Update on the side hustle

The last few days in England, the weather has been absolutely glorious. It's been more like summer weather than April weather. Although it finally cooled down again last night and it supposed to drizzle tomorrow for the London Marathon.

Fortunately, I've had the opportunity to spend my after-work hours outside on the caretaker gig/side hustle, and we've now moved onto outside things as the super weather over the past week has caused all of the overgrown things to grow even more, and because the owner wants to put it on the market in a month.

This week I've focused on cutting the lawns and trying to make heads or tails of flower beds which haven't been touched in at least a year. It's such a beatiful place, and they just bought a new Union Jack flag which completes the look--doesn't it have curb appeal?

I have a task list while the owner is away; I look at the weather and the hours I have (so that a task will be completed, not partially done) and the mood I'm in and I choose something from it. She had compiled the list and together we gave time estimates in hours to each item. There's hours and hours of tasks, some of which are 'regular' such as mowing the lawns, so I have plenty to choose from and the list is always increasing. Then I give an email update after each visit so the owner updates her copy of the list so that she is remotely up-to-date on where things stand.

There is a giant flower bed in the back which is visible from the kitchen. It's one of those English gardens, a gentle gathering of a pine tree, ornamental trees, shrubs, bushes, flowers, etc. However, none of it is really noticeable because the ivy and nettles have taken it over and are in a battle to be king of the flower bed. Not really sure which was winning--but they are both strong contenders--I was hacking away, pulling out ivy that was six foot long, nettles which were holding their own at three foot long and up the tree, and on and on.

I suddenly had a vague feeling that I was being watched. I am always cognizant in the back of my head--she has a tenant on-site in the barn whom she is trying to evict, so I always have half an eye open. However, I had not heard the woman's car. When I looked up, this is who I saw:

There are a small handful of farms on this road--perhaps 7 all told, over the course of a mile. None of the houses have numbers since there are so few of them. Yesterday, a black lab had the audacity to do his business on the lawn I.had.yet.to.mow, so I was not pleased. Nevermind that I'm not so fond of dogs in the first place.

However, if I were to ever get a dog, it would be a greyhound. This fellow was eyeing up my activities cautiously, and careful to watch me from a distance. I think if I were to have beckoned him over, he would have come. However, I'm not a dog person, and I was by myself in the middle of no where really, with no one to check on me later. So I continued on my merry way, and this retired fellow rambled off on his rounds. When I looked up again, I saw him entering the house through the open back door.

Yes, really--he just waltzed in. Why was the backdoor open? It's always open when someone is there to get air into the place, and because the door requires a good slam to shut it. So now I put down the garden tools and hiked up to the gigantic house, figuring I'm really going to have some difficulties to explain...by now he had wandered into the living room, looking for someone to talk to, I guess. I walked to the other side of the living room, freeing up the doorway and pointed. He figured out the options and walked out the way he came in. Add another point to the list of 'why Heather never wants to live in a farmhouse--random dogs wandering in the house'!

So my Saturday morning coffee is now complete, out and about to start the weekend...