Monday, 28 November 2011
this is the week
Its time to get myself back in the habit, so from tomorrow I will make at least one enrty a day. I need to read all the previous blogs and look at the photos to make sure I dont repeat my self , repeat my self , repeat my self
Friday, 7 October 2011
Alive and well
In spite of the lack of blogging I am pleased to report that we are alive and well. The havest season has been wonderful and we have been so sucessful ( must be beginers luck ). Things on the farm are calming down now so I should be able to update the blog soon. Watch this space!!
Sunday, 7 August 2011
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| Broad beans making good progress despite having a touch of rust |
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| Beans and peas in the race for the top, the weeds are doing quite well as well |
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| Just taking a stroll on our nice new path |
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| Our first butternut, in the poly tunnel, about 4 inches big |
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| 4 foot high phlox, we also have lilac and purple phlox. |
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| Mac Donalds for chickens... take away spinach |
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| Fairly weed free garden, thank you Doris |
Photo Update 2 August 2011
Photo Update August 2011
The gate to no where... we have rented out a small corner of one of our fields to Teressa from two doors down, so that she can extend her veggie garden. This involved Bryan ( fencing man) adding a gate from Teressa's garden into the field. Heres the gate.
The big dump.. 12 tonnes of top soil coming up
Our version of bean and pea supports, with wind break and chicken proofing
The girls waiting for Daddy...note the make shift gate, tied up with baler twine
farm philosophy
Well hello to you all.. sorry there have been no posting lately, more pressing matters have come to hand... mainly in the form of crops that are needing to be picked, processed and eaten. Also the weeds are winning, so plenty to do on that front. We are still waiting for the plumber to call, guess he's not too hard up for work. Also Bryan the fencer gravedigger still needs to appear to finish the job.... GGGGRRRRRRRRR. So no gates, fencing not complete, no upstairs plumbing. What a pain. This just means that the poor downstairs bathroom is very over worked and any visitors have to make the long trek from their bedrooms to the bathroom, not always easy for everyone.On to more matters of the brain.
While doing the more mundane jobs around the farm, including weeding weeding weeding weeding and watering watering I have been thinking about things that I have seen.
Firstly, why is it that the chickens love beetroot leaves while they are growing, but if you pick the leaves and feed them to the chickens in their enclosure, they can not be bothered to eat them.
When collecting branches and twigs from the fields , they all hold tightly on to each other, so that it is impossible to remove just one branch. When trying to carry the same bunch of twigs towards the bonfire, they all let go of each other as you round the corner. The result.. you arrive at the bonfire with either one branch or maybe even a couple of twigs.
David has also had fun with the petrol lawn mower. Before going to cut some of the grass, the mower will start easily in the garage. Push it out to the field and try starting the machine again.... no chance.Result, one sore arm ( from trying to start the mower ) and one field of long grass.
The dogs have five acres of fields to use as a toilet, and yet just walking out to the poly tunnel you need to keep your wits about you to avoid land mines.
Seun ( our elderly golden retrivier ) is also able to show us when he would like a change in diet from his usual dog biscuits. Recently, I had collected the last egg of the day from the hen house, and had placed it in my trug outside the poly tunnel, while I went to pick a few strawberries. When I returned to the trug after about 10 minutes, the egg was gone. David denied all knowledge of it, so I had to look for another culprit. I retuerned to the house ( about 200yards) and found Seun proudly sitting in the kitchen with the intact egg placed neatly between his front paws. He followed me around closely until I made scrambled egg for him with his dinner.
I have taken a few new photos so will include them with my next post.
While doing the more mundane jobs around the farm, including weeding weeding weeding weeding and watering watering I have been thinking about things that I have seen.
Firstly, why is it that the chickens love beetroot leaves while they are growing, but if you pick the leaves and feed them to the chickens in their enclosure, they can not be bothered to eat them.
When collecting branches and twigs from the fields , they all hold tightly on to each other, so that it is impossible to remove just one branch. When trying to carry the same bunch of twigs towards the bonfire, they all let go of each other as you round the corner. The result.. you arrive at the bonfire with either one branch or maybe even a couple of twigs.
David has also had fun with the petrol lawn mower. Before going to cut some of the grass, the mower will start easily in the garage. Push it out to the field and try starting the machine again.... no chance.Result, one sore arm ( from trying to start the mower ) and one field of long grass.
The dogs have five acres of fields to use as a toilet, and yet just walking out to the poly tunnel you need to keep your wits about you to avoid land mines.
Seun ( our elderly golden retrivier ) is also able to show us when he would like a change in diet from his usual dog biscuits. Recently, I had collected the last egg of the day from the hen house, and had placed it in my trug outside the poly tunnel, while I went to pick a few strawberries. When I returned to the trug after about 10 minutes, the egg was gone. David denied all knowledge of it, so I had to look for another culprit. I retuerned to the house ( about 200yards) and found Seun proudly sitting in the kitchen with the intact egg placed neatly between his front paws. He followed me around closely until I made scrambled egg for him with his dinner.
I have taken a few new photos so will include them with my next post.
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Urgently needed
I don't consider my self greedy in respect of most things, but I would really appreciate any of the following.
Another few hours ( say ten ) per day- this would be most helpful, enabling me to complete a few more jobs. Amongst the most pressing are time to write my blog, keep in touch with good friends, pick more soft fruit, do a bit of house work ( not too much time needed for this), tackle all the weeds, ( I am beginning to wonder whether the previous owners spread them all around deliberately ),file and catalogue all my photos, finish my patchwork quilt. I guess you get the idea...... I feel very lucky to have so many things to be excited about.
A spare arm and hand to throw the ball for Ruby would save me an aching elbow and make my work in the garden a little more productive.
Obediant chickens , that did not view any new planting as a Macdonalds for chickens. I am sure they know what they should not eat, we have caught them sneaking into the poly tunnel, grabbing a mouth ful of lettuce and making a mad dash for the door.
A cake baking fairy would be useful.. I think I will bake loafs and cakes and freeze them so that you can all be impressed when you come to visit and get home baked cake( if David and I dont eat them all )
A washing up fairy to help the cake fairy would be great.... made be we could have a colony of helpful fairies living in the rather beautiful all piggery, guess we would have to change the name to the fairy glen, cant imagine that fairies would like to give thier address as The Piggery, Llaingof.
Back to my favorite subject... a man to finish the fencing and gates.... there must have been an epidemic of deaths in South Wales as Brian the grave digger/fencing man has not been seem for weeks... Grrrrrr.
Somebody or something else for the horse fly sort beasties to bite.
A garden expert who could identify all the beautiful flowers in the garden, most of which I have never seen.I think the solution to the problem might be to take photos of all the flowers and then in the winter I can look through the books and identify them. A garden helper for a couple of days would be great. There are huge clumps of perinneals which need splitting, but time is short and we seem to be in the veggie garden all the time.
I need more will power to stop myself eating the peas as I am shelling them. Seem to start off with a huge bowl of peas to shell, and at the end of the exercise all have to show for my efforts might be two handfuld of peas and a full tummy. Then it seems a pity to dirty a pot for such a small amount of peas, so I eat them as well. ( Piggy )
Someone to help with picking, washing and sorting all the fruit before I freeze it. ( sounds like a job for another fairy.... maybe for the fruity tuity fairy ) We are still picking black currants, have about 12kg in the deep freeze and probably still another simular amount to pick . I enjoy picking the friut, tend to do it in the evening after dinner. It is so beautiful and peaceful outside, and the heat of the day has passed.
Maybe the fruity Tuity Fairy could help remove sticky labels from jam jars in her spare time. I think the manufacturers of goodies in bottles should be made to use water soluable glue only.
All sounds like a lot to want, so maybe i am more greedy than I thought.
Another few hours ( say ten ) per day- this would be most helpful, enabling me to complete a few more jobs. Amongst the most pressing are time to write my blog, keep in touch with good friends, pick more soft fruit, do a bit of house work ( not too much time needed for this), tackle all the weeds, ( I am beginning to wonder whether the previous owners spread them all around deliberately ),file and catalogue all my photos, finish my patchwork quilt. I guess you get the idea...... I feel very lucky to have so many things to be excited about.
A spare arm and hand to throw the ball for Ruby would save me an aching elbow and make my work in the garden a little more productive.
Obediant chickens , that did not view any new planting as a Macdonalds for chickens. I am sure they know what they should not eat, we have caught them sneaking into the poly tunnel, grabbing a mouth ful of lettuce and making a mad dash for the door.
A cake baking fairy would be useful.. I think I will bake loafs and cakes and freeze them so that you can all be impressed when you come to visit and get home baked cake( if David and I dont eat them all )
A washing up fairy to help the cake fairy would be great.... made be we could have a colony of helpful fairies living in the rather beautiful all piggery, guess we would have to change the name to the fairy glen, cant imagine that fairies would like to give thier address as The Piggery, Llaingof.
Back to my favorite subject... a man to finish the fencing and gates.... there must have been an epidemic of deaths in South Wales as Brian the grave digger/fencing man has not been seem for weeks... Grrrrrr.
Somebody or something else for the horse fly sort beasties to bite.
A garden expert who could identify all the beautiful flowers in the garden, most of which I have never seen.I think the solution to the problem might be to take photos of all the flowers and then in the winter I can look through the books and identify them. A garden helper for a couple of days would be great. There are huge clumps of perinneals which need splitting, but time is short and we seem to be in the veggie garden all the time.
I need more will power to stop myself eating the peas as I am shelling them. Seem to start off with a huge bowl of peas to shell, and at the end of the exercise all have to show for my efforts might be two handfuld of peas and a full tummy. Then it seems a pity to dirty a pot for such a small amount of peas, so I eat them as well. ( Piggy )
Someone to help with picking, washing and sorting all the fruit before I freeze it. ( sounds like a job for another fairy.... maybe for the fruity tuity fairy ) We are still picking black currants, have about 12kg in the deep freeze and probably still another simular amount to pick . I enjoy picking the friut, tend to do it in the evening after dinner. It is so beautiful and peaceful outside, and the heat of the day has passed.
Maybe the fruity Tuity Fairy could help remove sticky labels from jam jars in her spare time. I think the manufacturers of goodies in bottles should be made to use water soluable glue only.
All sounds like a lot to want, so maybe i am more greedy than I thought.
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Currants here, currants there, but not a volt to be seen
We have been very fortunate to inherit six lovely black currant bushes and five healthy thorny gooseberry bushes. Well, the poor old blackcurrant bushes did not have any mulch or fertilizer, so we were not expecting them to do a lot this year. As usual we were wrong !!Pleasantly wrong, they are absolutely laden, and all the berries are ripening well. The west end of the fruit bushes have been ripening for a week or so and now the eastern side is catching up. We had some good rainfall last week, about two inches over the week, and the fruits have swollen beautifully. This afternoon I set to picking some of the fruits, and managed about four kilograms in four hours, by the way that's about four thousand berries. Any way, half have been washed, boiled with some water and are now on their way through the jelly bag. My plan is to make blackcurrant jelly tomorrow. The other half might well find their way into the deep freeze to join the other four kilograms I picked last week and the five kilograms of gooseberries. Seems like I will be looking for another deep freeze soon. I have had a go at making gooseberry jam, and might try some blackcurrant jam tomorrow if there is time . LOL.I think one of the winter jobs will have to be removing labels from old jam jars. That will be on days that I am really struggling to find something to do. Right now, I can not imagine having one of those days for a long long time. Mum always told us as kids that if you were bored it was because you were to stupid to think of something to do. So far I haven't been bored for about fifty years.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
What have we been up to in the past two weeks ???
Once again, the days are just running away with us.In brief here's what has been going on at Llaingof in the past two weeks.
The chickens have been playing chicken with me. They wait until I am busy, then dash into the poly tunnel, grab a mouthful of lettuce and dash out again. I am pretty sure they understand " Humba", though maybe not quite the urgency of the occasion.
The days of the week must still be muddled up, our 4x4 Hilux was due to be delivered on Tuesday, its now Thursday, and still no sign of it.Must be being delivered by the same company as Mattress Next Day.
I have found out that some of the local men ( not David, he knows that I would reap revenge with his credit card) call the patchwork class the " Stitch and Bitch Session ". Luckily I don't know any one well enough and am not sure who knows who, and who is related, so I only join in the stitch part of the class.
David and I have thrown the ball at least 200 times a day each for Ruby, she still has more energy, so now gives the ball to any one visiting, even Brian the fence man.I think I am even getting repetative strain injury in my elbow, or i am a sissy.
We have realised our security system ( the dogs ) are useless, as on Tuesday, David and I were both home all day, indoors as it was a bit damp outside, and Brian managed to enter our fields from one of the gates down the lane, pull out some gate posts, collect a new gate ( from near the house ) and install it, and we never heard a thing.
Gooseberry bushes are very prickly, and gooseberries taste much nicer cooked into a jam rather than eaten raw.
Baby nettle plants still have a BIG sting. Thistles are very resilient, in face indestructible.
The single parsnip plant I have been nursing along for a whole month is actually a weed, and I have probably pulled out any parsnips that grew mistaking them for weeds.
We have had a visit from a very dear friend of mine, formally from Rhodesia. We had a wonderful evening remembering all the fun we had in by gone days in Bulawayo. I have just remembered that the caravan park in Bulawayo had an outdoor black and white televsion, which we loved to watch, usually in our pjs. Come again soon Jenny and Ray.
I have contemplated world matters and decided that we would all do a lot better to just mind out own business and enjoy what we have.
We have been surprised at how easy every body else sees the solution to our plumbing problems. ( a long sad story, but lets just say I did not find having the lounge flooded twice in one week as amusing as some people did) We have decided to put in two en suite bathrooms in the old cottage, with a view to possibly using them as B and B rooms later on.Problems that we fore see include drilling through the 2 foot thick walls so we can have proper plumbing, and trying to avoid digging up any part of the old house floors/ foundations to put in drains. We have had two architects/ surveyor sort people around too look at what we could do, and they both reckon the job will be quite easy.. we shall see,first things first, drawings and proposals to be submitted to the local council. David could do these, but it is a right bummer of a job as nothing is square. We have spent two days measuring every aspect of every room in the cottage, and doing all sorts of calculations with measurements ( David not me, I always thought geometry was difficult at school, and so far it hasn't changed for me ). Now we have to do the same on the outside and then David will be able to calculate the actual thickness of the walls .. or something like that.
Today I have had my hair cut for the first time in six months .. I just seem to have been to busy, but enjoyed having it sorted out today. Looks like the hair salon is the hub of the village in Velindre. In my 45 minute visit today I learned quite a lot from the hairdresser , Kate and her mother Gerty. They were trying to persuade me to have an all over spray tan as well. I was trying to explain politely that I am usually covered in so much dirt mud, you wouldn't notice whether i had a tan or not. Anyway, I could just imagine them having a laugh when I left, saying something like" you should see that new women from Penboyr, shes got lumps and bumps all over the place " I was also less than impressed when the apprentice hairdresser asked me how many grandchildren I have. Cheeky monkey.Anyway Kate did a good job, and I enjoyed the chit chat, so will probably be back for another cut.
I had a turn at playing Cake Fairy. Our friend Teressa ( from two doors down) was walking past with her dogs the other evening, and mentioned that she had been unexpectedly invited to an open house the next day. Once she had walked the dogs, she was going to have to go and bake a cake to take . Seeing as I had just taken two fruitcakes out of the oven I popped one in a cake tin and left it on her doorstep with a note that it was from the cake fairy. At least that saved us having to eat that one as well.
The chickens are laying really well, must be all the greens they steal, between sixteen to twenty eggs a week. Seeing as I actually do not eat eggs, I am having to try and give them away, or bake with them. I have even had a go at making creme brulee for David. Hope it tastes OK, it used plenty of eggs. I have also had a crack at lemon curd, which was rather nice, but does not have a long shelf life.
We have added comfrey leaves to the water butts, apparently this makes a great liquid fertilser, for free. It seems to makes the plants grow, but goodness it smells unpleasant.
We have some butternut and melon and squash plants growing in the poly tunnel, and they seem to grow before your eyes. Heaven knows if we have left enough room between the plants.
At present, the weeds are winning.They seem to sprout before your eyes, but it is very pleasant sitting pulling them up, and making a nice big pile. Makes me feel like I have worked really hard, when actually its just an excuse to sit in the sunshine and enjoy all that is around us. I have been trying to make myself wear gloves to work in the garden, as my poor hands always look such a mess, but it just does not feel right. I like putting my hands in the warm crumbly soil. So guess my hands will continue to look like they are doing hard labour. They are happy hands.
I have been having a go at pieced patchwork, which requires a great deal of accuracy, in cutting out the pieces, sewing them very acurately with a quarter inch seam, and a lot of fiddling around. Needless to say I have not got on very well with the technique, i am too slap dash, so will have to go back to doing things by hand and using a technique that I enjoy. The ladies at the sewing group were quite intrugued with my 20 year old sewing machine, which has held me in good stead. they are trying to convince me that I now need computerised sewing machine. they have each let me have a turn on their wizzy models, which are certainly Ferrari compared to my Morris Minor,but I actually enjoy sewing by hand. No doubt they will think I am really very strange. Oh well, I am foreign.
Well its almost midnight, so I had better be off to bed before I turn into a pumpkin. Night night.
The chickens have been playing chicken with me. They wait until I am busy, then dash into the poly tunnel, grab a mouthful of lettuce and dash out again. I am pretty sure they understand " Humba", though maybe not quite the urgency of the occasion.
The days of the week must still be muddled up, our 4x4 Hilux was due to be delivered on Tuesday, its now Thursday, and still no sign of it.Must be being delivered by the same company as Mattress Next Day.
I have found out that some of the local men ( not David, he knows that I would reap revenge with his credit card) call the patchwork class the " Stitch and Bitch Session ". Luckily I don't know any one well enough and am not sure who knows who, and who is related, so I only join in the stitch part of the class.
David and I have thrown the ball at least 200 times a day each for Ruby, she still has more energy, so now gives the ball to any one visiting, even Brian the fence man.I think I am even getting repetative strain injury in my elbow, or i am a sissy.
We have realised our security system ( the dogs ) are useless, as on Tuesday, David and I were both home all day, indoors as it was a bit damp outside, and Brian managed to enter our fields from one of the gates down the lane, pull out some gate posts, collect a new gate ( from near the house ) and install it, and we never heard a thing.
Gooseberry bushes are very prickly, and gooseberries taste much nicer cooked into a jam rather than eaten raw.
Baby nettle plants still have a BIG sting. Thistles are very resilient, in face indestructible.
The single parsnip plant I have been nursing along for a whole month is actually a weed, and I have probably pulled out any parsnips that grew mistaking them for weeds.
We have had a visit from a very dear friend of mine, formally from Rhodesia. We had a wonderful evening remembering all the fun we had in by gone days in Bulawayo. I have just remembered that the caravan park in Bulawayo had an outdoor black and white televsion, which we loved to watch, usually in our pjs. Come again soon Jenny and Ray.
I have contemplated world matters and decided that we would all do a lot better to just mind out own business and enjoy what we have.
We have been surprised at how easy every body else sees the solution to our plumbing problems. ( a long sad story, but lets just say I did not find having the lounge flooded twice in one week as amusing as some people did) We have decided to put in two en suite bathrooms in the old cottage, with a view to possibly using them as B and B rooms later on.Problems that we fore see include drilling through the 2 foot thick walls so we can have proper plumbing, and trying to avoid digging up any part of the old house floors/ foundations to put in drains. We have had two architects/ surveyor sort people around too look at what we could do, and they both reckon the job will be quite easy.. we shall see,first things first, drawings and proposals to be submitted to the local council. David could do these, but it is a right bummer of a job as nothing is square. We have spent two days measuring every aspect of every room in the cottage, and doing all sorts of calculations with measurements ( David not me, I always thought geometry was difficult at school, and so far it hasn't changed for me ). Now we have to do the same on the outside and then David will be able to calculate the actual thickness of the walls .. or something like that.
Today I have had my hair cut for the first time in six months .. I just seem to have been to busy, but enjoyed having it sorted out today. Looks like the hair salon is the hub of the village in Velindre. In my 45 minute visit today I learned quite a lot from the hairdresser , Kate and her mother Gerty. They were trying to persuade me to have an all over spray tan as well. I was trying to explain politely that I am usually covered in so much dirt mud, you wouldn't notice whether i had a tan or not. Anyway, I could just imagine them having a laugh when I left, saying something like" you should see that new women from Penboyr, shes got lumps and bumps all over the place " I was also less than impressed when the apprentice hairdresser asked me how many grandchildren I have. Cheeky monkey.Anyway Kate did a good job, and I enjoyed the chit chat, so will probably be back for another cut.
I had a turn at playing Cake Fairy. Our friend Teressa ( from two doors down) was walking past with her dogs the other evening, and mentioned that she had been unexpectedly invited to an open house the next day. Once she had walked the dogs, she was going to have to go and bake a cake to take . Seeing as I had just taken two fruitcakes out of the oven I popped one in a cake tin and left it on her doorstep with a note that it was from the cake fairy. At least that saved us having to eat that one as well.
The chickens are laying really well, must be all the greens they steal, between sixteen to twenty eggs a week. Seeing as I actually do not eat eggs, I am having to try and give them away, or bake with them. I have even had a go at making creme brulee for David. Hope it tastes OK, it used plenty of eggs. I have also had a crack at lemon curd, which was rather nice, but does not have a long shelf life.
We have added comfrey leaves to the water butts, apparently this makes a great liquid fertilser, for free. It seems to makes the plants grow, but goodness it smells unpleasant.
We have some butternut and melon and squash plants growing in the poly tunnel, and they seem to grow before your eyes. Heaven knows if we have left enough room between the plants.
At present, the weeds are winning.They seem to sprout before your eyes, but it is very pleasant sitting pulling them up, and making a nice big pile. Makes me feel like I have worked really hard, when actually its just an excuse to sit in the sunshine and enjoy all that is around us. I have been trying to make myself wear gloves to work in the garden, as my poor hands always look such a mess, but it just does not feel right. I like putting my hands in the warm crumbly soil. So guess my hands will continue to look like they are doing hard labour. They are happy hands.
I have been having a go at pieced patchwork, which requires a great deal of accuracy, in cutting out the pieces, sewing them very acurately with a quarter inch seam, and a lot of fiddling around. Needless to say I have not got on very well with the technique, i am too slap dash, so will have to go back to doing things by hand and using a technique that I enjoy. The ladies at the sewing group were quite intrugued with my 20 year old sewing machine, which has held me in good stead. they are trying to convince me that I now need computerised sewing machine. they have each let me have a turn on their wizzy models, which are certainly Ferrari compared to my Morris Minor,but I actually enjoy sewing by hand. No doubt they will think I am really very strange. Oh well, I am foreign.
Well its almost midnight, so I had better be off to bed before I turn into a pumpkin. Night night.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Mattress next day.... part two.
Now I know that Wales is on a different time zone to the rest of the world, but even so I still find it hard to believe that you order from Mattress next day on Tuesday, and the bed arrives on Monday, so have I got the order of the days wrong ?? I always thought Wednesday follwed Tuesday, but it appears that I am wrong. I did write a very factual letter to the compnays customer service manager, but needless to say so far there has been no reply. What a surprise. Well its not much use wasting any more time on Mattress next day, apart from to cross their name out of the address book.
Slow but sure, the fencing saga.
Brian arrived two weeks ago to "do the fence", but I knew it was too good to be true. He managed to do about a quarter of the job, them had to rush off on urgent business... grave digging. Well I'm not sure how many graves or haw big they were, but it took him 12 days before he turned up again. The fencing is looking good but is still not complete.He has had to cut down a lot of overhanging tree branches to knock the fence posts in, so we have plenty of wood in the fields that will need chopping up and bringing in to be stored for winter. I doubt David will be letting me have a go with the chain saw, but that's OK with me. Interestingly, the sheep have been eating the greenery off the chopped down branches, which is great, as it reduces the bulk that will need to be moved a lot.
Today, Tuesday, Brian arrived again with all his toys ie chain saw, digger, dumper truck, fence post banger thingy, all smiles, as if he was here just yesterday, instead of 12 days ago. When he had finished doing the bit of fencing he was working on, we realised the sheep had been fenced into a field with no access to their water. David soon got them all marching across the vegetable patch filed, following him and his food bucket. Daisy was quite surprised to see twenty five sheep trooping through the field, and decided she must be seeing things, so took herself back to the house for a rest.
The sheep are now back on the same side of the fields with access to their water, and the gates are tied up very firmly. They might have thought that the veggie patch looked tasty, but that's as near as they are going to get. We will have to see if tomorrow brings another wonder in the form of Brian and his magnificent machines.
Today, Tuesday, Brian arrived again with all his toys ie chain saw, digger, dumper truck, fence post banger thingy, all smiles, as if he was here just yesterday, instead of 12 days ago. When he had finished doing the bit of fencing he was working on, we realised the sheep had been fenced into a field with no access to their water. David soon got them all marching across the vegetable patch filed, following him and his food bucket. Daisy was quite surprised to see twenty five sheep trooping through the field, and decided she must be seeing things, so took herself back to the house for a rest.
The sheep are now back on the same side of the fields with access to their water, and the gates are tied up very firmly. They might have thought that the veggie patch looked tasty, but that's as near as they are going to get. We will have to see if tomorrow brings another wonder in the form of Brian and his magnificent machines.
A spot or two
We woke on Sunday morning to a wet, grey cloudy outlook. For the first time since we have been at Llaingof, it rained non stop all day and we recorded one whole inch in 24 hours. Bliss, the garden and the farmers really needed the water, and David and I had a nice indoor day. It seems criminal to stay in doors and do some of the necessary chores when the sun is shining, so we managed to do a little catching up on the really boring things. As soon as the rain stopped we were out for a breathe of fresh air.I find it more tiring to be indoors than outdoors doing some manual labour out doors.
The gardens and veggie patch look nice and fresh after their wash. I felt sorry for the sheep, who were shorn last week and were out in the fields in the rain. They didn't seem to mind though.
We have three huge water butts, which each feed into the next one, and they were overflowing in no time at all, so we might have to think about increasing the number. I would like to have them a bit nearer the poly tunnel, which is using a lot of water at present, but for now walking to and fro with the watering cans about 20 times a day is doing me a lot of good in the waist line department.
The gardens and veggie patch look nice and fresh after their wash. I felt sorry for the sheep, who were shorn last week and were out in the fields in the rain. They didn't seem to mind though.
We have three huge water butts, which each feed into the next one, and they were overflowing in no time at all, so we might have to think about increasing the number. I would like to have them a bit nearer the poly tunnel, which is using a lot of water at present, but for now walking to and fro with the watering cans about 20 times a day is doing me a lot of good in the waist line department.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
100 days looms on the horizon
Tomorrow, June 6th, we have been at Llaingof for 100 very happy, busy days. I guess although we feel that things are moving along slowly, actually we have managed to do quite a lot, though there is plenty more to do. In the veg garden we have about 200 onions, 50 leeks, 12 tomato plants, seven different types of potato, peppers, radishes, strawberries, melons, cucumbers, butternut squash, lettuce, parsley, courgettes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, celery, so if everything carries on growing well, the wind in Penboyr could be rising. We have yet to start on developing the house,guess that will come later in the year when the weather is not so good.
The golden girls ( chickens) have settled in well, and are keen to help with any digging or gardening that needs doing, or doesn't need doing, they are still willing to help. Most of the day they are free range in one of our fields, but every now and then they get returned to their arc when they are being over enthusiastic with offers of help. They follow me at a cracking pace when I shake their Quality Street tin ( full of corn) and are quite easy to get back into their pen. To my amazement they patiently wait for their turn to lay an egg. There is only one nesting box, and during the morning we will suddenly see one of the hens hurrying back to the arc, and dashing up the stairs to the nesting box. All goes quiet for a while, and then, when the deed has been done, the chicken really does announce it to the world with a lot of cackling and " look what Ive done " noises. Then that chicken returns to the garden, and shortly one of the others will head off to repeat the ritual. Most days we get two eggs , and about every fourth day we get three, so I am kept busy thinking of what to do with all these lovely eggs. Approximatrely twice a week we have a double yolker, which is always a nice surprise. I can now turn out a very tasty lemon curd and can always think of another cake to bake, and of course eat. I will have to watch the waist line.
This week I have seen some unusual sights. Ruby the dog trying to climb the stairs into the chickens sleeping quarters ( I think she gets worried when one of her friends dissapears for a while. ) I have also seem ruby eat the sheep food, the sheep chasing Daisy the cat out of their field, Daisy eating the bird seed, and the chickens eating my beans ( pests) I have also seem the chickens peck hopefully at the Quailiy Street tin when I have not yet put it away. Maud, Davids favorite sheep is now so tame that she stands still for David to give her a good scratch, just like a dog. Im not sure that sheep can smile, but if they can Maud does. Her fleece is about six inches thick, and looks a right mess on the outside where she has got a little wet, then rolled in the dry sand in the field. I sure dont fancy a jumper made from anything that comes off her back, though no doubt the fleece will look a lot better when it has had a wash and brush up.
The other strange site i have seem is Brian, actually doing some of the fencing, hopefully he will not have too many graves to dig this week and can get on with the gates etc. He has cut down quite a few overhanging branches from trees which he felt would potentially damage the new fence. I was surprised to see the sheep stripping the branches of all greenery. We will have plenty of fire wood to chop up and add to out wood store( which needs a jolly good sort out ). Wood is usually stored for at least a year before it is put into the wood burner, and if it can season for 2 years thats even better. Even managing the wood store requires a bit of thought. Apart from being kept as dry as possible, it is useful to stack the wood in year piles so you can use them in rotatio.The logs also need to be cut to a size that will actually fit in the log burner, and they usually need spiltting, otherwise the fire will just go out when you chuck a big log on.My goodness, never thought there would be so much to know about firewood.
The golden girls ( chickens) have settled in well, and are keen to help with any digging or gardening that needs doing, or doesn't need doing, they are still willing to help. Most of the day they are free range in one of our fields, but every now and then they get returned to their arc when they are being over enthusiastic with offers of help. They follow me at a cracking pace when I shake their Quality Street tin ( full of corn) and are quite easy to get back into their pen. To my amazement they patiently wait for their turn to lay an egg. There is only one nesting box, and during the morning we will suddenly see one of the hens hurrying back to the arc, and dashing up the stairs to the nesting box. All goes quiet for a while, and then, when the deed has been done, the chicken really does announce it to the world with a lot of cackling and " look what Ive done " noises. Then that chicken returns to the garden, and shortly one of the others will head off to repeat the ritual. Most days we get two eggs , and about every fourth day we get three, so I am kept busy thinking of what to do with all these lovely eggs. Approximatrely twice a week we have a double yolker, which is always a nice surprise. I can now turn out a very tasty lemon curd and can always think of another cake to bake, and of course eat. I will have to watch the waist line.
This week I have seen some unusual sights. Ruby the dog trying to climb the stairs into the chickens sleeping quarters ( I think she gets worried when one of her friends dissapears for a while. ) I have also seem ruby eat the sheep food, the sheep chasing Daisy the cat out of their field, Daisy eating the bird seed, and the chickens eating my beans ( pests) I have also seem the chickens peck hopefully at the Quailiy Street tin when I have not yet put it away. Maud, Davids favorite sheep is now so tame that she stands still for David to give her a good scratch, just like a dog. Im not sure that sheep can smile, but if they can Maud does. Her fleece is about six inches thick, and looks a right mess on the outside where she has got a little wet, then rolled in the dry sand in the field. I sure dont fancy a jumper made from anything that comes off her back, though no doubt the fleece will look a lot better when it has had a wash and brush up.
The other strange site i have seem is Brian, actually doing some of the fencing, hopefully he will not have too many graves to dig this week and can get on with the gates etc. He has cut down quite a few overhanging branches from trees which he felt would potentially damage the new fence. I was surprised to see the sheep stripping the branches of all greenery. We will have plenty of fire wood to chop up and add to out wood store( which needs a jolly good sort out ). Wood is usually stored for at least a year before it is put into the wood burner, and if it can season for 2 years thats even better. Even managing the wood store requires a bit of thought. Apart from being kept as dry as possible, it is useful to stack the wood in year piles so you can use them in rotatio.The logs also need to be cut to a size that will actually fit in the log burner, and they usually need spiltting, otherwise the fire will just go out when you chuck a big log on.My goodness, never thought there would be so much to know about firewood.
Friday, 3 June 2011
Never judge a book by its cover.
On Tuesday evening we visited the local Permaculture Trust with the Garden Club. The Permaculture Farm is located at the back of our property and we have met Phillip and Michele who live there. We were of the impression that they were hippy sort people who might do a lot of lolling around. Well how wrong was I ( again).
Permaculture is an ecological way of living, and the participants observe and co operate with nature. Their way of living encourages creativity,resourcefulness and self reliance. Phillip and Michelle have no mains electricity, no land line telephone ( though they do have a mobile phone) and no mechanised machinery or transport , all through choice. They travel far and wide, either on shanks pony, or by bicycle, with a little trailer towed behind them for the children to sit in. Phillip farms the land with no assistance,and how he puts us to shame. He has two small poly tunnels, and they are absolutely heaving with all sorts of crops, he even has pots suspended from the ceiling to grow strawberries. They farm organically and are completely self sufficient, apart from some meat in the winter. Pest control is provided by a couple of ducks, and Merlin, the snow white cat, who looks rather evil to me.
He has rows and rows of veggie beds, brimming with healthy looking plants, and a huge nursery area with dozens of cell trays full of healthy looking plants that he is growing on.Everything needs to be planted before the summer solstice, so I had better inform my plants that they had better get a move on.All this without any bug sprays, or additional chemicals. I have sooo much to learn and will be popping down to pick up some hints and tips whenever I can.
Michelle was telling me that they have no fridge, and live off fresh vegetables and dried legumes. They must be two of the fittest people I know, so maybe its something we should think about.I really admire people that live as near to their principles as they can, though, though I am not sure that I could do without my creature comforts. I really like the light to turn on at a switch, hot water to come out of the tap without too much fuss, and a store cupboard and fridge that has a wide range of foods. I don't think I will make a very good permaculture person, but I will try harder to be a better small holder.
Permaculture is an ecological way of living, and the participants observe and co operate with nature. Their way of living encourages creativity,resourcefulness and self reliance. Phillip and Michelle have no mains electricity, no land line telephone ( though they do have a mobile phone) and no mechanised machinery or transport , all through choice. They travel far and wide, either on shanks pony, or by bicycle, with a little trailer towed behind them for the children to sit in. Phillip farms the land with no assistance,and how he puts us to shame. He has two small poly tunnels, and they are absolutely heaving with all sorts of crops, he even has pots suspended from the ceiling to grow strawberries. They farm organically and are completely self sufficient, apart from some meat in the winter. Pest control is provided by a couple of ducks, and Merlin, the snow white cat, who looks rather evil to me.
He has rows and rows of veggie beds, brimming with healthy looking plants, and a huge nursery area with dozens of cell trays full of healthy looking plants that he is growing on.Everything needs to be planted before the summer solstice, so I had better inform my plants that they had better get a move on.All this without any bug sprays, or additional chemicals. I have sooo much to learn and will be popping down to pick up some hints and tips whenever I can.
Michelle was telling me that they have no fridge, and live off fresh vegetables and dried legumes. They must be two of the fittest people I know, so maybe its something we should think about.I really admire people that live as near to their principles as they can, though, though I am not sure that I could do without my creature comforts. I really like the light to turn on at a switch, hot water to come out of the tap without too much fuss, and a store cupboard and fridge that has a wide range of foods. I don't think I will make a very good permaculture person, but I will try harder to be a better small holder.
The Mirage Materialises
Well I almost could not believe my eyes, when Brian and his helper actually arrived on Tuesday morning and started doing the fencing. It all looks so easy when you have the right kit, which they do, there seems to be a fleet of vehicles in the field, a digger, a tractor, a pole basher thingy, a 4 x4 with a trailer, a huge chain saw. Hope we are not paying for the purchase of all the items. LOL.
He has had to lop off quite a few overhanging branches, which he felt would damage the fence if they fell, and we were surprised to find that a lot of the branches are rotten inside. Anyway they will be chopped up and will be next year’s fire wood. So far they have fenced almost two fields, and are still to put the gates on, so hopefully the job will be completed next week. I am ever the optimist.
Today Friday theres no action in the field as Brian has gone off to do a couple of other jobs that can not wait... ie dig graves for next week. Even I don’t expect those people to wait.
Mattress next day... my foot
Now if you ordered from a company called Mattress next day( on Tuesday ), what day would you expect delivery ??For me I thought Wednesday was the day after Tuesday, but apparently not so. On Tuesday we decided to order a bedstead and mattress, order went through OK , card was deducted OK, but surprise surprise, come Wednesday, no delivery. When I called the company to see what the problem was, first they tried to tell me that their computer had a problem over the weekend.. have weekends changed , I thought they were usually classified as Saturday and Sunday, with an occasional Bank Holiday Monday, but Tuesday as a weekend day, I think not.Anyway then it seemed I had managed to order a mattress from their next day delivery range that was out of stock, and a bedstead from one of thier suppliers that was closed for the week. Not impressed. Even less impressed with the service, maybe they could have phoned on Tuesday ( I did order before 10.00) to let me know. Anyway enough whingeing, now its Friday and Im still waiting for the new items I chose to arrive.I hope they are here before Tuesday, otherwise Uncle Dave, Doris and Deslyn will be sharing two single beds. Might make for some light entertainment.
Its odviuosly not the right week to order stuff, we have also had two office chairs, one desk and the legs only of the second desk, and a pair of shoes that took two weeks to walk to the post office to be delivered first class mail .
Its odviuosly not the right week to order stuff, we have also had two office chairs, one desk and the legs only of the second desk, and a pair of shoes that took two weeks to walk to the post office to be delivered first class mail .
Monday, 30 May 2011
A mirage or what
This afternoon, while i was doing a bit of weeding with my apprentice chickens, I thought I had overworked myself ( not very likely) ,as before me I saw Brian, the grave digger/fencing man. Apparently he will be round in the morning to start the fence..... I have heard it all before. We seem to be making some progress as he has now delivered some machinery and some gates. We shall see what tomorrow brings .Maybe nothing again.
Friday, 27 May 2011
Our social life hots up
Life in Penboyr is hectic. So many places to go, so many people to see.Last Friday,David and I attended the local theatre, called The Attic Theatre.... because they used to rehearse in the attic of the local bank. I think its called the attic theatre because they must have found most of the props in someones attic. Its quite quaint, about 100 seats, no curtain to the stage, the actors get changed in the local council office , and at half time ( sorry Intermission ) a lady brings around drinks , sweets and ice cream on a tea trolley. They also had a raffle and one of the prizes was a dozen eggs from a local farm. Had to have a giggle at that.
One Saturday we went to the Welsh Smallholders Show at Beuath Wells. It is a sort of Agricultural show, and we managed to see poultry, sheep, pigs, goats and llamas, as well as quite a few traders stands. It is the first time I have seem an obedience class for pigs, judged by Adam Henson of TV fame. He asked each contestant what they were going to tell the pig to do, and then they had to do it. One young girl had a nice pig, she was in the ring long before any of the others arrived, and her piggy was following close to heel all the time. As soon as the girl announced that she was going to get the pig to heel, sit and lie down, the pig just stood there and looked at her. LOL. We also saw pig agility , when the showman had to guide the pig around a course of hurdles, weave in and out of traffic cones, oer a small jump , through a tunnel and and gate, and be timed. It was hilarious .
Monday evening we went to dinner at another couple who have bought a similar sized smallholding on the other side of the village. Jill and Harvey and their two dogs made us very welcome, and we had an interesting time exploring their smallholding. It is up hill and down dale, through the stream, and largely overgrown with weeds.I wouldn't have known where to begin, but Jill and Harvey have achieved great things in their 10 months there and have plenty of plans for the future.Dinner was my favourite ( not ) fish pie..... yuk.The company was very good.
Tuesday afternoon we popped across the road to wish one of the neighbours a happy 70th birthday. Apparently it had been as very happy birthday as we popped over at 2.30 pm , and Alan was three sheets to the wind ! We were made very welcome, and the afternoon flew by, our quick visit turned into a 4 hour visit. It was very nice to meet all their family.
Thursday I escaped to patchwork class, I haven't been for about six weeks, and thought it would be nice to have clean hands for a whole day. Once again it was a very enjoyable day, plenty of chatting and cups of tea, a few pointers on how to sew units together on the machine, so that the triangles still have points, and loads of interesting projects to be seem, as each person works on a project of their own choice. I have sew , sorry so much to learn.
Today Friday has been a little mundane, went to the market in Newcastle Emlyn and bought loads of citrus fruit to make marmalade with, and some strawberries to make strawberry conserve, then on to the pet shop to stock up on food for the dogs, cats, birds, chickens etc, and on to the supermarket to stock up on people food and supplies. Did you hear a fog horn blaring ???? Boring, boring , boring. Never mind.
Tomorrow David and I will be helping out another new friend from the garden club Steve. He lives in the next hamlet down the hill, and is holding an open garden for the National Garden Scheme, raising money for a cancer charity Funny thing is, until today I didn't realise that there was another hamlet down this " track",I thought it was someones drive way. Hope David is driving us there, I certainly don't fancy giving the path a go. I hope the weather is good and loads of people turn out.
Well its 11 30 pm again, so I'm off to bed.
"
One Saturday we went to the Welsh Smallholders Show at Beuath Wells. It is a sort of Agricultural show, and we managed to see poultry, sheep, pigs, goats and llamas, as well as quite a few traders stands. It is the first time I have seem an obedience class for pigs, judged by Adam Henson of TV fame. He asked each contestant what they were going to tell the pig to do, and then they had to do it. One young girl had a nice pig, she was in the ring long before any of the others arrived, and her piggy was following close to heel all the time. As soon as the girl announced that she was going to get the pig to heel, sit and lie down, the pig just stood there and looked at her. LOL. We also saw pig agility , when the showman had to guide the pig around a course of hurdles, weave in and out of traffic cones, oer a small jump , through a tunnel and and gate, and be timed. It was hilarious .
Monday evening we went to dinner at another couple who have bought a similar sized smallholding on the other side of the village. Jill and Harvey and their two dogs made us very welcome, and we had an interesting time exploring their smallholding. It is up hill and down dale, through the stream, and largely overgrown with weeds.I wouldn't have known where to begin, but Jill and Harvey have achieved great things in their 10 months there and have plenty of plans for the future.Dinner was my favourite ( not ) fish pie..... yuk.The company was very good.
Tuesday afternoon we popped across the road to wish one of the neighbours a happy 70th birthday. Apparently it had been as very happy birthday as we popped over at 2.30 pm , and Alan was three sheets to the wind ! We were made very welcome, and the afternoon flew by, our quick visit turned into a 4 hour visit. It was very nice to meet all their family.
Thursday I escaped to patchwork class, I haven't been for about six weeks, and thought it would be nice to have clean hands for a whole day. Once again it was a very enjoyable day, plenty of chatting and cups of tea, a few pointers on how to sew units together on the machine, so that the triangles still have points, and loads of interesting projects to be seem, as each person works on a project of their own choice. I have sew , sorry so much to learn.
Today Friday has been a little mundane, went to the market in Newcastle Emlyn and bought loads of citrus fruit to make marmalade with, and some strawberries to make strawberry conserve, then on to the pet shop to stock up on food for the dogs, cats, birds, chickens etc, and on to the supermarket to stock up on people food and supplies. Did you hear a fog horn blaring ???? Boring, boring , boring. Never mind.
Tomorrow David and I will be helping out another new friend from the garden club Steve. He lives in the next hamlet down the hill, and is holding an open garden for the National Garden Scheme, raising money for a cancer charity Funny thing is, until today I didn't realise that there was another hamlet down this " track",I thought it was someones drive way. Hope David is driving us there, I certainly don't fancy giving the path a go. I hope the weather is good and loads of people turn out.
Well its 11 30 pm again, so I'm off to bed.
"
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
The Golden Girls
The chicken arc has upstairs accomadation, with a nesting box, a fancy stair case that goes up and down to close the chickens in at night, and a run on the ground floor.The general plan was to keep the girls in the run for about a week to make them feel at home, and then gradually let them out for a bit each day. By Day three that plan had gone to the dogs, as one of them managed to escape while I was cleaning out the nest box. After five minutes of playing chase the chicken ( looking a real sight in my nightie and wellies at 07.30) I decided to give up and have let them all out.
They have very gentle characters (so far, I have heard theres another side to chickens, they can be quite vicious) and potter around the field, usually following who ever has a spade as that means we might be doing the digging.Like naughty children, they keep returning to areas you have chased them away from, almost to taunt me. I am trying to convince them that the poly tunnel is not actually a chicken beauty parlour, and they can find other areas to sand bath and snack. They were very interested when were adding some planting around the nature pond, and seem to rather like the taste of hostas. I thought you used chickens to eat the slugs that eat the hostas but we seem to have missed the slugs out, and the chickens just eat the hostas instead. LOL.
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
The Baaaa bies arrive
Even fields need to be looked after, or they go out of condition in one year ! We had several options, ie, leave the fields to grow into hay, and pay a contractor to come and cut and bale the hay later in the year, and then try and sell it, or get some animals to graze the fields. As we are concertrating on sorting out the vegetable garden ( hopefully market garden)we thought that we would be biting off more than we can chew by adding animals to the equation for this year at least. So we decided to tack the fields out.- this means basically another farmer will put his animals onto our land to graze the fields, we have no responsibilities with regards to feeding, or the health of the animals, our fields get eaten and fertilized, helping to maintain the fertilitly, and we might even get a couple of shillings in the back pocket, or a lamb in the freezer. Farmer Alun from across the road did say he would bring some cows for a while, but we have yet to see them. Cows are quite heavy on the land and can "poach" ( farmer talk for wreck the land ) it quite easily. Another couple (Derek and Heather )who farm quite near us ( so they say, across the road at Five Roads, not sure which road they are on ) , stopped by and wanted to tack some of their sheep to our land. We thought this was a better idea than cows as sheep are not so heavy on the land, and thinking ahead, if we do get some sheep in the future this would be good practise for us. So we decided to foster the sheep. Derek arrived with a double decker trailer full of 25 sheep one Sunday afternoon.These ladies are last Febuary's lambs, so just over a year old. They are here to rest and put on a bit of weight before they have lambs themselves early next year. There are two sorts, a few with pale mottled faces and the rest have black faces. Derek did tell us what flavour of sheep they were, but neither David or myself caught the name. These sheep are used for fleeces and will be shorn towards the end of June.That should be fun to watch, and Heather has promised to show me how to fold the fleeces before they are sent off to the Wool Board... something else to put on my CV.. fleece folder, GCSE. As Brian still hasnt come to do the fences or gates, Derek brought a couple of tempory gates, which are held in place with baler twine ( the stuff they use in the machines that harvest the hay and bale it ) It seems like all you have to do is keep the sheep in, keep a distant eye on them and make sure they have some water. Easy peasy, dont know what all these farmers moan about.(though I am sure we are going to find out ).
Well David cannot just look at the animals in the distance. They were not particularly friendly, but give David a bag of sheep food and plenty of time, and he soon has some new friends. The most bold sheep who comes at every opportunity we have called Maud, and she gets cheekier by the day. After two weeks , she is even coming to the top gate in the field to look for David and calls him as well. I am sure she says Daaaaa vid Daaaa vid . She now eats out of his hand and is quite bossy, not really letting the othere get a look in side ways. I just wonder what Derek and Heather will say when they have 25 sheep waiting to be hand fed and entertained. LOL( laugh out loud ).
Well David cannot just look at the animals in the distance. They were not particularly friendly, but give David a bag of sheep food and plenty of time, and he soon has some new friends. The most bold sheep who comes at every opportunity we have called Maud, and she gets cheekier by the day. After two weeks , she is even coming to the top gate in the field to look for David and calls him as well. I am sure she says Daaaaa vid Daaaa vid . She now eats out of his hand and is quite bossy, not really letting the othere get a look in side ways. I just wonder what Derek and Heather will say when they have 25 sheep waiting to be hand fed and entertained. LOL( laugh out loud ).
Thursday, 19 May 2011
And off I go again !
After 2 nights at home, the freezer stocked and the fridge packed to capacity, I left Llaingof again, this time for ma week in the sunnier and more noisy climbs of gidea Park and Basildon. So leaving the home team ( David, Michelle, Mark, and Deslyn) with a list of jobs as long as my arm ( which is very long as any one who has had to knit me a jersey will know), and off I went again. This was a bit of a test for myself, as I am not fond of driving long distances, and I had a journey of almost 300miles ahead of me. I managed the journey n about 5 hours with plenty of stops at services along the way for a bit of a breather. The roads and the services always seem so busy, and then I get to wondering if any one is actually ever at home, or wether we all live in our cars most of the time. Hotel Gunn was open for me as usual, almost my second home, thanks lorraine and Graham. Dad has not been well, so I was hoping to offer both Mum and dad a bit of support and see what I could do to help them. Actually it was a real break for me, as their garden is postage stamp size, and once I had potted up a few plants and a few baskets, it felt like I had actaully managed to do something. I was also able to celebrate Dads 82nd birthday with them. I suspect that Dad has had better birthdays than this years one, and am sure he will have better ones in the future.
Friday 30th April dawned, the day of the Royal Wedding. I spent the day watching telly with Mum and Dad, not wanting to miss out on any detail. I thought that Kate looked wonderful, and hope that the Royal Family appreciated the fact that I had my lucky wedding knickers on. Instead of buying a hat for various functions, I buy knickers, so I have white lacy ones for weddings, pale blue or pink ones for christenings, sparkly ones for going to discos and black ones for funerals, much cheaper than a new hat each time and at least I will not look as silly as Beatrice at the wedding, I thought her hat made her look like Tinky Winky form the Telly Tubbies. Anyway, it was a lovely day, and I had a great time watching with Mum and Dad.
The day following the wedding, I attended my first ever street party, in honour of the royal celebrations. Fairholme Ave sure knows how to rock, and there are some very talented local kids about as well. Lorraine deserves a medal for all the work she did and over 100 people attended and had a great afternoon.
In the meanwhile back at the ranch....
The Chicken Arc finally arrived, and was given a coat of paint by Deslyn .. thank you
One tonne of sand arrived and was put into place lining the wild life pond, the underfelt and liner were placed and the pond was filled up, thank you Michelle and Mark.
Loads of plants were either transplanted or potted on, thanks Michelle, Mark and Deslyn
4 more raised beds were completed and filled with compost and potting soil, thanks David .
David also managed to place 300 meters of sheep fencing , attaching it onto exsisting posts. We are still waiting for Brian the grave digger to come and put in the new fence posts and new fencing..... hope hes a bit speedier with his other job than he is with the fencing, or there are a whole lot of people waiting to have a long lie down... well I suppose they have all the time in the world .
And David became the proud foster father of 25 sheep, who will be staying on our fields for a few months. Thanks Heather and Derek for the loan of the sheep.
And me, I managed to do a few little jobs, all indoors, did a bit of shopping with Mum and did lots of sitting, do I feel guilty... no not really.
After a week in Basildon it was time for the great trek home, didnt seem so long going home, maybe i was not quite so nervous of the journey. Again, it was wonderful to get home, and sleep in my own bed.Heaven.
Friday 30th April dawned, the day of the Royal Wedding. I spent the day watching telly with Mum and Dad, not wanting to miss out on any detail. I thought that Kate looked wonderful, and hope that the Royal Family appreciated the fact that I had my lucky wedding knickers on. Instead of buying a hat for various functions, I buy knickers, so I have white lacy ones for weddings, pale blue or pink ones for christenings, sparkly ones for going to discos and black ones for funerals, much cheaper than a new hat each time and at least I will not look as silly as Beatrice at the wedding, I thought her hat made her look like Tinky Winky form the Telly Tubbies. Anyway, it was a lovely day, and I had a great time watching with Mum and Dad.
The day following the wedding, I attended my first ever street party, in honour of the royal celebrations. Fairholme Ave sure knows how to rock, and there are some very talented local kids about as well. Lorraine deserves a medal for all the work she did and over 100 people attended and had a great afternoon.
In the meanwhile back at the ranch....
The Chicken Arc finally arrived, and was given a coat of paint by Deslyn .. thank you
One tonne of sand arrived and was put into place lining the wild life pond, the underfelt and liner were placed and the pond was filled up, thank you Michelle and Mark.
Loads of plants were either transplanted or potted on, thanks Michelle, Mark and Deslyn
4 more raised beds were completed and filled with compost and potting soil, thanks David .
David also managed to place 300 meters of sheep fencing , attaching it onto exsisting posts. We are still waiting for Brian the grave digger to come and put in the new fence posts and new fencing..... hope hes a bit speedier with his other job than he is with the fencing, or there are a whole lot of people waiting to have a long lie down... well I suppose they have all the time in the world .
And David became the proud foster father of 25 sheep, who will be staying on our fields for a few months. Thanks Heather and Derek for the loan of the sheep.
And me, I managed to do a few little jobs, all indoors, did a bit of shopping with Mum and did lots of sitting, do I feel guilty... no not really.
After a week in Basildon it was time for the great trek home, didnt seem so long going home, maybe i was not quite so nervous of the journey. Again, it was wonderful to get home, and sleep in my own bed.Heaven.
Going Home
Its actually hard to know you belong somewhere, when you havent left, so our trip to Poole served 2 good purposes, one to join in a great family get together, and the second one, , we actually felt like we were going home on our return to Wales. It was lovely to start recognising all the familiar places on the way home, to realise we are only 100 miles from the bridge, and that we enjoyed returning to the peace and tranquility that is Llaingof. As they say the green green grass of home.
The Big 80 !
Our very special Uncle dave was 80 on the 23rd April, and we decided to travel to Poole to join him for dinner as a surprise ! Michella and Mark were left in charge of Llaingof, and after making an early morning telephone call to the birthday boy, we left for Poole. What a wonderful day we had, visiting our special place of rememberance at Upton Park, remembering all the happy birthdays we were able to share with Peter ( David's late Dad) and good old Uncle Dave. Then off round to Lynn for a quick cuppa, and to get washed and polished, and speed off to the hotel in Frendown, so we could hide away before Dave and Doris arrived. I think its fair to say Uncle Dave was suprised to see us all, and we had a wonderful evening together, laughing , talking and maybe even a few tears. A great day and we were so lucky to be there.
Nearly caught in my jammies
Good Friday dawns, Im busy pottering around the kitchen, making breakfast and wondering what we should have for dinner, when out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of blue car ! Its 9.00 am, and Michelle and Mark have arrived, thank goodness I changed out of my jammies about 5 minutes before hand. What a wonderful way to start the day, so its on with the kettle, out with the rusks and the weekend has begun. After 1/2 hour R and R, Mark and Michelle descend on the veggie beds to help out . Me, Ill get on with the lunch, dinner, grub etc.
Change over day
The Gunns and Satterthwaites have returned to their homes, so we have one day to change the beds, do the washing, stock up the pantry and fridge, and line up the next lotn of jobs for the lucky visitors... next up Michelle and Mark, due good friday
Sunday, 15 May 2011
The pond takes shape
James Pond has had many hands to help shape it. It is a huge nature pond,in Field One, near the poly tunnel and the 4711 orchard.
First David dug a rough outline with the miniture digger ( more playing than planning I think !), then James, Mar3k and Anna dis a bit more shaping, shelf building,forming Tuffey Mound,( a raised shaped area seperating the deeper end from the shallower end, and so named because Anna made the mound and her surname is Tufffey ) and turf removal to make the edges level. Then Michelle and her friend Mark, lined the pond floor with one tonne of soft sand, placed the underfelt ( did you know pond liners need an underfelt ?? I didnt ) and the liner in position, and started filling it with water ( from the mains, still havent got a pump working on the well). Then I managed to buy some water plants, aquatic soil ( ordinary top soil has too many nutrients and will soon turn the pond too soup )and planting baskets on a visit to a garden centre in Basildon, while I was visiting Mum and Dad). David and I managed to plant up the baskets, covering the soil with pea gravel, and then had a challenge to place the water lily in the deepest part of the pond, which just happened to be in the middle. Neither of us was too keen on wading in, though we were not going to own up to this too each other. We decided that it would be tempting fate if we walked on the liner, so had to devise a crafty method, involving threading the plant basket on to a very long piece of twine, walking to opposite ends of the pond, with the basket suspended over the water,then gently lowering the basket to the floor of the pond,and pulling the string back to land. Great fun to work out, and neither of ud got wet or fell in. We have done a bit of tweaking with the levels, by raising some of the edges with more sand under thevegde of the liner, so we have made an area when the water will over flow, making a bog garden. I have put a plant called a Gunera here, it has two leaves each about 6 -8 inches across, but has been known to grow leaves as large as 10 feet broad. Unbelievable, we will be watching and measuring the leaves with interest.
Jackie and Alan ( Not farmer Alan ), who live across the road from us, have some land that runs down to the banks of a river in a village called Saron. When they heard we were busy building a pond, the collected a whole load of water irises and a bucket of water, containing tadpoles and other water beasties, and left them on our doorstep for us. I cant believe how kind people are to us. Any way the tadpoles have been added to the pond, along with a frog that David found swimming in an ols animal trough near the piggery. Jackie needed her bucket back, and David was just busy cleaning the bucket before returning it. Jackie said "the bucket did not need a wash and set", and rushed off with the bucket before he had finished cleaning it. Laugh out loud !!. Anyway, I managed to leave them a bottle of Plum Jam on their doorstep, as a little thank you.We have found loads of plants that are very over crowded on the garden, so have been moving some of them down to the pond, to help it look a little less like a hole in the ground. I guess in a year or two it will look more comfortable in the land.
First David dug a rough outline with the miniture digger ( more playing than planning I think !), then James, Mar3k and Anna dis a bit more shaping, shelf building,forming Tuffey Mound,( a raised shaped area seperating the deeper end from the shallower end, and so named because Anna made the mound and her surname is Tufffey ) and turf removal to make the edges level. Then Michelle and her friend Mark, lined the pond floor with one tonne of soft sand, placed the underfelt ( did you know pond liners need an underfelt ?? I didnt ) and the liner in position, and started filling it with water ( from the mains, still havent got a pump working on the well). Then I managed to buy some water plants, aquatic soil ( ordinary top soil has too many nutrients and will soon turn the pond too soup )and planting baskets on a visit to a garden centre in Basildon, while I was visiting Mum and Dad). David and I managed to plant up the baskets, covering the soil with pea gravel, and then had a challenge to place the water lily in the deepest part of the pond, which just happened to be in the middle. Neither of us was too keen on wading in, though we were not going to own up to this too each other. We decided that it would be tempting fate if we walked on the liner, so had to devise a crafty method, involving threading the plant basket on to a very long piece of twine, walking to opposite ends of the pond, with the basket suspended over the water,then gently lowering the basket to the floor of the pond,and pulling the string back to land. Great fun to work out, and neither of ud got wet or fell in. We have done a bit of tweaking with the levels, by raising some of the edges with more sand under thevegde of the liner, so we have made an area when the water will over flow, making a bog garden. I have put a plant called a Gunera here, it has two leaves each about 6 -8 inches across, but has been known to grow leaves as large as 10 feet broad. Unbelievable, we will be watching and measuring the leaves with interest.
Jackie and Alan ( Not farmer Alan ), who live across the road from us, have some land that runs down to the banks of a river in a village called Saron. When they heard we were busy building a pond, the collected a whole load of water irises and a bucket of water, containing tadpoles and other water beasties, and left them on our doorstep for us. I cant believe how kind people are to us. Any way the tadpoles have been added to the pond, along with a frog that David found swimming in an ols animal trough near the piggery. Jackie needed her bucket back, and David was just busy cleaning the bucket before returning it. Jackie said "the bucket did not need a wash and set", and rushed off with the bucket before he had finished cleaning it. Laugh out loud !!. Anyway, I managed to leave them a bottle of Plum Jam on their doorstep, as a little thank you.We have found loads of plants that are very over crowded on the garden, so have been moving some of them down to the pond, to help it look a little less like a hole in the ground. I guess in a year or two it will look more comfortable in the land.
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