TALKING TOOLS
/“Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all.”
This week we purchased the most exciting tool we have ever owned..... a sit upon lawn mower. What an exciting day it turned out to be. The mower was delivered to the house and we spent an hour being given instruction as to how to use it. The land was surveyed as to the suitability for the mower and at one point I thought it would be taken away, the whole process was akin to adopting a pet!
More than that.....so much more, we bought a trailer too for the aforesaid mower. We now have no reason to walk around the farmstead any more. The wood for the fire is collected from the barn... in the trailer, gardening tools are delivered to the gardening spot..... in the trailer and of course the first cutting of the grass.... means cuttings are collected in the trailer. We are in love!
The playing field looks amazing. Steve ( grounds maintenance team) spent a long time in the autumn preparing the playing field and we all agreed this year that if we were to keep up the standard we needed to purchase the right tool , an " autoportée" is that tool! We have thought about making it a tourist attraction, " ride a lawn mower vacations" or "Autoportée holidays are us", probably not, but whatever the reason, it is the tool we need.
Yesterday the stone bath was delivered for Lauzerte bathroom and thank goodness a pallet lifter was available to get that off the lorry and up the drive. The bath weighs 140 kg and it now just remains to get it lifted into the bathroom. The right tool can be anything from a pallet lifter to a paint brush and I was happily occupied for half an hour this week cleaning out the drip bowl at the back of the fridge with said paint brush. It was the right tool.
The Farmhouse and its outbuildings, belonged to a working farm in the past so there are tools on site from its previous life. On the north lawn there is an old plough. You will notice that I do not use the words, quaint, historic, beautiful or any other word that implies my liking of this implement. It stands and has stood there for many years as a front lawn decoration. We have inherited plenty of agricultural ploughs (or whatever they are) and we could make the most amazing agricultural display on our front lawn, but do we want to? On the way to Toulouse airport we pass a house that has about six farm implements on their front lawn, beautifully decorated in the summer with hydrangeas. I have seen others painted in a variety of colours, adorning entrances. Some feel that this old machinery has charm and is perhaps symbolic of the old times. However I am not sure that a rusty piece of metal is the first thing I want people to see when they arrive at the farmhouse. What do you think?