Week 7 - Log Stores and Veg Plots

Now it's lighter later, Steven has been able to get on with work outside.  He has continued working on the log pile roof which is looking great.  He said there's just some guttering to be added to it now.  A job for this coming weekend - I'm writing this on Friday.

Although lighter for longer, it's still very dark when we rise at 5am.  The days when I go straight in to the barn at that time is quite a shock for those who are still in their midnight slumber.

I have also released a tour of the kitchen garden as we call it on YouTube.  Here it is if you are interested:  Tour

Here's a few snaps from the night when I was getting a Thumbnail photo for it.

Logs, Agas, Mushrooms, Eggs & Birthdays! Week 6! 05th to 11th Feb

"Where's the guard for it?" I heard my Dad enquiring to Steven who was brandishing an electric grinder, minus the guard.  "In  my workshop, it gets in the way" was the response as I silently walked by them and in to the house, half smiling as I knew my Dad was now shaking his head at Steven.  A few minutes later I looked up from the kitchen sink to see Ste walking up from the workshop, smiling at me knowingly, whilst carrying said guard.  They got back to work on the roof for the log pile.  It required a few pieces of steel welding together, which is why Dad was helping, as that was his trade.  Ste is able to get the rest done on his own.  

The floor around the log pile, in fact all of the patio is green - a sign it is ready for its Spring clean.  It's on the list :)

 

I forgot to show this lovely design Steven burned in to a chopping board he made me for Christmas.  It matches my beautiful wall piece.  

Can you tell I love those "toadstool" mushrooms the fairies live underneath?

Also a gorgeous little rose from my Mam when she called in to see us all with my Dad.

Unfortunately, the aga went off at the weekend.  Thankfully it's still Winter which means I've within my rights to demand it goes back on (joking for those who don't know me, I would politely ask of course) whereas if it was around Easter time, there would be lots of discussion around leaving it off until the Winter.

The frustration was somewhat alleviated as we have started getting eggs of the Rhode Island reds and the Wellsummers - we should be back in the egg business very soon!

  

I added the first one (look how thick the shells are!) to the mince meat which we turned in to beef burgers. Delicious!

Finally, it was Grace's (left) 17th birthday this week, for which the celebrations started last week!  We had a delicious meal out to celebrate and she had a bunch of the girls round which I'm told (and heard!) was lots of fun.  Happy days!

Basically Ducklings (and a similarity to the Queen)! Week 5 29th Jan to 04th Feb

The duck eggs that went in to the incubator on New Year's Day came out as planned 28 days later.  Here they are on the 29th fluffed up and looking fantastic.  Our first hatch of the year.

 

We pretty much spent the week loving over the ducklings but we did have work to do at the weekend.  It started with a broken barrow but ended up with all the new vegs beds full of the rotted horse muck and homemade compost, so it did get better.  It's all on the vlog of the week which you can click here.

Steven got the gate on that he has made which is higher for the chickens to not jump over, time will tell how that works out! I'm very happy with it.

The end of the week saw Grace's birthday celebrations start - yes, like the Queen, it's going on for longer than one day.  She had a lovely time.

January 2024 in videos

2024

January

Snowdrops, Projects & the Moon! Week 4 - 22-28 Jan

The third week of the year saw yet more changes to the weather.  We have had a lot of rain this week and combined with the wind from the 2 storms (Isha and Joycelyn), it's felt pretty damp and grey.  So I took this photo to lift spirits showing the thunderous clouds, sun and blue sky.

After saying on Saturday that the peppers hadn't come through, on Sunday 21st the first of them started appearing!  They are making their way through at a rate of knots.

After a bit of a disaster with ordering the wrong wood for the veg patch extension, which we mention on last week's vlog, this week we ordered the right stuff.  We hope.

It cost £420, a budgeted investment as this will stand the test of time and should outsee our days here.

This wood will make up the new 5 beds in the veg patch extension.  It was delivered for £15 as we had no way of getting it here in the time we have (they close at 5 and we needed it for the weekend).

Steven has worked in the barn on evenings when the horses are outside, starting to screw the 2 pieces together that will make a side of a bed.  That's some seriously long screws he has!

I noticed my first snowdrops of the year.  They are always such a welcome sight in January.

I made an attempt at growing mushrooms - I need to wait 2 weeks to see if they are developing.  I'll update you then!

Tidying something away and I stumbled across this book, ab absolute favourite of mine.  All 3 books in this series are, so I think I'll get to reading this in February.

January's job list was mainly focused around the veg plot extension and week 4 of January saw the completion of making the beds as well as filling them with our own homemade compost.

The 25th saw a Full Wolf Moon, the first full moon of 2024.  Did you hear the wolves howling?  

So if, like me, you have had a strange old week, you can blame the changes brought about by the moon and get back to normal next week ;)

Well, that's a bit cheeky! Week 3 on the Smallholding

The week started out a bit crappy.  Literally.  Sorry, I hope you're not eating or have a sensitive nature. 

Our septic tank had an issue so Steven and I spent a couple of hours getting it sorted.  It was due to be emptied anyway so once we had it sorted "enough", we left it for the pros.  The came 2 days later and all was well.  The cold had played havoc with the soak away. Cost for that was £185 to be emptied.  We are going to get it done again in October this year to ensure empty over the winter and go from there.  That means I need to change our savings to ensure we have that saved for October as it's currently set for February's.

The days continue to be cold and frozen but we are enjoying being outside more as it is still not raining yet!  It's due tho.  Sonic, the pony, is enjoying his time outside but tells us when he's ready to be back inside.

Evenings are spent in a variety of ways.  We've played some games, trivial pursuit which Steven is very clever at but I need the kids questions!  I'm completing a Christmas gift I was given, a paint by numbers.  I am enjoying it so much!  The farmyard scene is wonderful.

 

The aga is in full flow, cooking, drying and keeping us warm.  I am really enjoying the simple meals we create here on the smallholding.  The aga is perfect for germinating the peppers seeds too.

 

Our weekend was spent Steven and I again, with the kids doing other things.  After 3 weeks of carnivore dieting, Steven was ready for a cup of coffee and to see what a dent he had made in the freezers.  We think we are good for another 8 months with what's in here.

After the freezers, we worked outside on the weekend again, fed and cleaned the animals as usual and then had a really fun project of putting up a new bird house Steven made.

  

If you'd like to see this come together in a video - please watch this -->  Weekend Vlog