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.
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