough for us haha. We will chip away at it now the thick has gone, try and work out what it was or is. But we will share it when we get there. Thank you for hanging in there and you are welcome. Thank you for being here :-)
Thank you Jim. It seemed to go on forever and considering it wasn't planned we are pleased we have done it. Not finished even clearing it all but those roots need some work and a bit finer clearing. We will get there :-) Thank you as always :-) Have a nice evening :-)
I doubt very much this was a slurry pit so close to the house or barn. They are deadly. The fumes alone would have finished them all off in short order. I do think this was a water/rain drainage system. There were most likely pipes (clay) under the barn to move the water from the high side under the barn to the back. The holes you found in the foundation is the clue. Slurries were Far from the barns, the homes and the areas livestock would roam and feed. Usually fenced off so livestock couldn’t wonder into them, as it would finish them off. The stones all around are from the barn falling down. There may have also been a stone wall on the creek side that fell. Maybe the smaller circle of stone was a fire pit.
That is a good point with it being so close to the barn. I was reading a couple of days ago how dangerous the fumes that come off them are. I’m half expecting that once we get rid of the roots we might see some sort of gulley over the edge to the ditch. When we dug out the floor of that outbuilding I came across a portion in the floor,at the wall with the hole that goes outside, that has just seems to go down below the level of the outbuilding wall. When I can get to it I will investigate that further. Wouldn’t it be lovely to be able to have photographs of when it was all first put together? A fire pit could also make sense. Thank you for taking the time to comment with all the info that you did, it’s very much appreciated. 😊
My skin is so much softer now. Take two bottles into the shower? Not anymore, I just take cow manure. She is that Kath. I haven't been to a barber in years. Hope you are all well :-)
@thecornerhouseproject 😆 not too bad here although looks like Rhiann's got covid for the 4th time. She's at her friends house too so stuck there in Hastings.
I’m full of admiration for you too. You must’ve now spent months permanently wet through and you haven’t got your range now to dry things out. At least summer is on its way well hopefully
Hi Ron We have had a wet day or two, maybe three if I think about it haha. The range was great for drying our gloves out overnight. The wet outdoor gear works well here in Ireland, something we are pleased we have them and actually something we actually planned for in advance. Hopefully it will be a drier summer than last year as it was one of the worst on Irish record. But even then it was warm enough, but a decent summer period would be nice. Thanks for watching and commenting Ron :-)
Thank you TheBlueMoo. We still hope that once the roots and last bit of mud / dirt / soil has gone and a bit of an investigate of the circle stones we may have an idea, not sure we will though. Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Well we have found coins, I am sure a few spikes and we are just waiting for the Knights Templar to pop in for a cup of tea haha. We have found lots of old farm bits and pieces, a lot of stones and then a nice fireplace in the living room. Like Oak Island, this whole house renovation is going to be a long one. But there is no rush, we are comfortable, warm and dry and loving every minute of it, even when it rains. Have a nice weekend Penny and thank you for watching and commenting :-)
When it all settles and you can see what you’ve got I imagine filling in the gaps between stones with small screed? A great space between outbuildings and garden.
Hi Maureen, sorry for the late reply. Yes, we are thinking of something to put between all of the stone to keep them in a final place. A bit more mud to remove, especially under those roots but at the moment we are really happy with it all. No doubt it won't be the last you see of it. Thank you for watching, commenting and being a channel member :-)
It’s nice to do a bit inside and out, you guys have worked hard inside the house so concentrating on the outside is only a good thing. Soon it will be full spring and all that lovely garden area you’ve cleared will look even more beautiful. Ignore crappy comments, your life!
Inside, outside, maybe inside and outside on the same day, is that allowed? hahaha. Maybe our approach isn't how others would do it all, but we are lucky that we can pick and choose what we do. You are right, the different areas should look great. Some finishing off down the bottom to do and a load up the top to do, and a dead hedge in there somewhere still to be done. And maybe a bathroom sink. Thank you for watching and commenting. Sadly your name or nickname isn't showing so I can't address you by name, sorry.
Wow Ben your looking very good now with a shave and fair play to Dawn for shearing your head. Just as well i was not drinking anything or would have gone down my front when my name was mentioned. That was a big amount of soil movement indeed. Wow 2 faces of hard workers with sprayed mud on their faces. All i can say is well done on a job well done guys.
How good is that, a shave and haircut. Lets see how long the shaving lasts lol Haha, you deserve a mention as you have been here since day one, or as good as Simon. We are pleased it is "done" and the digging has stopped. I think we might have a rest soon for a week or two. We will see. Thanks as always Simon :-)
@@thecornerhouseproject I wont give out about the next time with stubble on his face possibly 3 days after. Yes been with you both since day 1 of an interesting project.
It actually worked really well….little gulleys jet washed into the soil to the stones to let it drain off and then dissolve the soil to let it run off. It was quite satisfying to see the stones start to appear beneath the roots. ❤️
Dawn you have a very proud Dad, which he has a right to be of his very hard working Daughter..Ben you are very lucky to have your own hairdresser.A very good job Dawn done for you..I can't believe all the soil was moved in the torrential rain we have had over the weekend.Well done you both.I am curious about how you are drying your outdoor clothes now that you're range had to go.Not an easy task getting clothes dry overnight.Take care and God bless you both xx
I do Colette and it’s lovely to know he is proud of me 😊 well both of us really. It was too good an opportunity to miss with being able to use the jet wash in the rain so we could re-fill the ibcs. Digging the soil in the rain wasn’t quite so nice though! We use the tumble dryer when we do a big load of washing but for working outdoors we generally wear our waterproofs so luckily it keeps the outdoor clothes dry. You take care too Colette and see you soonish. Xx
Hey guys, so glad you have a much more level space now when you walk out from the outbuilding - looks good. And Ben - your hair looks great - good job Dawn. Love seeing the furballs stretching out on the table - life is great for them and of course Miss Peaches being carried around like Cleopatra, haha.
Haha she loves being ferried about…lazy girl! They have a good life, they are in their element exploring the land….it warms my heart to watch them get excited about climbing the trees! They come out and work with us, it’s blooming lovely! It’s sooo amazing to be able to walk on something other than mud out there! lol just to get the other side sorted now and we’ll be good! Ben looks much more himself with his haircut. ❤️
It looks great . I was thinking earlier (always dangerous) if you carry on blasting with the power hose from the bank of the ditch back up to the end of the frain channel it might create a drain... More fun and no digging I agree with Dawns Dad super woman ! Even Ed said your hairdressing is good despite the kitten on your shoulder. And he never praises anyone. ! Habe a great week whatever you do.
Yeah it doesn't pay to do too much thinking but more fun and no digging is always a winner. Great minds clearly think alike as that is what Dawn was doing to try and get a flow going but the roots are still a bit too high. Notice I didn't say it was my great mind haha. Super woman indeed she is. Hair, land, house, ancestry, all sorts really. I am a very proud husband if I am honest. Thanks Ed as that must be quite an accolade if you never praise anyone haha. You too, hope you get done all the bits you need to do.
Hi Linda I think another commenter said that too and we did wonder with a bit of excitement. Then we thought about the gully from the outbuilding and where the waste would flow to and decided probably not. We will be having an investigate though once the mud has all gone. It may be nothing more than "what we think we can see" trying to fathom out how it was or could have been, or it could be nothing more than some stones in a circle-ish shape. We are far from finished on it and at some point we will be able to show it finished.... at some point haha. Thank you so much for watching and commenting with a good comment :-)
Thank you! We did, it was important to us that we went as carefully as we could just to not disturb the stones. It’s so old it would have been horrible to have pulled it up with a digger. 😮❤️
Hi Doreen, thank you for watching and commenting today. It has taken a long time and a lot longer than the original plan of leaving a raised area and the path. But we are pleased we did it. More to be done on it but no rush anymore. We can pick at it bit by bit depending on whatever else we are doing. Thank you again :)
Thank you Grace, but can I just say for both of us, it is a lovely feeling knowing we don't have anymore digging planned (as such). Thank you so much for watching and commenting :-)
Thank you Rebecca. I am chuffed with my new haircut. A bit of gel and sorted. Three cats yes. It was two originally. The story... quick version... Mum Peaches and son Steve - for sale by breeder. Price went lower and lower as no one wanted them. We knew we would get cats in the end but we couldn't not have the two no one wanted. We wanted them. Collecting the cats... "Oh, this is the brother, he has a bad eye, you can have him too" We decided due to our current house situation, it wouldn't be a great environment for a cat which was poorly and needed help. One week later, and feeling terrible for leaving the brother with the breeder, we phoned up and said we could collect him. He is now called Alan. Peaches was already named. Steve nor Alan had names even though they were 6 months old. Alan needed an operation on his eye which we immediately had done and he can't have kids anymore either (but don't tell him), vaccinations for both boys, and peaches check-up was fine. So three cats, each different and all bonkers. We love them. (If you didn't know already) Thank you for always watching and commenting and sorry for boring you about the cats.
Well done Ben and Dawn! What an achievement! To be honest I don't know how you handle all that rain 😂 Just a thought about the ditch... have you recently checked to make sure all that muddy water hasn't blocked the ditch up again, down at the bottom of the garden? I can't wait to see where your next adventure takes you 🥰
Thank you! 🤩 I think we have just gotten used to it now, on a whole it doesn’t last for too long before it stops but this weekend was quite a lot of rain! Yeah I went and checked the ditch the same day and the day after and it’s still flowing nicely. It will need dragging out a bit with the rake again but it’s doing good still which is nice. We have lots to do so I’m sure it won’t be long before we start something new! 😂🥰
It really does! Strange isn’t it? What the eyes perceives. Erm…yeah it’s been touch going at times and we’re are glad to be done with that part now! Thank you and you take care too. How’s the leg healing? ❤️
Ben, I thought you either had yr hair cut or had yr ears lowered? Lol yep Elder is a weed it'll grow back even if you cut it back to a stump, BUT! You'll be able to make elderflower cordial, an acquired taste,keep up the good work you two😊
Hahaha he’d probably prefer his ears lowering than having to sit and have his haircut! 😂 ooh never had elderflower cordial before. I remember my dad making elderberry wine when I was a kid. Obviously ever tried that then either 😂
I also can’t believe how much muck you two got out of there! I can’t wait to see some grass growing there and no more mud pit! 💚😊 I’m excited to see Dawn wash some of the rocks you guys found and patch up those holes in the roofless outbuilding and get to repointing!! 🙌🏻✨💚💚💚
Oh you and us both! It’s going to be so much easier to make plans for what we will do in that area now. We will still need to address the other side as that gets so water logged, so will need some drainage going in there at some point. We have sooo many stones and lots in the outbuilding that needs fixing that so I think we will have enough even without what we’ve found 😂 looking forward to getting that fixed up! Can’t wait to get a roof back on it! 🍀❤️
Great job Dawn, looking good Ben, and congrats to you both for 6k!! Loved the cats helping with the haircut, lol! 😂❤ We had the eclipse today, but in Arizona it didn’t reach full totality, it was still pretty cool though! Love you guys! 😊💚✨
Great job by Dawn and hey... what can I say, thanks hahaha. The Cats are a big help aren't they lol. Thanks for the congratulations, I think we hit it lucky for a couple of weeks as things have slowed down now. No rush though, the numbers creep up bit by bit and we are over the moon with 6k. If we had had the sun and up on high enough land we would have been able to see a little bit of it here (so the news said) but it was overcast and may have been raining to. Really pleased you go to see at least some of it as they are quite something to watch. Hope you are well and thank you :-)
I can't wait to see how it looks when it it's dried, if ever. You guys stuck with it and it's really impressive just how much debris you've removed. It changed the whole area, and you now have the raised beds. 👍
There is a shot from the dry stone wall tomorrow which shows just how flat it is. We will do some drone stuff of the whole land when the sun comes out and wind stops haha. Yes, 5 raised bed, enough for a garden centre or two. Thanks as always :-)
Yes, that is something that we would like to be able to do in the future. The rain water harvesting is going very well but all the storage for it takes up a lot of space, so a well would be much better.
Well it's a courtyard but not as we know it Jim😅 I jest but you've done a remarkable job of clearing tons of soil. Could the round mound be a former well do you think? You will be able to re-lay the stones where they are missing once the roots and small stones are gone. I loved to see your cat family in the kitchen, they are so sweet.❤
Klingons on the starboard side? Surely not Pat hahaha. Another commenter though the same with a possible well. We got excited reading both your comments but then realised the contents of the gully would head straight for the well :-( We wonder if we are just seeing a circle of stones or it it might just be some stone that are in the shape of a sort of circle... if that makes sense. A bit of work to do yet and investigation as to what it is but we will of course share it. We love our cats, they are bonkers hahaha. Thank you as always Pat for watching and commenting :-)
Haha Anna, Love how you call them Cattens, that is great. They are always a huge help with the goings on. Christmas decorations, haircuts, pulling an extension lead through the house, everything has a catten attached. Thank you Anne for watching and commenting :-)
Look wonderful. Well done. Hell of a lot of hard graft. I wonder if you extended your gilly into the ditch and maybe deepened it if it would help to drain the extra water in the plot and give you drier ground. But the water table must be very high with the lake so near.
Thank you very much! Definitely some hard graft and very glad it’s for the most part done and dusted! I think that’s what we will probably do, the difference just from removing the soil has been amazing and hopefully the more it dries out and the more soil goes it will get drier and drier. Oh yes the water table is high and very noticeable at the bottom of the land. We dug a hole to plant a small tree a couple of weeks ago and the speed that water poured into the hole was crazy!
@@thecornerhouseproject Yip I remember that. I sometimes felt for you with that grueling workload of removing the top layer above the stones. At least now you may be able to work at a slower and more enjoyable pace. But don't forget to continue your updates. I am sorry that I will not be able to join yet as I am only a pensioner but given the ability I will do so.
I observed You hard work and …..gays … this is m the right time to subscribe your channel! I really appreciate massive efforts You’ve don. Congratulation !
Do you know what you want to do with that uncovered area? If you haven’t any plans for it, maybe a couple dump truck loads full of gravel to level the place out & to give the rain water a place to go while your feet stay dry. Just a thought.
We have spoke about maybe getting some gravel for going in between the stones, so that might be the way we go. We used to watch a garden programme with Charlie Dimmock (can’t remember what it’s called 🫣) and they used something called bound gravel, which could be an option too. Dry feet sounds really good! 🤣
Have you watched Chateau de Montmagner. They uncovered and repaired a French drain outside. And inside a stone floor or two. They had to take little fast growing trees, roots and fix the stone floor. Like yours lots of wok. One area was a piggery outside floor, one was the French drain. Good luck on your courtyard. Let the floor dry out and maybe it will show itself as to what it really is. Oh, yes, can you go to a museum or archives to look for pictures, that may help. You May find lots of pictures. Maybe leave it for a few days. No more jet washing. Suggestion, fallen down walls, building or ?
Good morning Lucy, thank you for watching and commenting. We have watched a few of the French Chateau channels but not in any depth, only Escape to Rural France. It is possible the building was a piggery at some point in it's life and did house a pig or two in "modern" times. Inside had flag stones and a probably gully, but now all that remains is two flag stones, a hole with soil, which we now now goes to the gully outside. I don't think we are lucky enough to have any French drains. We are really interested to find out what it could have been so won't be changing things until we have maybe contacted a museum or university. We may we waiting a while before it dries out as it tends to rain a lot, you may have noticed haha. Thank you again Lucy.
Someone else may have mentioned this, but even though your farm is just 200 years old, you could be on ancient land. I watch another channel that found standing stones on their Irish land. The stone could be from an earlier building. There are just so many possibilities.
No, I don’t think anyone else has mentioned it. I like your thinking though, that would be amazing! I wish you could see into the past sometimes. What was the other channel that had the stones because I would be very interested in watching it, I had a quick search on UA-cam but couldn’t find anything similar.
Hi Karla, thank you for watching and commenting :-) Dawn isn't a fan either and she was checking the tree sounds for creaking as we jet washed. Dawn has got a lot better though, some days in the past when it was very windy we wouldn't be on the land long before we went inside out the way of the trees. The thumbnail, also not a top shot was taken this morning. We had some rain in the night but it looks much nicer now it has dried out a bit and the rain washed a bit more of the mud off. There are some damp muddy patches which need clearing but we will get there. When we get there you will be the first to see :-) Thank you again :-)
Thank you Sandra, just expect the unexpected really would be the best way to prepare yourself. SPOILER: It won't be digging though haha Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
No doubt the roots have heaved some of the stones up and moved them around, I would maybe try let it dry out a bit and take some time before deciding what to do next.👍❤
Time is on our side. One commenter did highlight that we will never restore it to 200 years ago as over the years, needs change and the purpose of it will have changed too, so we may never really know what it should look like. Whatever the end result though, we will be really happy with it. Much better than a raised area with some grass on it. Thank you as always Neuton :-)
Could the circular area be a well filled in with large stones. The water could have been poured into the gully to clean out the shippon or water the cattle. It would have saved having to carry the water into the shippon. Cattle can drink large amounts of water.
Hi Jacqueline, thank you for watching and commenting. It has been suggested and we got quite excited but then realised that the waste from the gully would all go into it if it was a well. We are hoping we find something on the land that the water was originally brought from 200 years ago, but there aren't any wells marked on the old maps for our land. Only one 100m up the road. We will instigate "the circle" once we get rid of more soil but wonder if it is just some stone put there and not even a circle, just us wanting to see one. Thank you again. Have a nice day :-)
If it was my place, I would get a front end loader in there and level the whole back yard. Bring in some good dirt and top soil and plant some nice grass.
Great Idea just about anywhere else in the world. Just doesnt work here in the west of ireland . It rains over 300 days a year , the ground never dries out ita a mixture of peat bog and clay . Gravel just dissapears into the soil after a year and any new soil you do bring in just turns to mud . 🙄
Mitch is spot on. We will need to remove a lot of soil before we can even put gravel down, soil in low spots just stays soaking wet. We will get there in the end though. Levelling it to us isn't an option as we are trying to restore what is here. This is why it took so long as it wasn't just digging out dirt but more uncovering what was under the dirt. We do know what you mean though Kimberly, quite a few times we wondered if we were mad uncovering it all when we could have put some grass seed on it. It would always be boggy, but it would have been less work lol. Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Thank you! Yeah it was quite a time consuming one, trying not to blast the stones out but also get deep down to get rid of the soil. Took a while and there is still some soil that we need to get out but it has come up really well. 😊
Hi Dawn and Ben! You two are working like Trojans on that farm yard! It's to bad that years of overgrowth have caused roots to heave the rocks. Could the circle be what's left after a tree planted itself there and then died, having pushed the rocks away from the trunk? The clean-out trench from the building probably drained into the gulley, where rain washed the manure and urine away. Where does the gulley end? It may need dredging (or more backbreaking digging) to clear the years of build-up. Ben's haircut looks great, although I do love men with longer hair. 😍 The cats are purrfecting their hampering skills on you - and you should feel blessed they love you enough to want to participate in the hair cut adventure. I'm so happy you love the rain.☘☘so you continue to battle your renovations for us to watch. ❤
Hi Hannah, thank you, not sure we like your suggestion of more back breaking digging! 🤣😉 but yeah still lots to do but such a relief to finally have the majority of it removed. That’s a great suggestion about the circle being left by a tree and it’s certainly highly possible especially with all the roots that we’ve gone through digging this area. We’re not sure where the gulley goes to, we’re hoping that once the rest of the soil is cleared away that we might have more of an idea. Although unfortunately because of all the roots I do wonder if lots has been shifted over time. Aww the cats are amazing! Great little furry balls of fun 🐈😍 they have to be involved in all that goes on! The rain? Well what can I say….it’s just something you get used to, it passes by so quickly, usually, it’s not really a bother. It has the added benefit of letting us be able to use the jet wash! Yay🥳🥳❤️
Great haircut Dawn, looks like the boys wanted all the attention though. Shakin Stevens, lol, the first thing I think of is the green door. You look much better than him for sure, especially with the new haircut.👍
Oh it really will. Looking forward to getting it sorted out. I’d love to know completely how it should look before we do start to put I back together. I’ve been looking online to see if I can find something similar but not see one so far but will continue to look 😊
I am very much loving the playful cats. How old are they? Sad about the lack of surprises in your courtyard. But now you will have a nice yard to set up good grass, flower beds, and a table and chairs. Did you take a walk into the yard next door and probe the ground? There might be clues there. Maybe your courtyard was the remains of a building? I guess God only knows the answer.
Hi Paul and Laura These cats are like no others we have had, these are a little different and bonkers. It turns out it seems to be a ginger thing. We had a coupe of gingers before these and they were odd too lol. Steve and Alan are 10 months old and Peaches the mum (shoulder cat) is 16 months. We haven't seen any building on the old maps in that area other than the outbuilding it's self, but it could be possible, but we think it was just a yard, or farmyard. It is the puzzle of where the gully ran to and if that circle is a circle of stones and not just stones dumped there. Table and chairs sounds great to us. A lot of work to be done on it yet but we will get there :-) Thank you so much for watching and commenting :-)
Your best bet now would be to let it all dry out. Just keep sweeping it and cutting out the roots. By the time you’ve relayed the loose stones your end up with a beautiful courtyard
We think you’re right, tomorrow is going to be sunny with a bit of cloud and no rain so that’s a good start! ☀️ it should look really good when it’s all tidied up a bit.
Nice recap video. Oak island I gave up on that years ago lol. U want another quick cheap job with a big impact. Skip the D2 and get 5 gallon of hyper choride bleach from ur local farm shop. Dilute it down 5 to 1 and spray it on the walls of the house and any paths etc. let it site for 10 mins and the power wash it off. Do it on a day there’s rain. Everything will be clean. Test it on the limestone walls first to sure it not going to be too aggressive. 5 gallon should be 20 quid.
Thank you! Haha Oak Island we haven’t watched for a while now but really liked it to begin with we did wonder if we would come across a connection with the knights Templar whilst digging away! Haha! Ooh lovely that sounds good to me, will it be alright with having the cats around? It would be good to do though. We did wonder about painting the front of the house until we can get the concrete render off, just to make it look a bit nicer than the greying white that it currently is. Will have a look for some of that. I keep forgetting to show the D2 patches…it does a good job but it is quite expensive…I think maybe 4 times the price of what you have mentioned for the same quantity. Gates back from the galvanisers yet?
@@thecornerhouseproject it’s Basicly bleach for farm yards but aggressive so u dilute it down 5 to one. 25 litres in a drum it’s supper cheap. I got it last week for doing the drive at the back of the house. Keep the cats inside when ur using it. I use a garden sprayer to get it on the walls of the house then after five mins wash it away. Do it on a wet day and keep the cats in. Use eye protection and gloves. It’s strong bleach but test a little on lime stone first. U can see the dirt run of the wall. Yep the gates will be back end of the week so it will take a few house to get them up and filled with boards. Will put a quick video up when I get them done. When u go to do the outside of ur house with render u can use a primer and then render over the top of what’s there. My mum did it at her house. But for u 100mm of insulation around the out side first and then render. U couod fit the external insulation urself it’s that easy. Don’t let the cats walk in the bleach it burn burn paws hence do it on a wet day to dilute it more and wash it away
Hopefully the right person will pop by one day and reveal all it's history. Maybe not though and we will have to speak to maybe the university. Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
I watched a young man trying to create a homestead with no modern tools or anything he even lived in a brush hut for quite a long time . Anyway when he wanted to put in his garden he realized the soil was very poor . So he saved his urine all winter ,in spring he piled all his brush together burned it to small bits of coal . Then he poured the urine on the coal pile and raked and stirred it all together. He said it was activated ? Char. Some how it's a super amendment for good soil . Could the people on your farm have directed the livestock's urine to the little pit to mix in charcoal for the gardens ? I have a brain with thousands of strings stretching from ideas that make quite a tangled mess ! 🤣🥰❣️
We like your strings stretched as our brains are a bit of a tangle mess too. We look at it this way, that way and still stand there scratching our heads. I am not sure what they did with the urine to be honest. Hopefully when the muddy slop drains in the gully we can clear that out and have another investigate to see if it is a circle of stones or just some stone put there which seem to be a circle. I have heard of activated charcoal but never really known what difference it makes to anything. Activated charcoal can be used in aquarium filters to take out impurities. That is about as much as I know on it. How did the young man get on? Did he get finished as such? Thank you for always watching and commenting :-)
Amazing! Considering the weather I never expected you to get it done this past weekend. The large stones sticking up out of the ground are very interesting, however they may have just sunk down in the mud from being piled there over time. Can't wait to see it all dried out - C'mon Sun!!
I think to be fair, we got off pretty lightly with the weather here, but there would be so many days not doing anything if we had to work around the rain! 🤣 but we can’t deny we are waiting and wishing for some dry weather to be able to see what’s going on properly! Raining now and forecast all day so it won’t be today lol 😘
Where the trough ends dig it to extend it over to the creek, Drainage is so needed. Over the years during cold spells rocks can heave and come out of place. Also the area may never have been completed into a true terrace. I realize you both are really sick of the digging but a change of pace is ok. It will be there for your next dig! to get the rock path out to the grassy area will be wonderful. Rome wasn't built in a day! nor will your place perserverence and patience is the key! I make a lot of quilts so it all takes time and energy
You are right Catherine, there are some spots which really need to be drained. Once we have all the soil (currently mud) gone, we will look at drainage for this area. We love you you point out that stones may have moved or it may not have been finished. You are right, it isn't going anywhere and Rome wasn't built in a day. Your quilting takes so much time. My Mum quilts and my Dad jokes that she cuts up fabric to join it back together again haha Once we decide on what to do with it, we will of course share it :-) Thank you for joining us and commenting :-)
The only thing we know is that it will have drained animal waste (liquid) off into it from the outbuilding and then we’re guessing anything that was washed off the yard would go into there and then we don’t know lol. Lots of people have suggested it could lead to a sort of slurry pit that then drains off to between the trees to a possible 2nd slurry pit and then into the ditch. That’s our guesses anyway along with what others have suggested too.
12:13 What beautiful kitties 😸 I don't know if I missed it, but could you introduce them. I heard one is Peaches. You did a great job on Ben's hair 😊 I think you two are incredible. You've been digging and lugging mud for weeks and you've never given up. The question is - now you've got it, what are you going to do with it? Could it be a yard where the cows where brought in for milking? It would be wonderful if there were old photographs. Well done on all of your hard work and I'm finding it fascinating.
Yes of course, they Peaches, who is the mumma and then her Sons Alan (darker ginger) and Steve (lighter ginger) who I think was the one talking in the video. Aww thank you, it was a long time coming for the haircut, I don’t think it’s ever been that long before! Haha, well….we hope to be able to put stones back in where they look to be missing and then try and secure what is there and make it easier to walk on. Maybe make a feature out of certain areas. Lots to think about on how it will all work. Oh how I wish there were old photographs so that we could know how it should look. I would think definitely cows and all sorts of animals as it had been a working farm up until roughly the 1970-80s from as far back as I have been able to see on records which is around 1847. Thank you, oh you and us both with the fascination levels. We love it all, the digging not quite as much! 🤣
Amazing, I am in awe of you both for battling through the most horrendous weather to not only dig all that wet heavy mud but continue to film and get videos out so people can watch along, you do truly deserve a medal each. Loved watching you give Ben a haircut, bought back memories from doing my sons and husbands hair every 6 weeks, my dogs and cats would wait until there was a nice pile of hair and then run through it dragging it all over the house - animals who would be without them ❤❤. I loved the comment from your Dad Dawn now we all know how proud he is of you and well deserved bless you. Love as always to you both xxxx and the cats 🐱🐱🐱xxx Sorry I meant to ask, is it possible the mound could be a covered well? The reason I ask is because if the house has never been connected to mains water there must be a well somewhere. How brilliant would it be if it is a well😊 xx
Aww thank you for such a lovely comment. I think the desire to be finished with the digging spurred us on to get it finished this past weekend more than anything and because it does rain a lot we’d be waiting a while for a dry day 🤣 also the benefit of the rain is that we can jet wash and refill the tanks at the same time. Win win! Haha….animals eh?! They just love being right in the middle of EVERYTHING! ❤️ oh you’re right though….would not be without them. It just doesn’t feel right in a house to not have them, if you’ve always had them. They keep us smiling! Oh yes, my dad’s comment choked me up I have to say! It’s hard being in a different country away from family, but how amazing is UA-cam that they can still see what’s going on with us, it was our main purpose to do UA-cam to make it easier for our families to keep up with it all. A couple of my aunties comment regularly too so it’s lovely to read. 🥰🥰 We did wonder with the mound, but then thought…”hmm, maybe not so close to the animal building” but we have yet to clear the mud out of that area so it will be interesting to see what it consists of…or whether it was just a pile of stones put there to fill a gap. Very curious none the less! A well would most certainly be amazing if that’s what it was though! Xx
Thank you William. If we had just gone with the raised area and path we could have been long done, but sadly we found some stones lol. Thank you for always watching and commenting. Have a nice evening :-)
I'm abandoning the slurry pit/soakaway theory in favor of its being the base of an altar or platform for ancient druidic rituals. 🤣 What an accomplishment! (even if we don't know exactly what has been found) Clear flat hard ground, that will drain once wind & rain have had more of a chance at it, is a precious resource, no matter how it was originally intended. & what a lot of work you've done. I thought the great land-blitzing was going to be a peak of activity for you guys, not a mere warmup for the hard stuff. (Wait a minute: are you sure you weren't farmers to begin with? Because you sure have that farmers "dawn-to-dusk & then some" work ethic sorted.) Anyway, congratulations! 🥳🥳🥳
I think I like your new theory much better! It sounds a lot more interesting! 🧐😂 Yes to have clear flat, hard ground is amazing…we keep walking on it just because! It’s looking even better as the sun and wind have worked their magic, the stones are all brightening up it’s looking good! Oh my goodness and there was us thinking that the land part was going to be the peak as well, we only wanted a small little path by the outbuilding…damn those sneaky stones for appearing! 🫠 Well I must say we are not feeling so farmer like right now lol the digging has taken it out of us finally lol. Shattered! I think it’s our age! 😂
My daughter is so talented, a digger, hairdresser, gardener, and a determined wonderful human being, xxx❤
🥺🥺🥺 Awww thanks Pa, made we well up! The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! ❤️❤️❤️xxx
Such amazing words from a parent . I hope your week gos well . Xxx
She certainly is.
I keep thinking back to when you said someone had made a comment about you talking to much. When I watch your videos it's like going to visit a friend. And what do friends do? Talk. Keep being yourselves and thanks for sharing your lives with us.
Hi Lynn
It is only an odd few that have "moaned" and although we try to ignore it, you still hear it in your head. We did talk to much on some videos, now sometimes not enough but you are not the first to say it is like chatting with friends, so thank you. We are still working on getting a balance of us explaining / chatting and being ourselves verses UA-cam expectations. I don't think we will ever find a balance that everyone is happy with though.
Thank you for much for watching and commenting Lynn :-)
Hear, hear Lynn Foley. It is after all THEIR vlog and if people don’t like the content they can move on to something they DO like after all.😊😊😊
I think you’re at the stage where as long as you have drainage sorted, you can start repairing the cobblestone in the useful areas and slowly repair the courtyard. Remember that farmyards are organic in nature in that they are adapted to the needs of the farmer. You’ll never be able to “restore” it simply because how you use the land will be different from how it was used 100 years.
Hi and thank you for commenting with such an eye opening comment.
It was a bit of an "oh, they could be right" moment where you highlight that we can't "restore" how it was and you are probably right. It would be lovely if we could but even when standing on it, uncovering it and studying it can we fathom it all out. Once all of the mud has all gone and we can see it for what it is, we will probably do things in that order. Drainage and repair, or something like that. Our plans are also organic..... have you noticed lol.
Thank you so much again for your great comment :-)
Wow that is a lot of progress. Dawn not everyone can cut hair with a cat snoopervising on their arm.
Thank you! Oh my goodness….we LOVE the snoopervising! That’s sooo fitting for cats! 🐈
My hats off to the both of you.That's a hard job well done.
Thanks for posting.
Aww thank you so much! No problem at all with posting, thank you for watching! 😘
What a journey back in time, I keep imagining the people who have lived there going back generations and before World wars. Step by step it's an amazing journey for your viewers..I thank you
Hi Vivien, thank you for watching and commenting. We, just like you try to picture and imagine what it must have been like way back when. These building are at least 250 years old.... I actually struggle to imagine what it must have been like. Luckily, things like the History channel play a big part in helping. It must have been hard, really hard and this is why we got so excited (even though it may not show) when we found something which is this old and was once used from being built / put there / made... pick a term :-)
But we really do love things like this and what is really exciting is that it is "ours" and on our land. Incredible.
Thank you again and we will share more as / if we find more.
Not boring at all Ben and Dawn. All you need now is a week of sunlight to dry the soil then you can brush off any excess. Sorry I forgot you are in Ireland lol XX
Hahahahaha - So we will go with the next stage of cutting the roots and jet washing off the rest of the mud...
Sunlight, dry, brush off hahahaha, good one!
Thank you Carol xx
What an amazing thing to say, I have wondered at just how much she pushes herself to do with the house and grounds, she is an amazing lady ❤ xx
I've always hated going to the hairdressers. During lockdown, my husband and I learned how to cut each other's hair, and we've never looked back.
Good evening and thank you for watching and commenting.
Dawn started doing my hair in about 2003. I think I have been to the barber about 10 times since then and once was for our wedding. The worst that can happen is I have to shave it off. It will either grow back white or not at all haha.
Thank you again :-)
I love those cats so much.
They are great Laurie. Very friendly (with us) very funny and just a little bit bonkers hahaha. I think it is a ginger cat thing :-)
Thanks for commenting :-)
Dawn is a talented and hardworking woman.
She is indeed Gizmo.
Thanks for commenting :-)
Dawn looks like a pirate, but with a cat on her shoulder instead of a parrot!
Hahahaha, these cats aren't normal. We have had so many cats in the past but none like these, they are all a little bonkers.
Thank you Chicken Lady for watching and commenting :-)
When you two get down, look back at what you have done. Remember day 1 cutting "IVY". Keep up the good work. 😊
Aww thank you! Yes you’re absolutely right we need to remind ourselves more often because we are always amazed when we see how things looked before when we look at some of the older videos. ❤️
The haircut looks AWESOME!!
Hahahahaha Denise, thank you. Dawn does a great job with it.
Thank you for watching, commenting AND subscribing :-)
Aww, fantastic work doing all that digging! At least now you can see what you have to work with, and can decide what to keep, what to use and what to build upon. It's all appealed to the 5 year-old child in me, that last few weeks. Big Sticks! Mud! Cool Rocks! - it doesn't get much better than that!
Hahaha love it, I think it’s appealed to the 5 year old children in us too! It’s like your own real life treasure hunt! It’s lovely to be able to see it all in it’s a bit tired and weary glory! Looking forward to the small remaining bits of soil being removed so we can set about sorting it out. We’re very happy we could bring out the 5 year old child like enthusiasm in you too!
Guys, amazing achievement. Maybe when soil that is still there has dried you can blow it away with a leaf blower. The new stone area is great. Maybe a stone filled menure pit. Next project? Reroof old outbuildings? Looking very much forward to that restoration.
Great entertaining vlogs
Thank you Wanda! Ooh great idea, we have a leaf blower…..somewhere! Lol! We’re really pleased with what we have there and it’s so nice to be able to walk out there without sinking in all of the mud. Oh yes re-roofing the outbuilding is most definitely high (probably next) on the list. Need to fix the wall first and fingers crossed that won’t be too much longer before we can get started on that! I for one can’t wait for that to begin!
So interesting. It is lovely watching your channel and it is never boring. Not one minute.
Thank you Jean. We try not to be boring, but even we were bored with the digging.
:-)
So much hard work❤ But it definitely is a flatter service 🎉 You both will figure it out😊
It is still there Cindy, looking at us each time we go out there hahaha. It is certainly something we are pleased we never left covered up. And yes, it is much much flatter than it was.
Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Dawns dad melted my heart with his comment, but i thought that Denise was quite rude with hers. Its your property your channel and you do what you like when you like. I look forward to your videos whether indoors or out. Keep ul the good work.
Good evening clummer, how are you.
Dawn's dad is lovely.. A big, strong man with a really soft heart and he is soooooo proud of Dawn (and his other daughters too)
It takes all sorts in this world clummer doesn't it. Dawn said I would like the comment but I thought I was quite restrained with my reply. We were watching one of Escape from Rural France live streams one lunch time and one of the comments said "Why are you messing about in the garden when you have a roof to put on" At the time our verbal reply to it was "Because Dan can do what he choses to do as it is his choice" A bit like us. But there we go hahaha.
Thank you. Indoors, outdoors, who knows with us. That would mean we had planned something for once lol.
Thank you for your great comment :-)
I am a hairdresser and I think you did a very good job on your hubby’s haircut. Blending with clippers isn’t easy but you did great. I’m really enjoying your videos. Thanks
Aww Lori, Dawn was chuffed to bits to read you saying that. I have always said to her that the worst that can happen is I need to shave my head if it goes really wrong and it will grow back. She has been cutting it a long time now, first with scissors and clippers but now pretty much the clippers. I have never hated it so far haha.
Thank you for watching and commenting, it means a lot to us :-)
Them kitties were worried you were hurting Ben! They trying protect him. Lol. Love the kitties!
Haha I think they’re just really nosey! 😂😉
You are constantly working so hard, working towards your dream I envy and admire you
Thank you, we do try our hardest to keep on going, sometimes life ends up throwing curve balls but most days we are doing something.
Going to be hell of a job to relay that lot but seeing what you guys have achieved?it’s going to be awesome
Hi Terry and thank you. Once we have it fully cleared we can have a proper look at what we will do with it. Some of it is rock solid, a little uneven but rock solid. Other bits seem loose and really uneven. Being beginners, a few UA-cam videos of books may be handy. Hopefully we can make it a nice, useable space.
Thanks for watching and commenting tonight :)
Y’all are getting there. Great progress. I still see the vision and it will be gorgeous when finished. We are hanging in there with you. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. 🌳🌳🌳🪨🪨🪨❤️
Good evening Just Nana, how are you?
Just knowing we are not digging it anymore is enough for us haha. We will chip away at it now the thick has gone, try and work out what it was or is. But we will share it when we get there.
Thank you for hanging in there and you are welcome. Thank you for being here :-)
Howdy from Warrenville south Carolina USA luv your videos my friend
Good afternoon Warrenville from a now not raining Ireland.
Thank you Billie for joining us and commenting :-)
Not in the least boring! Such a lot done in such a short time
Thank you Jim. It seemed to go on forever and considering it wasn't planned we are pleased we have done it. Not finished even clearing it all but those roots need some work and a bit finer clearing. We will get there :-)
Thank you as always :-) Have a nice evening :-)
I doubt very much this was a slurry pit so close to the house or barn. They are deadly. The fumes alone would have finished them all off in short order.
I do think this was a water/rain drainage system. There were most likely pipes (clay) under the barn to move the water from the high side under the barn to the back. The holes you found in the foundation is the clue.
Slurries were Far from the barns, the homes and the areas livestock would roam and feed. Usually fenced off so livestock couldn’t wonder into them, as it would finish them off.
The stones all around are from the barn falling down. There may have also been a stone wall on the creek side that fell.
Maybe the smaller circle of stone was a fire pit.
That is a good point with it being so close to the barn. I was reading a couple of days ago how dangerous the fumes that come off them are.
I’m half expecting that once we get rid of the roots we might see some sort of gulley over the edge to the ditch. When we dug out the floor of that outbuilding I came across a portion in the floor,at the wall with the hole that goes outside, that has just seems to go down below the level of the outbuilding wall. When I can get to it I will investigate that further.
Wouldn’t it be lovely to be able to have photographs of when it was all first put together?
A fire pit could also make sense.
Thank you for taking the time to comment with all the info that you did, it’s very much appreciated. 😊
And Ben you look gorgeous, with your new haircut👌 and a shave, love yer, I doos. x
Hahaha, thanks Rob :-) I do look a bit younger with a shave and haircut :-) x
Now you can see what you're working with and bit by bit, it will be what you want it to be🎉❤
Exactly our thoughts! It’s not perfect but it’s a very good base to start from and we have somewhere solid to stand which is amazing! 🥳❤️
Lol at Ben's manure face pack, it's probably good for the skin! Dawn you are definitely a woman of many talents. 😊
My skin is so much softer now. Take two bottles into the shower? Not anymore, I just take cow manure.
She is that Kath. I haven't been to a barber in years.
Hope you are all well :-)
@thecornerhouseproject 😆 not too bad here although looks like Rhiann's got covid for the 4th time. She's at her friends house too so stuck there in Hastings.
I’m full of admiration for you too. You must’ve now spent months permanently wet through and you haven’t got your range now to dry things out. At least summer is on its way well hopefully
Hi Ron
We have had a wet day or two, maybe three if I think about it haha. The range was great for drying our gloves out overnight. The wet outdoor gear works well here in Ireland, something we are pleased we have them and actually something we actually planned for in advance.
Hopefully it will be a drier summer than last year as it was one of the worst on Irish record. But even then it was warm enough, but a decent summer period would be nice.
Thanks for watching and commenting Ron :-)
Geezes Dawn that's not a bad hair cut, in fact it's bloody good.is there anything you can't do 🤔😁👍🥰
Hahaha thanks Auntie Chris. Don't look too closely at the haircut because it's not as good as it probably should be lol. Xx
Can't wait to see what you make of it!
Thank you TheBlueMoo. We still hope that once the roots and last bit of mud / dirt / soil has gone and a bit of an investigate of the circle stones we may have an idea, not sure we will though.
Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Funny I thought about Oak Island as well lol😅
Well we have found coins, I am sure a few spikes and we are just waiting for the Knights Templar to pop in for a cup of tea haha. We have found lots of old farm bits and pieces, a lot of stones and then a nice fireplace in the living room.
Like Oak Island, this whole house renovation is going to be a long one. But there is no rush, we are comfortable, warm and dry and loving every minute of it, even when it rains.
Have a nice weekend Penny and thank you for watching and commenting :-)
When it all settles and you can see what you’ve got I imagine filling in the gaps between stones with small screed? A great space between outbuildings and garden.
Hi Maureen, sorry for the late reply.
Yes, we are thinking of something to put between all of the stone to keep them in a final place. A bit more mud to remove, especially under those roots but at the moment we are really happy with it all. No doubt it won't be the last you see of it.
Thank you for watching, commenting and being a channel member :-)
It’s nice to do a bit inside and out, you guys have worked hard inside the house so concentrating on the outside is only a good thing. Soon it will be full spring and all that lovely garden area you’ve cleared will look even more beautiful. Ignore crappy comments, your life!
Inside, outside, maybe inside and outside on the same day, is that allowed? hahaha.
Maybe our approach isn't how others would do it all, but we are lucky that we can pick and choose what we do. You are right, the different areas should look great. Some finishing off down the bottom to do and a load up the top to do, and a dead hedge in there somewhere still to be done. And maybe a bathroom sink.
Thank you for watching and commenting. Sadly your name or nickname isn't showing so I can't address you by name, sorry.
Wow Ben your looking very good now with a shave and fair play to Dawn for shearing your head. Just as well i was not drinking anything or would have gone down my front when my name was mentioned.
That was a big amount of soil movement indeed. Wow 2 faces of hard workers with sprayed mud on their faces.
All i can say is well done on a job well done guys.
How good is that, a shave and haircut. Lets see how long the shaving lasts lol Haha, you deserve a mention as you have been here since day one, or as good as Simon.
We are pleased it is "done" and the digging has stopped. I think we might have a rest soon for a week or two. We will see.
Thanks as always Simon :-)
@@thecornerhouseproject I wont give out about the next time with stubble on his face possibly 3 days after. Yes been with you both since day 1 of an interesting project.
I think today is a shave day... maybe.
I think you are right and have been here since Day 1 Simon and seen the good, the bad and the ugly.
Well done, Dawn! First time watching someone shearing with a cheeky little cat their shoulder 😂.
Haha thank you, I must say that is the first time I’ve cut Bens hair with a cat on my shoulder too! 🤣
Watching all the latest episodes of my favourite you tube people one after the other. Absoloute bliss. Couldnt end my day in any better way. 💞💞
Where is my heart emojis as this comment needs some 💗💖❤️💘
Enjoy your evening and thank you so much
This is fascinating to watch, I’m inspired by your perseverance with the jet wash, uncovering great results ❤
It actually worked really well….little gulleys jet washed into the soil to the stones to let it drain off and then dissolve the soil to let it run off. It was quite satisfying to see the stones start to appear beneath the roots. ❤️
Dawn you have a very proud Dad, which he has a right to be of his very hard working Daughter..Ben you are very lucky to have your own hairdresser.A very good job Dawn done for you..I can't believe all the soil was moved in the torrential rain we have had over the weekend.Well done you both.I am curious about how you are drying your outdoor clothes now that you're range had to go.Not an easy task getting clothes dry overnight.Take care and God bless you both xx
I do Colette and it’s lovely to know he is proud of me 😊 well both of us really. It was too good an opportunity to miss with being able to use the jet wash in the rain so we could re-fill the ibcs. Digging the soil in the rain wasn’t quite so nice though! We use the tumble dryer when we do a big load of washing but for working outdoors we generally wear our waterproofs so luckily it keeps the outdoor clothes dry. You take care too Colette and see you soonish. Xx
Hey guys, so glad you have a much more level space now when you walk out from the outbuilding - looks good. And Ben - your hair looks great - good job Dawn. Love seeing the furballs stretching out on the table - life is great for them and of course Miss Peaches being carried around like Cleopatra, haha.
Haha she loves being ferried about…lazy girl! They have a good life, they are in their element exploring the land….it warms my heart to watch them get excited about climbing the trees! They come out and work with us, it’s blooming lovely!
It’s sooo amazing to be able to walk on something other than mud out there! lol just to get the other side sorted now and we’ll be good!
Ben looks much more himself with his haircut. ❤️
It looks great . I was thinking earlier (always dangerous) if you carry on blasting with the power hose from the bank of the ditch back up to the end of the frain channel it might create a drain... More fun and no digging
I agree with Dawns Dad super woman !
Even Ed said your hairdressing is good despite the kitten on your shoulder. And he never praises anyone. !
Habe a great week whatever you do.
Yeah it doesn't pay to do too much thinking but more fun and no digging is always a winner.
Great minds clearly think alike as that is what Dawn was doing to try and get a flow going but the roots are still a bit too high. Notice I didn't say it was my great mind haha.
Super woman indeed she is. Hair, land, house, ancestry, all sorts really. I am a very proud husband if I am honest.
Thanks Ed as that must be quite an accolade if you never praise anyone haha.
You too, hope you get done all the bits you need to do.
Maybe the circle in stones could be covering a well.
Hi Linda
I think another commenter said that too and we did wonder with a bit of excitement. Then we thought about the gully from the outbuilding and where the waste would flow to and decided probably not. We will be having an investigate though once the mud has all gone. It may be nothing more than "what we think we can see" trying to fathom out how it was or could have been, or it could be nothing more than some stones in a circle-ish shape.
We are far from finished on it and at some point we will be able to show it finished.... at some point haha.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting with a good comment :-)
Congratulations! So much work and you continued to try and be careful!
Thank you! We did, it was important to us that we went as carefully as we could just to not disturb the stones. It’s so old it would have been horrible to have pulled it up with a digger. 😮❤️
What a great job you both have done an amazing area like any thing it takes time
Hi Doreen, thank you for watching and commenting today.
It has taken a long time and a lot longer than the original plan of leaving a raised area and the path. But we are pleased we did it. More to be done on it but no rush anymore. We can pick at it bit by bit depending on whatever else we are doing.
Thank you again :)
@@thecornerhouseproject You are certainly welcome you both work so hard
It must be time for a break soon hahaha
Loved watching you dig!
Thank you Grace, but can I just say for both of us, it is a lovely feeling knowing we don't have anymore digging planned (as such).
Thank you so much for watching and commenting :-)
Wow, she’s all that and a haircut! 😊
Quite something eh Ed? Never a dull moment I can tell you hahaha.
Thank you as always. Have a nice evening :-)
Amazing courtyard work!looks so good. Haircut looks good too. Three cats? I thought there were only two.
Thank you Rebecca. I am chuffed with my new haircut. A bit of gel and sorted.
Three cats yes. It was two originally. The story... quick version...
Mum Peaches and son Steve - for sale by breeder. Price went lower and lower as no one wanted them. We knew we would get cats in the end but we couldn't not have the two no one wanted. We wanted them.
Collecting the cats... "Oh, this is the brother, he has a bad eye, you can have him too" We decided due to our current house situation, it wouldn't be a great environment for a cat which was poorly and needed help.
One week later, and feeling terrible for leaving the brother with the breeder, we phoned up and said we could collect him. He is now called Alan. Peaches was already named. Steve nor Alan had names even though they were 6 months old. Alan needed an operation on his eye which we immediately had done and he can't have kids anymore either (but don't tell him), vaccinations for both boys, and peaches check-up was fine.
So three cats, each different and all bonkers. We love them. (If you didn't know already)
Thank you for always watching and commenting and sorry for boring you about the cats.
Well done Ben and Dawn! What an achievement! To be honest I don't know how you handle all that rain 😂 Just a thought about the ditch... have you recently checked to make sure all that muddy water hasn't blocked the ditch up again, down at the bottom of the garden?
I can't wait to see where your next adventure takes you 🥰
Thank you! 🤩 I think we have just gotten used to it now, on a whole it doesn’t last for too long before it stops but this weekend was quite a lot of rain! Yeah I went and checked the ditch the same day and the day after and it’s still flowing nicely. It will need dragging out a bit with the rake again but it’s doing good still which is nice. We have lots to do so I’m sure it won’t be long before we start something new! 😂🥰
The area looks so much bigger after all of your digging. You both must be exhausted. Take care of yourselves ✌️💚
It really does! Strange isn’t it? What the eyes perceives. Erm…yeah it’s been touch going at times and we’re are glad to be done with that part now! Thank you and you take care too. How’s the leg healing? ❤️
Ben, I thought you either had yr hair cut or had yr ears lowered? Lol
yep Elder is a weed it'll grow back even if you cut it back to a stump, BUT! You'll be able to make elderflower cordial, an acquired taste,keep up the good work you two😊
Hahaha he’d probably prefer his ears lowering than having to sit and have his haircut! 😂 ooh never had elderflower cordial before. I remember my dad making elderberry wine when I was a kid. Obviously ever tried that then either 😂
Nice
I also can’t believe how much muck you two got out of there! I can’t wait to see some grass growing there and no more mud pit! 💚😊
I’m excited to see Dawn wash some of the rocks you guys found and patch up those holes in the roofless outbuilding and get to repointing!! 🙌🏻✨💚💚💚
Oh you and us both! It’s going to be so much easier to make plans for what we will do in that area now. We will still need to address the other side as that gets so water logged, so will need some drainage going in there at some point.
We have sooo many stones and lots in the outbuilding that needs fixing that so I think we will have enough even without what we’ve found 😂 looking forward to getting that fixed up! Can’t wait to get a roof back on it! 🍀❤️
Great job Dawn, looking good Ben, and congrats to you both for 6k!! Loved the cats helping with the haircut, lol! 😂❤ We had the eclipse today, but in Arizona it didn’t reach full totality, it was still pretty cool though! Love you guys! 😊💚✨
Great job by Dawn and hey... what can I say, thanks hahaha. The Cats are a big help aren't they lol.
Thanks for the congratulations, I think we hit it lucky for a couple of weeks as things have slowed down now. No rush though, the numbers creep up bit by bit and we are over the moon with 6k.
If we had had the sun and up on high enough land we would have been able to see a little bit of it here (so the news said) but it was overcast and may have been raining to. Really pleased you go to see at least some of it as they are quite something to watch.
Hope you are well and thank you :-)
I can't wait to see how it looks when it it's dried, if ever. You guys stuck with it and it's really impressive just how much debris you've removed. It changed the whole area, and you now have the raised beds. 👍
There is a shot from the dry stone wall tomorrow which shows just how flat it is. We will do some drone stuff of the whole land when the sun comes out and wind stops haha.
Yes, 5 raised bed, enough for a garden centre or two.
Thanks as always :-)
As a very long term plan you could open up the slurry pit ( if that's what it is) and make a pond?
We very very much like this idea! Thank you 🤩
Have you contemplated saving up to have a well drilled, perhaps there was one where that circle is?
Yes, that is something that we would like to be able to do in the future. The rain water harvesting is going very well but all the storage for it takes up a lot of space, so a well would be much better.
Well it's a courtyard but not as we know it Jim😅 I jest but you've done a remarkable job of clearing tons of soil. Could the round mound be a former well do you think? You will be able to re-lay the stones where they are missing once the roots and small stones are gone. I loved to see your cat family in the kitchen, they are so sweet.❤
Klingons on the starboard side? Surely not Pat hahaha.
Another commenter though the same with a possible well. We got excited reading both your comments but then realised the contents of the gully would head straight for the well :-(
We wonder if we are just seeing a circle of stones or it it might just be some stone that are in the shape of a sort of circle... if that makes sense.
A bit of work to do yet and investigation as to what it is but we will of course share it.
We love our cats, they are bonkers hahaha.
Thank you as always Pat for watching and commenting :-)
Great haircut!
Thank you 😘
Thank you for the cattens input to your haircut. cheers bless you all
Haha Anna, Love how you call them Cattens, that is great. They are always a huge help with the goings on. Christmas decorations, haircuts, pulling an extension lead through the house, everything has a catten attached.
Thank you Anne for watching and commenting :-)
Look wonderful. Well done. Hell of a lot of hard graft.
I wonder if you extended your gilly into the ditch and maybe deepened it if it would help to drain the extra water in the plot and give you drier ground. But the water table must be very high with the lake so near.
Thank you very much! Definitely some hard graft and very glad it’s for the most part done and dusted!
I think that’s what we will probably do, the difference just from removing the soil has been amazing and hopefully the more it dries out and the more soil goes it will get drier and drier. Oh yes the water table is high and very noticeable at the bottom of the land. We dug a hole to plant a small tree a couple of weeks ago and the speed that water poured into the hole was crazy!
@@thecornerhouseproject Yip I remember that. I sometimes felt for you with that grueling workload of removing the top layer above the stones. At least now you may be able to work at a slower and more enjoyable pace. But don't forget to continue your updates. I am sorry that I will not be able to join yet as I am only a pensioner but given the ability I will do so.
Normally I just use shampoo and conditioner on both hair and beard.if I'm working out in the shop i put a hair tie in it to keep it out of the way.
Ooh you should try washing it rain water….I’ve not had to use conditioner since we moved over, it’s great!
I observed You hard work and …..gays … this is m the right time to subscribe your channel! I really appreciate massive efforts You’ve don. Congratulation !
Yay!🥳🥳thank you it’s very much appreciated to know and to hear that! 😘
such a wife is a treasure
Dawn really is MajaZuzia and without being all mushy, I am very lucky :-)
Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Are doing a great job 😊
Thank you 🤩
Do you know what you want to do with that uncovered area? If you haven’t any plans for it, maybe a couple dump truck loads full of gravel to level the place out & to give the rain water a place to go while your feet stay dry. Just a thought.
We have spoke about maybe getting some gravel for going in between the stones, so that might be the way we go. We used to watch a garden programme with Charlie Dimmock (can’t remember what it’s called 🫣) and they used something called bound gravel, which could be an option too. Dry feet sounds really good! 🤣
Have you watched Chateau de Montmagner. They uncovered and repaired a French drain outside. And inside a stone floor or two. They had to take little fast growing trees, roots and fix the stone floor. Like yours lots of wok. One area was a piggery outside floor, one was the French drain. Good luck on your courtyard. Let the floor dry out and maybe it will show itself as to what it really is. Oh, yes, can you go to a museum or archives to look for pictures, that may help. You May find lots of pictures. Maybe leave it for a few days. No more jet washing. Suggestion, fallen down walls, building or ?
Good morning Lucy, thank you for watching and commenting.
We have watched a few of the French Chateau channels but not in any depth, only Escape to Rural France.
It is possible the building was a piggery at some point in it's life and did house a pig or two in "modern" times. Inside had flag stones and a probably gully, but now all that remains is two flag stones, a hole with soil, which we now now goes to the gully outside. I don't think we are lucky enough to have any French drains.
We are really interested to find out what it could have been so won't be changing things until we have maybe contacted a museum or university.
We may we waiting a while before it dries out as it tends to rain a lot, you may have noticed haha.
Thank you again Lucy.
Someone else may have mentioned this, but even though your farm is just 200 years old, you could be on ancient land. I watch another channel that found standing stones on their Irish land. The stone could be from an earlier building. There are just so many possibilities.
No, I don’t think anyone else has mentioned it. I like your thinking though, that would be amazing! I wish you could see into the past sometimes. What was the other channel that had the stones because I would be very interested in watching it, I had a quick search on UA-cam but couldn’t find anything similar.
@@thecornerhouseproject the name of the channel is Bealtaine Cottage and the video is ua-cam.com/video/oV0zB32jUM4/v-deo.html
That wind would be too much for me. I would be hiding in the house! It is going to be fun to see what it looks like when it dries out.
Hi Karla, thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Dawn isn't a fan either and she was checking the tree sounds for creaking as we jet washed. Dawn has got a lot better though, some days in the past when it was very windy we wouldn't be on the land long before we went inside out the way of the trees.
The thumbnail, also not a top shot was taken this morning. We had some rain in the night but it looks much nicer now it has dried out a bit and the rain washed a bit more of the mud off. There are some damp muddy patches which need clearing but we will get there. When we get there you will be the first to see :-)
Thank you again :-)
Glad you avoided the worst of Kathleen! Making great progress! 😊
Yes,I think we were quite lucky and got off lightly really, thank you! 🤩
Maybe you should think at some stage to get a roller and level it out, but plenty of time for that.
That would work really well I would think and it might be something we look into once we’ve decided what we will do to repair bits that need sorting 😊
Whatever you do next, we’ll all still be watching 😊
Thank you Sandra, just expect the unexpected really would be the best way to prepare yourself. SPOILER: It won't be digging though haha
Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Oh I love the cats that they are so much part of the family xx
They’re great little cats, so involved with everything you do, love them to bits! Xx
Travail de força mais un résultat magnifique...
Thank you 😘
Love the kitty’s
❤️ we do too! They are some lovely little cats 🐈❤️
No doubt the roots have heaved some of the stones up and moved them around, I would maybe try let it dry out a bit and take some time before deciding what to do next.👍❤
Time is on our side. One commenter did highlight that we will never restore it to 200 years ago as over the years, needs change and the purpose of it will have changed too, so we may never really know what it should look like.
Whatever the end result though, we will be really happy with it. Much better than a raised area with some grass on it.
Thank you as always Neuton :-)
Could the circular area be a well filled in with large stones. The water could have been poured into the gully to clean out the shippon or water the cattle. It would have saved having to carry the water into the shippon. Cattle can drink large amounts of water.
Hi Jacqueline, thank you for watching and commenting.
It has been suggested and we got quite excited but then realised that the waste from the gully would all go into it if it was a well. We are hoping we find something on the land that the water was originally brought from 200 years ago, but there aren't any wells marked on the old maps for our land. Only one 100m up the road.
We will instigate "the circle" once we get rid of more soil but wonder if it is just some stone put there and not even a circle, just us wanting to see one.
Thank you again. Have a nice day :-)
If it was my place, I would get a front end loader in there and level the whole back yard. Bring in some good dirt and top soil and plant some nice grass.
Great Idea just about anywhere else in the world. Just doesnt work here in the west of ireland .
It rains over 300 days a year , the ground never dries out ita a mixture of peat bog and clay . Gravel just dissapears into the soil after a year and any new soil you do bring in just turns to mud . 🙄
Mitch is spot on. We will need to remove a lot of soil before we can even put gravel down, soil in low spots just stays soaking wet. We will get there in the end though.
Levelling it to us isn't an option as we are trying to restore what is here. This is why it took so long as it wasn't just digging out dirt but more uncovering what was under the dirt.
We do know what you mean though Kimberly, quite a few times we wondered if we were mad uncovering it all when we could have put some grass seed on it. It would always be boggy, but it would have been less work lol.
Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Ironically power washing in the rain! Great job!
Hahaha I know it was a bit of a weird one, but the best time to do it as it just refilled the water used as we went along lol
Fantastic progress! What a difficult task cleaning those rocks. Thank you for a heart warming video. May the both of you have a wonderful week.
Thank you! Yeah it was quite a time consuming one, trying not to blast the stones out but also get deep down to get rid of the soil. Took a while and there is still some soil that we need to get out but it has come up really well. 😊
Hi Dawn and Ben! You two are working like Trojans on that farm yard! It's to bad that years of overgrowth have caused roots to heave the rocks. Could the circle be what's left after a tree planted itself there and then died, having pushed the rocks away from the trunk? The clean-out trench from the building probably drained into the gulley, where rain washed the manure and urine away. Where does the gulley end? It may need dredging (or more backbreaking digging) to clear the years of build-up. Ben's haircut looks great, although I do love men with longer hair. 😍 The cats are purrfecting their hampering skills on you - and you should feel blessed they love you enough to want to participate in the hair cut adventure. I'm so happy you love the rain.☘☘so you continue to battle your renovations for us to watch. ❤
Hi Hannah, thank you, not sure we like your suggestion of more back breaking digging! 🤣😉 but yeah still lots to do but such a relief to finally have the majority of it removed. That’s a great suggestion about the circle being left by a tree and it’s certainly highly possible especially with all the roots that we’ve gone through digging this area. We’re not sure where the gulley goes to, we’re hoping that once the rest of the soil is cleared away that we might have more of an idea. Although unfortunately because of all the roots I do wonder if lots has been shifted over time.
Aww the cats are amazing! Great little furry balls of fun 🐈😍 they have to be involved in all that goes on!
The rain? Well what can I say….it’s just something you get used to, it passes by so quickly, usually, it’s not really a bother. It has the added benefit of letting us be able to use the jet wash! Yay🥳🥳❤️
What a determinations! Excellent job! Congratulations!
Thank you very much! We were determined to finish and we did! Yay! 🎉
Great haircut Dawn, looks like the boys wanted all the attention though. Shakin Stevens, lol, the first thing I think of is the green door. You look much better than him for sure, especially with the new haircut.👍
It was certainly a cat special time. Open the door and chaos begins haha.
Green door, I always think of This old house hahaha.
Thanks Neuton :-)
❤❤❤ it Beautiful when you get finished.
Oh it really will. Looking forward to getting it sorted out. I’d love to know completely how it should look before we do start to put I back together. I’ve been looking online to see if I can find something similar but not see one so far but will continue to look 😊
I am very much loving the playful cats. How old are they? Sad about the lack of surprises in your courtyard. But now you will have a nice yard to set up good grass, flower beds, and a table and chairs. Did you take a walk into the yard next door and probe the ground? There might be clues there. Maybe your courtyard was the remains of a building? I guess God only knows the answer.
Hi Paul and Laura
These cats are like no others we have had, these are a little different and bonkers. It turns out it seems to be a ginger thing. We had a coupe of gingers before these and they were odd too lol. Steve and Alan are 10 months old and Peaches the mum (shoulder cat) is 16 months.
We haven't seen any building on the old maps in that area other than the outbuilding it's self, but it could be possible, but we think it was just a yard, or farmyard. It is the puzzle of where the gully ran to and if that circle is a circle of stones and not just stones dumped there.
Table and chairs sounds great to us. A lot of work to be done on it yet but we will get there :-)
Thank you so much for watching and commenting :-)
@@thecornerhouseproject It is just interesting to think of a little girl walking across the stones bring in the cows. THY Laura
Your best bet now would be to let it all dry out. Just keep sweeping it and cutting out the roots. By the time you’ve relayed the loose stones your end up with a beautiful courtyard
We think you’re right, tomorrow is going to be sunny with a bit of cloud and no rain so that’s a good start! ☀️ it should look really good when it’s all tidied up a bit.
Nice recap video. Oak island I gave up on that years ago lol. U want another quick cheap job with a big impact. Skip the D2 and get 5 gallon of hyper choride bleach from ur local farm shop. Dilute it down 5 to 1 and spray it on the walls of the house and any paths etc. let it site for 10 mins and the power wash it off. Do it on a day there’s rain. Everything will be clean. Test it on the limestone walls first to sure it not going to be too aggressive. 5 gallon should be 20 quid.
Thank you! Haha Oak Island we haven’t watched for a while now but really liked it to begin with we did wonder if we would come across a connection with the knights Templar whilst digging away! Haha!
Ooh lovely that sounds good to me, will it be alright with having the cats around? It would be good to do though. We did wonder about painting the front of the house until we can get the concrete render off, just to make it look a bit nicer than the greying white that it currently is. Will have a look for some of that. I keep forgetting to show the D2 patches…it does a good job but it is quite expensive…I think maybe 4 times the price of what you have mentioned for the same quantity.
Gates back from the galvanisers yet?
@@thecornerhouseproject it’s Basicly bleach for farm yards but aggressive so u dilute it down 5 to one. 25 litres in a drum it’s supper cheap. I got it last week for doing the drive at the back of the house. Keep the cats inside when ur using it. I use a garden sprayer to get it on the walls of the house then after five mins wash it away. Do it on a wet day and keep the cats in. Use eye protection and gloves. It’s strong bleach but test a little on lime stone first. U can see the dirt run of the wall. Yep the gates will be back end of the week so it will take a few house to get them up and filled with boards. Will put a quick video up when I get them done. When u go to do the outside of ur house with render u can use a primer and then render over the top of what’s there. My mum did it at her house. But for u 100mm of insulation around the out side first and then render. U couod fit the external insulation urself it’s that easy. Don’t let the cats walk in the bleach it burn burn paws hence do it on a wet day to dilute it more and wash it away
You should ask around someone will know and help you
Hopefully the right person will pop by one day and reveal all it's history. Maybe not though and we will have to speak to maybe the university.
Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
You both have done a wonderful job. As it dries out you will get a clearer picture,hopefully then you can see what you want to do.❤
Thank you very much! Yes, just a couple of days gone by and a bit of dry(ish) weather today and it’s looking so much better. ❤️
I watched a young man trying to create a homestead with no modern tools or anything he even lived in a brush hut for quite a long time . Anyway when he wanted to put in his garden he realized the soil was very poor . So he saved his urine all winter ,in spring he piled all his brush together burned it to small bits of coal . Then he poured the urine on the coal pile and raked and stirred it all together. He said it was activated ? Char. Some how it's a super amendment for good soil . Could the people on your farm have directed the livestock's urine to the little pit to mix in charcoal for the gardens ? I have a brain with thousands of strings stretching from ideas that make quite a tangled mess ! 🤣🥰❣️
We like your strings stretched as our brains are a bit of a tangle mess too. We look at it this way, that way and still stand there scratching our heads. I am not sure what they did with the urine to be honest. Hopefully when the muddy slop drains in the gully we can clear that out and have another investigate to see if it is a circle of stones or just some stone put there which seem to be a circle.
I have heard of activated charcoal but never really known what difference it makes to anything. Activated charcoal can be used in aquarium filters to take out impurities. That is about as much as I know on it.
How did the young man get on? Did he get finished as such?
Thank you for always watching and commenting :-)
Amazing! Considering the weather I never expected you to get it done this past weekend. The large stones sticking up out of the ground are very interesting, however they may have just sunk down in the mud from being piled there over time. Can't wait to see it all dried out - C'mon Sun!!
I think to be fair, we got off pretty lightly with the weather here, but there would be so many days not doing anything if we had to work around the rain! 🤣 but we can’t deny we are waiting and wishing for some dry weather to be able to see what’s going on properly! Raining now and forecast all day so it won’t be today lol 😘
Where the trough ends dig it to extend it over to the creek, Drainage is so needed. Over the years during cold spells rocks can heave and come out of place. Also the area may never have been completed into a true terrace. I realize you both are really sick of the digging but a change of pace is ok. It will be there for your next dig! to get the rock path out to the grassy area will be wonderful. Rome wasn't built in a day! nor will your place perserverence and patience is the key! I make a lot of quilts so it all takes time and energy
You are right Catherine, there are some spots which really need to be drained. Once we have all the soil (currently mud) gone, we will look at drainage for this area.
We love you you point out that stones may have moved or it may not have been finished. You are right, it isn't going anywhere and Rome wasn't built in a day.
Your quilting takes so much time. My Mum quilts and my Dad jokes that she cuts up fabric to join it back together again haha
Once we decide on what to do with it, we will of course share it :-)
Thank you for joining us and commenting :-)
Do you know yet what the purpose of the stone channel was that came from the building out through the courtyard?
The only thing we know is that it will have drained animal waste (liquid) off into it from the outbuilding and then we’re guessing anything that was washed off the yard would go into there and then we don’t know lol. Lots of people have suggested it could lead to a sort of slurry pit that then drains off to between the trees to a possible 2nd slurry pit and then into the ditch. That’s our guesses anyway along with what others have suggested too.
Great job! Not an easy one, but when you're done it will look good.
Thank you! 🤩 Oh it really will! It’s such a vast improvement just as it is, it’ll be amazing all fixed up properly.
You to is very stubburn and working hard couple we have a farm to much work
Haha yes we are. It’s all a lot of work isn’t it? One day we will know about the farm work too fingers crossed 🤞
12:13 What beautiful kitties 😸 I don't know if I missed it, but could you introduce them. I heard one is Peaches.
You did a great job on Ben's hair 😊
I think you two are incredible. You've been digging and lugging mud for weeks and you've never given up. The question is - now you've got it, what are you going to do with it? Could it be a yard where the cows where brought in for milking? It would be wonderful if there were old photographs. Well done on all of your hard work and I'm finding it fascinating.
Yes of course, they Peaches, who is the mumma and then her Sons Alan (darker ginger) and Steve (lighter ginger) who I think was the one talking in the video.
Aww thank you, it was a long time coming for the haircut, I don’t think it’s ever been that long before!
Haha, well….we hope to be able to put stones back in where they look to be missing and then try and secure what is there and make it easier to walk on. Maybe make a feature out of certain areas. Lots to think about on how it will all work.
Oh how I wish there were old photographs so that we could know how it should look. I would think definitely cows and all sorts of animals as it had been a working farm up until roughly the 1970-80s from as far back as I have been able to see on records which is around 1847.
Thank you, oh you and us both with the fascination levels. We love it all, the digging not quite as much! 🤣
Amazing, I am in awe of you both for battling through the most horrendous weather to not only dig all that wet heavy mud but continue to film and get videos out so people can watch along, you do truly deserve a medal each.
Loved watching you give Ben a haircut, bought back memories from doing my sons and husbands hair every 6 weeks, my dogs and cats would wait until there was a nice pile of hair and then run through it dragging it all over the house - animals who would be without them ❤❤.
I loved the comment from your Dad Dawn now we all know how proud he is of you and well deserved bless you.
Love as always to you both xxxx and the cats 🐱🐱🐱xxx
Sorry I meant to ask, is it possible the mound could be a covered well? The reason I ask is because if the house has never been connected to mains water there must be a well somewhere. How brilliant would it be if it is a well😊 xx
Aww thank you for such a lovely comment. I think the desire to be finished with the digging spurred us on to get it finished this past weekend more than anything and because it does rain a lot we’d be waiting a while for a dry day 🤣 also the benefit of the rain is that we can jet wash and refill the tanks at the same time. Win win!
Haha….animals eh?! They just love being right in the middle of EVERYTHING! ❤️ oh you’re right though….would not be without them. It just doesn’t feel right in a house to not have them, if you’ve always had them. They keep us smiling!
Oh yes, my dad’s comment choked me up I have to say! It’s hard being in a different country away from family, but how amazing is UA-cam that they can still see what’s going on with us, it was our main purpose to do UA-cam to make it easier for our families to keep up with it all.
A couple of my aunties comment regularly too so it’s lovely to read. 🥰🥰
We did wonder with the mound, but then thought…”hmm, maybe not so close to the animal building” but we have yet to clear the mud out of that area so it will be interesting to see what it consists of…or whether it was just a pile of stones put there to fill a gap. Very curious none the less! A well would most certainly be amazing if that’s what it was though! Xx
Nice work from you both. Just takes a wee bit time but worth it in the end.
Thank you William. If we had just gone with the raised area and path we could have been long done, but sadly we found some stones lol.
Thank you for always watching and commenting. Have a nice evening :-)
WELL DONE 🎉
🥳🥳 Thank you! 🤩 got there eventually!
I'm abandoning the slurry pit/soakaway theory in favor of its being the base of an altar or platform for ancient druidic rituals. 🤣
What an accomplishment! (even if we don't know exactly what has been found) Clear flat hard ground, that will drain once wind & rain have had more of a chance at it, is a precious resource, no matter how it was originally intended.
& what a lot of work you've done. I thought the great land-blitzing was going to be a peak of activity for you guys, not a mere warmup for the hard stuff. (Wait a minute: are you sure you weren't farmers to begin with? Because you sure have that farmers "dawn-to-dusk & then some" work ethic sorted.)
Anyway, congratulations! 🥳🥳🥳
I think I like your new theory much better! It sounds a lot more interesting! 🧐😂
Yes to have clear flat, hard ground is amazing…we keep walking on it just because! It’s looking even better as the sun and wind have worked their magic, the stones are all brightening up it’s looking good!
Oh my goodness and there was us thinking that the land part was going to be the peak as well, we only wanted a small little path by the outbuilding…damn those sneaky stones for appearing! 🫠 Well I must say we are not feeling so farmer like right now lol the digging has taken it out of us finally lol. Shattered! I think it’s our age! 😂