What's next?

When I shared the blog about Secara, several people commented on how crazy we are (thanks!!) and others asked what’s next? Well this is what’s next. The delivery of a very exciting box. When it arrived, I had no idea what was in it. Ian had ordered it and not said a word.

I have always loved looking at the stars and since we moved here, the sky is so much darker than anywhere we have lived, which means we can see so much more. The night sky is just stunning.

Those of you who know Ian, know he doesn’t do birthdays, but he does surprise me with incredible gifts once in a while, and this time he has surpassed himself. He’s bought me a telescope, a beautiful big one. One I can really see and learn about the night sky with. He is amazing, and I love him.

Ian being Ian, wasn’t content with just a telescope, because that would mean Polar Aligning it every time we use it (basically making sure it is pointing in the right direction, so what you think you are looking at is what you see, and you can search for objects in the night sky). Ian decided we needed more.

This began with a delivery of wood and some concrete blocks to stand them on. Our good friend and neighbour Nigel joined Ian on the next mammoth build. First steps, plot the dimensions and pop in a post that’s free standing. Then start constructing a tiny house (well that’s what it looked like).

Much wood chopping, measuring, drilling and discussion took place.

Big armoured cables were laid and Nigel, being an electrician before retirement, wired it all in.

The thing is, when you are building a tiny house, or a shed, roofs are simple, but if you are building an observatory, they are not! We watched lots of YouTube videos, considered our options, thought about our available space, where we would be able to see the sky, and came up with the decision that a roof that pivots open, rather than slides back would give us the best outcome. Perfect, now we needed to make it happen, which is easier said than done, but we found a way!

If you are wondering why the post was one of the first things built, when there isn’t even a floor, well that’s because when you mount a telescope you want it to be very still and steady, not to move and wobble if the floor moves, so it needed to be completely independent of the floor once we put that in.