What Has Little Cat Been Up To?

I realised today that I hadn't put up a post here for a good long while.

Well, I've haven't been back in the orchard since Christmas :-( the contractor I was working for being a right bastard. That's my explanation.

I went on a short holiday to my evil twin's domicile, written about earlier in Hyacinth's mad ravings. I've been back and handy-manning for an old friend. Well, I think 'ex-quasi-step-dad' is the technical term, but it takes a bit of explaining. (I don't have a family tree: I have a vine.)

But back to the handy-manning! It started with taking a very large pile of scrap wood and metal and helping smite it into gobbets suitable for burning in a fire. There was a genuine Ugly Hat Day Picture taken, but I don't have a copy yet so you'll have to just imagine it. It was taken just after smiting the wood-pile and just before mopping the ceiling of a house John (the old friend) and Jim (his brother) wanted to paint.

I also did my bit for the environment by chopping up green stuff and releasing burnt hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. I had to have a lesson in using a motor mower first. Internal combustion engines are complicated. Throttle, oil-sump, starter-cord, dip-stick to check oil. Turn the throttle on high and press a little rubber knob to get gas through the engine before the starter-cord is pulled. Then there was the time I stopped it after half an hour and couldn't start it again. Somewhat terrified that I'd broken it, I trailed wearily back and found out that sometimes you can flood the engine with too much petrol. And so forth.

I had sore places on the palms of my hands from the juddering.

Also, I have a healing blister from sawing down baby Christmas trees as close to the root as possible.

All this, from five days of work...