digging – Tyddyn Bryn

animals, Building work, Food and drink, Sustainability, Working the land

What’s doing??

June 3, 2020 Ellie

We have been busy as bees round the holding still, but since the start of lockdown in March we have not had any significant rainfall!!! 10 weeks!!

Things are tinder dry outside…. we are having to regularly water everywhere and currently just the other side of our nearest village there is a forestry and field fire that the forestry services and a helicopter have been battling since Sunday evening…

Thankfully there is some rain forecast tonight and for at least the morning tomorrow! The earth here will give a sigh of relief I expect when it starts to fall!!

In the meantime here a few snapshots of the past few weeks here! New fencing, shearing, turning out the horses, new chicks, new play stuff for the boys, elderflowers and a lot more!!

Fruit and vegetables, Garden, Uncategorized, Working the land

All go round here!!

March 26, 2020March 26, 2020 Ellie

So over the past few days we have been working hard to get things sorted, built, planted, weeded and moved!!

We have weeded both large raised beds, and I have started to plant seeds for veg in there, using my scaffolding plank as a bridge across to stop me from stomping all over the bed!

Yesterday I potted on a load of seedlings in the Polytunnel and blimey it was warm in there!!!

We have happy ducks moved into their new digs…. and the chickens now have wood chip flooring in their runs!!

The muck heap has been shovelled back and some of the compost from the back excavated to fill the raised beds, the small tractor is a godsend for jobs like this!!

And someone has discovered the rubble pile….. apparently it’s his castle!!

Tomorrow we move onto the fruit cage of doom and clearing the veg garden paths!!!

Fruit and vegetables, Garden, journal, News, The tin hut, Working the land, yarn

So plans for Tyddynbryn!!

March 22, 2020 Ellie

Social distancing smallholding style!! We have an absolute load of work to get on with here on the smallholding and with the nice dry weather that has started we have made a start!!

Moving the chickens and ducks to new turf. Wood chipping paths and flower beds and around new raised beds!

Having cleared the Polytunnel a while back, we have started some seeds in there and in the house. Today we have started in the veg garden, turning the beds from an absolute weed ridden state into something we can actually plant into!! So we have seeds ready for starting in successional sowings there!!

We have started a few projects for the boys for play, including a bean teepee…

These times are going to be difficult, but I am certain, no determined that we will come through it and be more organised, sorted, prepared and ready to face the new world head on. We are using this as an opportunity to finish projects started, start new projects, action plans we’ve had on the back burner for an age it seems.

So as for plans….

Weeding (there is always weeding)
Growing veg and fruit
Dyeing all the yarn
Clearing and sorting first the house, then the barns (I’ve started this as a wet day job and am part way through upstairs…. slow work with two small helpers though)
Finishing the new cottage
Building a tree house (if W gets his way it will be two storeys!!)
Making a garden or lots more garden areas
Gates, trying desperately to keep the errant hound in and the free range children!!
Processing the giant log pile into useable stacked logs ready for next winter

And there is likely to be more but I’ll add them to the lists as I go along!!

Food and drink, Fruit and vegetables, Garden, Life with a toddler, Livestock, News, Plans, Podcast, Wanderings, Wildlife, Woodland, Working the land

A few little videos

July 29, 2018 Ellie

I’ve added a few new videos to the YouTube Channel!!!

Some tours of the animals and I’m planning a weekly ish….. vlog about the happenings on the smallholding!!

Here is Episode one!!

Fruit and vegetables, Garden, Life with a toddler, Plans, Working the land

All around the holding….

May 27, 2018 Ellie

So….. deep breath and here goes…..

Back at the end of April…. the Polytunnel finally had its skin put on!!

We almost immediately started planting and moving some of the seed across that we had started in the house off into the tunnel….

Spring finally arrived after the seemingly relentless winter!!

The small boy found more vehicles to sit on and press all the buttons….

The fruit cage planting was finished and now it’s just a case of weeding, watering, mowing and mulching at regular intervals…

The chicks, born on the first of March, got new digs and moved in!!

With the advent of spring the endless grass and weed management begins!! We are fortunate in that we have been gifted a field and brush mower in previous years and that mower chimps through long grass, brambles, weeds etc like they are butter!! And then to get the lawn effect in certain areas I am using the little old electric mower from the old town house!! (I am going to start saving for a normal Petrol lawnmower just so I don’t have to run an extension lead out each time!

Look at the little faces!!! Grandad bought the boys a new toy!!! Look!!!! It’s a fabulous tractor!!!!

There is a plethora of blossom in our orchard!! So we are hoping for plenty of apples this year!!!

The one and only flower bed needs a darn good weeding and I need to start making more flower beds and tackling the weeds on the banks cutting them right back and digging out where I can so I can start designing and planting garden areas!! I harbour a small dream that one day our garden will become one of the yellow book gardens that open for the national gardens scheme!!

I have planted some more willow whips and have more rooting!! I am making a willow tunnel, a willow teepee and I plan to maybe try a few more willow structures around the place! I am using a combination of osier willow and basketry willow so eventually as well as winter colour the structures and other willows will become another saleable crop in both cut willow and baskets or willow creations!!

Can you spot them?! Clue- they are yellow basketry ones here!!

The Polytunnel has started to green up slowly!! We have a multitude of different vegetables starting to grow!!!

And James has been out practising using a topper attached to his tractor to cut the grass!! We have now also been out to see a topper for sale nearby and James’ offer was accepted… we have trailer to borrow and now are awaiting a collection date!!! Exciting!!!

Finally James has had opportunity to start the raised bed walls!! So we will have even more growing space for our vegetables!! (Lucky as we have loads in seed trays starting to need to be planted out!! And we have more seeds to sow for more autumnal and winter crops!!)

Phew!! Lots of work!! Lots of plans and always loads more to do!!!

Working the land

Pond!!!

November 29, 2014November 26, 2014 Ellie

We have found a site for our pond…. Initially a wildlife pond we think… Eventually maybe some ducks for it…..

Dig faster James it’s starting to fill up!!! We’ll line it during a dry spell… And we need to make sure it has a sturdy bottom banking so…..

Building work, Wanderings, Wildlife, Working the land

Day two in the little tin hut!

May 1, 2014April 28, 2014 Ellie

I wake very early, especially considering it was Easter Sunday, but the dawn chorus was LOUD, not surprising when you think that the little tin hut’s windows are ill fitting corrugated plastic and plastic bags!!!! I sat in the lounge area of the little tin hut and read some of the Gwlad magazines that the previous owner had left and gleaned some interesting pieces of information. Mum and Dad arrived from their B and B at about half nine, whilst I was being brave and trying out the hovel’s shower!!! Hot but weak, so with all my hair it took an age to rinse the shampoo out!!!

We started the day sorting out some of the issues in the triangle of doom, mainly by digging out the ditch by the drain and ensuring it was clear so that it might actually take some of the water under the road not down it in times of heavy rain!!

It was at this point I realised that we had one decent spade with us and that was in use in the hole… So I got bored and wandered off to take some photos!!