Saturday, July 23
Sundo, 13:05
This morning I did the final touching-up for the new building that doubles as Naa’s house and the family shed. Finally it is finished. The shed is the door on the left and Naa’s room is the door on the right. At Camilla’s suggestion the doors are painted the traditional Pellinge black. Now that it is finally finished I feel very good about it, and it seems well worth the effort. For a moment I even look round for something else to paint.
In half an hour Camilla will come and look and make appreciative noises. She will then ask if we can help with the hay-work today, and we will say yes.
We will work for about six or seven hours. I will spend almost all that time in the barn with Camilla, Miina and Tilda (who is about twelve and doing hay-work for the first time). We will get the bales as they are unloaded from the trailer and stack them. This is harder work than it sounds, and we will do three tractor loads. Each tractor load will be 400 to 500 bales. Ann-Sofie will join us for the second load which will be done very quickly, and then Miina and I will do the final load on our own, as Camilla leaves to make the food.
When we have finished I will go for my first swim to clean myself and wash the straw off me.
We will then all eat wild deer soup that Camilla has made from a deer Johan caught last autumn, and vegetables from the farm.
Finally Irma and I will leave and both realise that our backs and legs are barely working. We will totter home groaning and try to climb into bed. For the first time in living memory the noise from Tirmo Blues will not disturb us at all.