90m up in the air...

A brief description for those who didn't come or couldn't get up early enough: some opportunities should be seized! 

An invitation to the building site 90m above us:

Looking down on the South East of Güneşköy  Looking down to North West Güneşköy    

The viaduct's deck is growing as MSS90 (Mobile Scaffolding System, with a 90m span) is now directly above us.  Today it was gently rolled on from balancing over the 10th to fixing its end on the 11th pillon. Before completing the end of the 10th span, it will produce a 20m protrusion from the 11th, in order to balance the structure.  In certain stages of the process, dust and even chunks can fall off the freshly made deck...   They promise to clean up!  OK so long as no one is under the "shower" of concrete. 

In mid-afternoon, we were starting to package the vegetables - 43 families tomorrow - when a car turned up. DOĞUŞ company car, foreman Ömer and an intern.  İrem is half way through studying Civil Engineering at METU, one of us.  As we were talking in the shade, dust started to shower down from above.  Ömer immediatly contacted the workers, Stop! A useful coincidence to have him with us at them moment.  I mentioned the large amount of waste we collected daily - paper cups, chunks of foam, black sheeting and thick white strips... I offered a gift of the busting plasting bag that I'd filled this morning as I walked around.  "But we take great care to box all rubbish, even having a recycling firm come to collect our waste! Come and see..." 

He drove us up to where the service track leads to teh start of the extending deck.  Even long heavy trucks travel up to where MSS90 inches is working.  The deck is 13.2m wide, though the joins (at every double headed pillar) are significantly narrower.  DOĞUS is progressing at 90m in 12 days (as opposed to 90m in 60 days, the speed of the earlier firm) so the full length should be completed before the end of the year = no more rubbish to collect!  

With winds sometimes measured at 69 km/hr, anything that can fly will.  They have gone to great efforts to keep any rubbish in deep boxes, but some - like my paper cup - just fly away... from now on, I'll pick up cups without anger, aware of the workers' conditions above us. Knowing the origings of other rubbish we have been collecting in some way appeases frustration: the chunks of foam are pieces of filling, between the gaps in the molds. The textured black sheets shape surfaces thata will bond better, and the thick white plastic strips wrap huge coils (nearly 3km long) of steel wire.  There will be a barrier along the edge, but will it be enough to prevent ballast under the tracks from flying up and dropping down on those below?  What difference would slowing the train from 250 to 150km/h make?    

On our road below is the steam boiler, essential for treating the concrete as it gradually cools, keeping it moist enough to prevent cracking.  Attention is paid to detail and quality!   

 Vedat, someone who has been so forthcoming and helpful - especially with the chickens - brought his grandsons.  Vedat (junior) wanted to talk about university choices. All agreed the focus should be on chosing something motivating, that will carry students through challenging periods.  Vocational preferences of parents now lead to overcrowded fields with many competing for few positions.    

The raised bed made during CRY-Gen's first camp. 

 Harvesting worm compost reminds me of cutting peat.  A similar action to release the clumps, though the base here is concrete.

Bugünkü paket ortalaması 6.6 kg: domates, semiz, bol kabak ve salatalık, biber çeşitleri, ve lavanta.