estwärts

Thursday starts with buckwheat porridge and apple sauce from our own trees. Strengthened by a hearty breakfast, we start the day. Janne, Stella and Lukas head off on a big shopping trip while the rest of the group works on the farm. In the main house, the plaster continues to be knocked off the walls so that the lime just splatters! In the afternoon, the intermediate ceiling of the room with the water damage is finally opened. A thick, black plague bump, which was hanging out of a chipboard panel under the hole in the roof, is pierced with a spruce pole at a safe distance. Luise bravely takes on this task, while onlookers wearing dust masks follow the spectacle through the door from the next room. The result is unspectacular: the soaked chipboard is disintegrating, the boards on top are moldy but still in place. Nevertheless, a large section of the ceiling will soon have to be removed.

Hagen and Klaas had actually intended to get to the root of the problem yesterday: The hole in the roof is still to be repaired. But the neighbouring construction site is too tempting: Lola, who had already felled a tree on Wednesday, now gets to work and cuts down four more spruce trees that are too close to the house. A few tree stumps are left standing, perhaps a platform will be added here soon? In any case, spruce trees have to be delimbed and turned into firewood. Lola and Jo take on the task, and Hagen and Klaas, who are supposed to be standing on the scaffolding, suddenly dash through the trees with axes and saws. The roof is not started that day. But it doesn’t matter, the night stays dry.

At the same time, more green work is done on the other side of the farm: Lukas wields the brush cutter and clears more space around the yurt.

In the afternoon, Petra and Anna drive to Marju and pick up a hand pump for one of the two well shafts we found the day before. We still have to find out how it works - and whether it fits our wells. For the time being, we continue to fetch drinking water from the nearby spring. Such springs play an important role in Estonian nature beliefs: their water is considered to be particularly beneficial to health and they are often used for small offerings. It certainly tastes good!

The day ends with another surprise: Heli and her family drop by for a quick visit and take a look at the construction site. Heli is a heritage conservation officer in a nearby district and Anna’s host mother, with whom she lived for a year as an exchange student. The children are thrilled and see a huge adventure playground. Her daughter immediately wants to help in the kitchen and stay overnight. The adults give tips on restoring the old putty windows and admire our stable building.

After a Thursday of procrastination, the roof is finally tackled on Friday. Luise and David build a ladder that fits perfectly into the waves of the eternite without destroying the old tiles. Finally, Hagen and Klaas work on the scaffolding, removing old roof panels and installing a temporary rafter.

Meanwhile, more shelves are being built in the kitchen and tool room, a dishwashing line is being set up, for which Janne had spent two evenings at the camp fire carving a large crochet hook and crocheting a large draining net from very coarse sisal yarn. It looks modern!

In the meantime, Anna and Lola have marked out the boundaries of the property. The coordinates of the boundaries are available on the Estonian geoportal maaamet, a kind of digital cadastre of the entire country. Our nature guide Hanno had already explained to us on Tuesday that maps were very inaccurate in the Soviet era. That’s why Estonians today appreciate good maps and accurate, freely available geodata all the more.

During the coffee break, we notice that Hagen and Klaas are missing. They immediately cover the open roof with new panels. Two other leaks are also quickly patched up and suddenly one of the biggest and most important construction sites of this building camp is finished: the roof is sealed! At least we hope so, we’ll take a closer look when it rains the next time. We are happy about the sense of achievement just before the weekend, attach a small birch branch to the scaffolding and put a few drinks in the river to cool off. Tonight, the main house celebrates its second topping-out ceremony!

Another construction site is surprisingly finished: Somewhat hidden between our earth cellar and the barn, Jo and David had completely excavated the barn wall again. Soil from the earth cellar had slipped onto the wall and damaged the foundation and the threshold. The soil they caved out was used to fill in large holes in the parking lot next to the barn. Quite a lot of earth that suddenly appeared!

After a little more than a week of construction, we draw a first conclusion: we’ve really achieved a lot! Georg thinks so too, when he drops by for lunch after a few days in Tallinn and is amazed. Where for many years there was only greenery and grass, life has now returned, old paths are once again passable and every day we discover a new meadow. The yard and tent become more and more homely, the passing motorists look more and more astonished and become more and more trusting. We are convinced that some of them drive past just to see the construction progress. Some of them stop and give us the opportunity to explain, who we are and what we do. After a short time in Rihula, we have already had many good conversations and heard one or two anecdotes from the farm’s past. We’re looking forward to next week, but for now it’s the topping-out ceremony and then the weekend. See you soon!