Ladders, Attics & Roofs.

 An excursion above.

Our roof has been there for us except for a few rickety and rather rebellious bits of it. For some reason they tend to favour the rain and give it free passage within. Yes, we have a few sporadically placed leaks above. Who doesn't...

Not the end of the world and so far we've managed to place a few buckets and stick plastic and such over the offending holes. As one does on a budget. As you might have guessed today was and still is a day of rain. If it weren't for our roof I would love it.

This morning I forged a plan to attend to these few leaks ( Bob had already primed me on how to do it, as he had to go to work before it got light ) and with gumption I rounded up a torch, bits of plastic, a large pair of scissors and some masking tape and headed up to our attic. Not an easy quest as it is only accessible from the outside.  A climb on an old wooden ladder and through a small hole in the upper wall. Not great for sore knees but needs must.

After finally climbing through the opening ( how on earth does the chimney sweep do it so gracefully? ) I stood up, switched on the torch and got the fright of my life. Suddenly one of our tomcats stood equally frightened in front of me. Clearly I had woken him up from purry morning slumber and he was so dazed that he looked to me for advice. Honestly, he didn't know whether to run or stay his ground. He did recognize me though, which is a good thing for future trips to our attic. At least it wasn't a marten, which Bob is not fond of.

The two places I had to mend didn't take me long at all and despite the cloying darkness all around me I didn't feel scared. If one doesn't let perfectionism run riot, most things can be fixed with what's at hand.  Might not look that great but if it keeps out the rain and snow for now, all is well.

When I went to feed our two cats later outside, I could have sworn seeing a newfound respect in one of them....not everyday a human climbs as skillfully into the attic as a cat does.

Biggi