Thatches is having her hair done!

I often get emails asking if the house in the header is where I live. The answer is yes, we are fortunate enough to live in a beautiful thatched cottage on the river. Thatch is a wonderful roofing material, cool in summer and warm in winter, it has a very comforting, nurturing feeling, it doesn't matter how wild the weather is outside, we never hear the storm, as the sound is muffled by the thatch.  However it is necessary every so often (about 15 years) for our cottage to have the ridge (the decorative top part) replaced. The ridge is the sacrificial top layer that protects the integrity of the rest of the roof. The main roof is made of Norfolk Water Reed, but the ridge is straw. A few weeks ago a giant haystack appeared in our front garden, today there is only a little left.

some parts of the cottage look pitiful with bits of the roof missing...

while others have their new ridge in place (if a little untidy at present)

It amazes me how a few pieces of ash and hazel, can hold together a bundle of straw, that will make a watertight roof. We have a lovely Master Thatcher at work, glad of this beautiful weather...

The excitement of so much scaffolding, and thatchers around willing to play ball, proved too much for Jasper, so he decided to have a doze in the shade...