The Gate Way to Home

It can't be rocket science to fit a new front cottage gate. Can it ?
We don't need anything so grand as the ones outside of Buckingham palace.
We like to be secure, but we don't need a gate to keep hoards of people at bay, we don't need to keep a herd of wandering cattle in either.

We've been waiting for ages to update everything on here, hence our absence.

Eventually our new gate arrived almost a month after our new wall had been built and after a few mishaps along the way.

It was too tall.

Right size, just built the wrong way around.

So many things that have happened down here this year, they really couldn't be made up. Can't help but laugh.

 Ah, just right.

It seems to have been a very long nine months on this side of our little bridge.
A whole nine months since the first arrival of a demolition crew to knock down the old cottage next door to us.
It was knocked down to give space to make a water relief channel to help stop the whole area from flooding. Living near a cute looking stream in the Summer can be a totally different bag of worms when living near one in the Winter and the stream goes through a known flood plain. Which most of you know was to our cost last year.

With our new gate in place, everything that had been broken or damaged by digging the new water relief channel has finally been put right. Well, kind of, the actual water relief channel, needs a bit of tweaking.

At the moment the new channel is taking all of the water, leaving the old stream dry.
The Environment agency might be keeping a close eye on it, but we are keeping an even closer one until it is all up and running as it should. More water running down the old stream and the new water channel a relief water course for any over flow of water.
Sand bags are on stand by, just in case.

 We also have a new front wall. It was painted, then it rained, the paint got washed away.
Next time the SOGGIBOTTOM PAINTERS will in charge to give it another coat in the Spring or Summer.

 Luckily the cottage had been painted a few days before it started to rain.
So far so good, the cottage still has that whiter than white, clean look. It was only after the first coat of paint that was splashed on that we realized how bad the ol girl was.

The road outside of Soggibottom has been resurfaced, we have a new car park to park our car and best of all, our little bridge has been fixed. The large lorries that came over it damaged our dear little Medieval bridge. Luckily not beyond repair.
Even inside, the Soggibottom painters have been busy decorating.

Painting, polishing, waxing, dusting. Soggibottom is now green to go for Christmas and best of all the bears are back.

They aren't hanging around long but making their way over the little bridge to new homes ready for Christmas.

Along with the very last rag doll.

A fleece dog pillow and blanket.
Yep, were green to go for Christmas, no more large machines, no heavy lorry loads of stone, cement, no more spoil lorries of earth, no more men with hard hats wandering around.
What will we moan at now !

Frankie de tabby and Freya Rose Blossom can be found over at CAT FLAP CAVALIER

Thanks to all those that have joined in the saga of the water relief channel. At times over the last nine months your good thoughts have been priceless. 

From a very cold South Devon, Happy Thanksgiving for all those over the pond.

11th hour, 11th day, 11th month 2013

All Hallows Eve 2013

You never know who is going to come over our little bridge these days.
Tonight we are watching for expected visitors to come knocking on the door.

Although this week it's been one of the quietest weeks we have had in the last nine months. Hardly a yellow coat to be seen around here. No large lorries passing our window. No concrete lorry coming and going, no stone mason's, no fencing people, no digging machines, no noise. It's like the good quiet ol days we used to remember.

We have a new front wall, waiting to be painted, a new road outside, a new water relief channel. THAT WORKS.

 Our little Medieval bridge has been fixed TWICE. Best not to ask why it had to be fixed twice.

 Just waiting for Soggibottom to have a whole new coat of paint to make her look clean and bright on the outside, with more rain heading our way over the next few days, that might have to be postponed.

We even survived the big storm last week.

This time last year things around the cottage were looking more than grim.  After being flooded four times last October our flooding problem was getting a bit out of hand.  We weren't the only one's around the village to have water in their door. One thing we know for sure, when you try and fight flooding, you seem as if you are well and truly on your own as you bucket water out of your house.

This October we are more confident that we are going to stay dry inside.

There are still outstanding issues to resolve about the course the stream takes as it passes Soggibottom Cottage. Our new water relief channel is actually taking more water along it than it should, now making it the main water flow of the stream. The old stream has a trickle of water. If the old water course dries up and silts, then we will need a deeper water relief channel. As I said, there are still outstanding issues.  The park at the back of the cottage is still a flood plain. Nothing will change that.

On the whole, things around here are starting to come together at long last.  Which also means more time to get back into the swing of updating Soggibottom's blog, and going back to the usual enjoyable things of life. 

You'll find miss mutt over at Cat flap Cavalier as usual.

Have a great All Hallows Eve.
:-) x x x 

Paws crossed.

Power of the paw tonight on the eve of all hallows. Our friend  young Tweedles.

Soggibottom will update soon, in the mean time, young Tweedles needs some good thoughts. She is a brave little soul who will quite happily take the good thoughts of the power of the paw if you send them. x x x

Medieval Bridge builder 2013 style. South Devon Village by-pass.

Our little medieval bridge is being repaired AGAIN.. the last time it was repaired was sometime in 1600.
 I couldn't resist sharing this guy who seems so happy in his work. Lovely guy, I have never seen him without a smile on his face. Mind you, he hasn't been around working on this side of the bridge very long. We have had the pleasure of his smiling face for a few short weeks.

A snag hit our new water relief channel at the beginning of last week. After a huge downpour of rain, we thought all was well, the water was channeled down the new DITCH water relief channel, all seemed great until we noticed the water level in the natural course of the stream had dropped drastically the next day.

The normal flow of the stream was down to hardly a trickle of water.

This is where the new water relief channel meets the stream. the edge of the water relief channel is too low.
All the water is being directed straight down the water relief channel.
Er... water relief channel ?
Isn't a water relief channel supposed to take water to relieve the natural stream when it rains heavily, to help with possible flooding and not take all the water, so that the natural stream dries up and gets over grown with weeds natural plants.

After a day away yesterday we came back to find the answer to all our problems of flooding.
Devon County Council in their wisdom have come up with an answer. A bit of wood across the opening of the water relief channel.

 
That bit of wood makes the whole year seem worthwhile...before I say more and really get myself into hot water, thought it best if I show a calm scene, and other snaps the camera took yesterday.

Our two eldest granddaughters on their way home from school.

The hairy caterpillar Mr Chops.

Miss Stella.

Karina and her mum. 

Freya can be found over at catflap cavalier.

One more smile. Two of the rag dolls that were on here a few weeks ago found their way over the little bridge (dodging the holes), to their new home in the U.S. With the desired effect, just love that smile.

It's always good to near home after a long day out. Seeing huge machines on the road remind us one day, the village will have a new by pass, all the holiday traffic in the Summer months can get from one place to another a whole eight minutes quicker and then be stuck in another traffic jam further along the road. A spokesman from Devon County Council, earlier today told us that the stream will eventually level it's self out.. He hasn't actually seen this stream in full flow. We really hope he is right !
No one move that bit of wood........ Have a great weekend guys as always see you soon X

Original Soggibottom, Soggibottom Original

Dartmoor hares have been more popular than I imagined.
One of the hares above is for Wendy.
Wendy asked for a Dartmoor Hare for her pay it forward. Although the hare has been a while in coming, little paws will be making their way over our little bridge early next week.

We said goodbye to the cheeky stonemason's yesterday that have been around for what seems like months during the Summer.
For the time being, their job is done, the water relief channel (ditch) has been built.
We're still expecting them back to repair our little medieval bridge. 
We won't however miss what must be the loudest concrete mixer in Devon, right outside our window every morning.

 At least we know the water channel works. This morning we woke up to thunder storms and the sound of running water. Soggibottom Cottage is now officially on a small island, at the bottom of the hill. At least the downpour helped to clean some of the road outside.

Sandbags and flood gates haven't been mothballed, not yet anyway.

There's still work to do on the surrounding area. In case your wondering where all the red water has come from, it's not just from building the new water channel, most of the water has run off from the new road being built at the back of the village.

This is quite a stretch of mud, in fact this is the middle of the new road that is going to by pass our village. Not finished obviously.

A water culvert along the route. They are also building bat runs that will allow bats to fly safely from one side of the road to the other.

The weather is changing, our normal wet Autumn weather is here, I don't envy anyone having to work on the new road, in all that mud.
We are however so pleased the new water channel that sits beside us has been finished, in the nick of time maybe. 

You can find Freya and her high Visibility coat over at the Catflap Cavalier. 

Have a very dry weekend. :-) x x x

Marley Wynn's first birthday.

A very happy first birthday to Marley Wynn our youngest granddaughter. x x x