On tenterhooks

Spent most of the day indoors trying not to think about the Jeep and wondering if the MOT would prove to be the end of our relationship after 13 years. Not only indoors because of the horrible weather but also because several of our upstairs bath and downstairs WC are causing plumbing problems, not surprising considering their age and our unbelievably hard (limescale) plagued water.

Lots of spanners and screwdrivers followed by internet searches to determine model/spare part etc. Not easy with most of the plumbing being from 1974, the newest from 1994. Still, most of the items identified and parts ordered from an incredibly good webshop. One part I couldn't identify and sent an email with a photo. That was at 8:30 pm and within 15 minutes got a call to discuss it! They are contactable until 10:00 pm. No longer is Germany a "Service Desert" as was once the case. Sadly no solution apart from ripping out the entire plumbing and as all pipes in Germany are in the walls, that means everything needs replacing. Tiles in beige with orange and green splashes and sanitary fittings in avocado green have probably seen their day unless someone can tip me off that they will become "In" again soon. I will for the moment try to find a cheap quick fix.

In the afternoon got the call that the car was ready. Angie drove me over to Mindelheim. Naturally, the invoice was more than three large gulps but I trust the owner and have no doubt it was necessary. Oh well, the Jeep and I are together for the next two years.

I drove home to attach the horse trailer and visit someone locally who gave me a large used fibreglass pond (2m x 2.6m) he was throwing out. I have always wanted to replace the broken, leaky, flat concrete pond in the chicken run in case we ever have geese or ducks again. However, will have to dig a deep hole!

On the way home, passed the local grass drying unit working at full steam. That's water vapour by the way. Here the farmers can deliver their freshly cut grass and turn it into dried grass pellets or even grass bales (like hay). Will detail another day but in the photo on the right, you see a farmer leaving having dumped a load of grass. Each farmer makes their own pile and also gets their own grass back a few hours later. The middle vehicle grabs the piles and puts them on the conveyor belt. The finished pellets are then placed in hoppers.

I think either the plant itself or a local company/farmer is specialising on producing pellets for horses this year - special grass rather than anything in the production process.

Back home put all the innards back in the horse trailer so that it was ready for Angie's early morning start tomorrow with Sultan for a riding course.