Make hay/paint while the sun shines

Strangely enough he didn't stick to it, cats must be paint repellant

Yesterday, what a cracker of a day! A day to bale hay or paint a wall.Painting the upper garden wall was the only option. I did consider driving home for a swim, but there was no one to go with me (we had that "never swim alone" rule beaten in to us as kids)-it's hard to shake off.

It's amazing how a coat of paint really changes everything. This is my first attempt at garden wall painting and I'm sure ideas will change as time goes on about colour and style. Lots of people were puzzled when I explained that no I wasn't painting it white. White is too high maintenance in an area of greenery both above and below the wall. And it's too cold! In a country of perpetual grey skies white is just not warm enough. This is Ireland not fecking Greece!!

delicious local snacks

The good thing about working near the fruit is the supply of fresh snacks to keep you going while working. I started the wall at 2 pm yesterday afternoon, took a break at 6 for dinner and finished up at 9pm. 2/3 of the wall got two coats but even the side that just got the one looks good in the spells of sunshine today. I would have loved to have it done for the BBQ at the weekend but the weather was too unsettled and besides it would have been wildly impractical with Dave cutting stone and producing clouds of fine dust in the same area.I'm telling myself it's done for next year, but despite all the claims made on the side of the paint tin I'm a bit skeptical about how long it will really last.

Anyway it dosen't look like I will get to finish the last piece anytime soon. The weather outlook for the next 7 days is unsettled to say the least. We could really do with a heat wave and I bet the rest of Europe needs a break from it! Check out my before and after pics to see what you think.

before

after