A little update on the holding! a little of what we have gotten up to this summer!
We have…. Giant courgettes, hoof trimming the sheep, honey harvesting, plum picking, a grape harvest, some beans and a new little chap hanging about more and more!
A Sunday dinner completely made and grown and raised by us, bottled rhubarb gin, the starts of a Holly run, an onion harvest and LOTS of berries.
All sorts of lovely stuff growing in the veg garden and Polytunnel!
We have baled, both big bales and hand baled small bales, we dropped the fleeces at the wool mill, made fire bricks from sawdust and paper…
And all this, as well as having summer adventures with the boys, dyeing yarn, forest school and so much more!!
So many people say this to us!! And it always makes me laugh a little, yes in so very many ways we are living the dream, but I really don’t think a lot of people realise how much hard work the dream is!!
Take this week for example!!
All the rain and wind, meant slipped roof tiles and James braving the ladders to fix them, because water had started to come in through the ceiling in the boys room!!
We had a small electrical fire resulting in us losing our immersion heater…. no big deal we light the Esse for hot water mostly at this time of year! But more wood hauling…
More water around than ever it seems…. and for some strange reason multiple air locks in the water pipes of the house (seems to be a weekly occurrence requiring us to drain the system)
So we go puddle jumping to feed the animals and the pigs are happily digging themselves ponds!!
Rats!!!!! (And foxes!! We have lost 10 chickens this year to two fox attacks one where they clear chewed through the wiring of the cage!) but back to the rats, they have increased hugely this year and now as well as trapping the beasts we have to repair rat damage building the ducks a new home and repairing the floor of the chicken house, despite having “rat proof” feeders! We also have a nest in the workshop, so each time we go to get firewood we catch movement out the corner of our eyes and they are wily beasts avoiding the traps set or even bold enough to lick them clean without tripping them!!
And we have been working hard on the new build! James has painted the internals walls, the rear access ramp and front steps have been built by our wonderful builder!
And that’s before we even get started on the effects of Covid, isolations and lockdowns….
BUT would I swap this?? Would I go back to life before????
A million times no!!
Thank fully living here we have been (until this week) sheltered somewhat from Covid effects and having the land here means we have always had something to do and somewhere to go! The land allows us to get outside every day, to work, to look after our animals and to play.
We have the time and space to grow our own food and raise our own animals for eggs and meat and wool. So we know where our food comes from and how they have been raised and treated, which is important to us and waking round at this time of year both shows me how much we have done and how much more we have to do to put everything to bed for winter, then the willow harvesting can begin and I can put in more fedges, new plantings and try to soak up some of the water!!
We have some snippets of time to follow our own interests and this will hopefully increase as the years go by and things get more under control!!
Tomorrow we bring in the horses for winter and move the sheep into a more sheltered field for the winter, and maybe a bit more gardening or repairing…. today we eat a roast dinner from our own animals and our own veg and maybe I’ll steal some time to knit!!
And one day we will have field shelters, under control gardens and land, rat proof poultry pens, and a holiday let up and running!! So rather than living the dream more working towards or on the dream!! 😁
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!!
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!!!
We had a fantastic delivery last weekend on the smallholding!!!! James’ parents bought him an early birthday pressie!!!
Introducing the BEAST!!!
It is an amazing field and brush mower that is going to make maintaining the field sooooo much easier!!!! It weighs a tonne and has literally eaten it’s way across the field that will be the orchard!!
Over the last month James and I have been clearing the rough pasture as this is the new venue for an orchard!! This means more weeds…. More bramble forests and some chainsawing up of goat willows and overhanging branches!
During our fortnight at the farm weed wars continued!!! Having gotten a handle on the nettles with cutting and spraying and the brambles too…. I moved onto GIANT HOGWEED!!!!! A vile plant that grows enormously and seeds and attracts flies and horseflies!!!!!! And it is also colonising our orchard field….. Sooo me a set of hedge cutters and a spray gun have attacked it!! First I cut it down in swathes with the hedge cutter then wait patiently….. Well as patiently as possible and when signs of regrowth start it gets a squirt of weed killer!!! I am being rather selective in my use of weed killer as I don’t want to over do it due to the cost of the stuff and also because of its effects on so much else that’s good out there in the orchard, but needs must when faced with a colony of hogweeds!!!
Hogweeds also when cut exude a nasty sap, which according to my googling is photo toxic, which means that if the sap gets onto you skin and then you are in the sun it can blister and burn!!! Ah ha said me finally the explanation for the weird purple marks on my skin!!! Propolis gel sorted those although it took ages!!! Now this means that I go out with visor, overalls, gloves, boots everything!!!! Am even contemplating goggles as the sap can cause blindness if it gets in your eyes. Luckily the hedge cutters are long heavy creations that mean I can cut them down a way away from me!!!
In other news it appears like nothing can kill our invasion of flag irises which look like they will need to be dug out and moved….
But the good news is the cutting spraying etc seems to be working on our banks of the slurry pit and I should be able to start planting strawberries and herbs etc in them soon!!!
But for the time being I shall keep attacking the hogweeds and continue the weed wars to reclaim our little patch of land!!
Tyddyn Bryn 