December has been a surprisingly eventful month on our little homestead! Let's start with the most exciting thing... Our new woodland! This happened surprisingly quickly. I rang the Woodland Trust in the autumn, they directed me to the national park. I spoke to a nice man who said they would probably run out of money this year, but he'd come and look round, and then all of a sudden, our trees arrived in the first week of December and were planted by one man in five days. Gosh. The weather was pretty varied in those five days, and I didn't envy him one bit, out there in the snow and the cold, especially as the national park had sent much bigger tree guards than expected, so everything was rather more difficult than he'd anticipated. Still, he did a epic job, and all 1000 of them are in the ground now. Now we just need to keep them alive, which is going to involve fixing a couple of dry stone walls to keep the cows out, and possibly mulching. A lot of mulching. Chicken lockdown Less excitingly, December also brought Avian Flu, and a national housing order all poultry. This is essentially a beaky version of lockdown - all hens, even small backyard flocks like ours, are to be kept in covered runs, with no access by wild birds, until further notice. When this happened four years ago, the bulk of the restrictions were lifted by the end of February I think, but some areas remained shut in until April. This came into force on 14th December, and our feathery friends have been shut in their run ever since. We're lucky - our run itself already met the requirements (solid roof, mesh too small for wild birds), but other people have been rushing to create something suitable. We're building an extension for ours, but it's been rather put on hold by the snow. As you can imagine, we're visiting our ladies several times a day, taking multiple treats, checking food, keeping them clean, and changing their environment so they don't get bored. Apples on sticks are a big hit, we've given them three dust baths in big plant pots to dig around in, and each day we take them a couple of bowls of warm porridge. I'm rather sad that they're shut in, but they seem to be managing just fine. Woodchip With the chickens shut in all the time, the run was getting rather muddy. It was quite difficult to find somewhere that would deliver woodchip without using pallets - our lane isn't big enough for a lorry. Eventually I found a friendly tree surgeon, and was delighted when he delivered an entire truck full - four times the amount I needed, for just £100. The chickens love it - it's full of woodlice - and I've been taking them a new bucket every few days, which they're slowly spreading around the run. I've managed to cover all of the paths in the veg patch too, which I'm thrilled about, as they were muddy and weedy and I wasn't really sure what to do with them. Now they've got several inches of woodchip, and should remain weed free (ish) for a good while. There's plenty left over, and I'm contemplating mulching some of the new trees with it (and maybe ordering a second batch to do the rest). That might wait until the spring though. The veg patch Not much has been going on in the veg patch, except the woodchip. There are still a couple of turnips to pick, and plenty of kale and chard which we're slowly getting through. The leeks are looking good, and we'll start eating those soon. And the green manure that I sowed a few weeks ago has started to emerge. The seeds I ordered in November have arrived, and I'm going to sit and plan out what needs planting when. I'd love to have a beautiful, productive veg garden this year - it's all been a bit haphazard so far, although I get better at it each season. As this year ends, the veg patch rests under the snow. DIY Ah, poor neglected DIY (I wonder how many times I've said that over the last few years?) I have managed to make a little progress on the kitchen ceiling though, and now half of the spaces between the beams have battens attached, ready to be filled with insulation and plasterboard. Getting there, albeit rather slowly. So we didn't manage to have Christmas dinner at our kitchen table this year - in fact we didn't even manage to bring a table in out of the garden, and ate Christmas dinner sitting on the floor. The weather I might have this as a standing 'on the homestead' feature in the future. We've had such a mix this month, from glorious sunshine to fog to snow. My absolute favourite had to be Tuesday night's clear skies and full moon, casting magnificent moon shadows onto the snow. Yes, I was outside in dressing gown and wellies at almost midnight and I don't regret a thing. So there we are, the end of 2020 on our little homestead. Plenty of progress in the garden, not so much on the DIY.
And what will 2021 bring? I'm hopeful for a finished kitchen, and even a bedroom. A beautiful veg patch is within my power I think. Fingers crossed our beaky friends will be released from confinement soon, and that the rest of the world will slowly get back to normal as well. We'll see.
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Well, finally we have made it to the end of 2020. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wondered whether this year would ever end. The final sunrise of the year has been a beautiful one, and while I would love to say I went for a long walk to watch it, I didn't - I sat in my dressing gown and gazed appreciatively out of the window. But let's wrap up this 20 in 2020 experiment with a final tally, shall we? 20 things mended (10/20) I think more things have broken in December, but I've not mended any of them. Ten things feels like an extremely low number for an entire year, and I suspect I've just not done a very good job of keeping track. I've certainly not been throwing things away rather than mending them. 19 letters written (achieved in December) I finally made this one, with a flurry of festive letters. I've really enjoyed writing more letters this year, and receiving them, and this is definitely something I'm going to carry on with. 18 days without internet (6/18) Hmm. I hit six days in September, and haven't added a single one since. What a sorry state of affairs! I'd certainly like to spend more time without the internet, but perhaps whole days at a time is just too daunting? Something to focus on next year, I think. 17 books read (achieved in March) I've very much enjoyed reading more this year, and have been experimenting more with both audiobooks and ebooks, making good use of our local library. I've also bought more books this year than I would normally - probably not something I'll continue once life is more back to normal. 16 household items or pieces of clothing made (achieved in December) I'm counting a win for this one, with a flurry of making present bags in December. I've been utterly delighted with these. I started trying to do fancy drawstring bags earlier in the year, but as Christmas approached settled (on Peter's advice) with a simple rectangle with a ribbon sewn into the hem. I've got about 40 now, and they are a pleasure to use (and used up a nice bit of my fabric stash too). I did manage to break both the needles in my overlocker making the denim one though, oops. 15 meals with friends (achieved in August) No more, and now we're in tier 4 there won't be any for a good while. I did get a takeaway cup of tea with a friend yesterday, and we sat in our separate cars, parked two metres apart, talking through the window. What a very 2020 experience. 14 meals from home grown produce (stopped counting in September) More pies, including a special Christmas day pie, which had various things in from the garden. 13 evening lectures (7/13)
No more in December. I've enjoyed watching various webinars and recordings through the year, but given how much time I spend looking at a screen for work, I've not wanted to do too much of this, and part of this goal was to get me out and meeting some more local people. Let's see what 2021 brings. 12 donations to the foodbank (achieved in December) This was more of a reminder for me to throw some extra things in my trolley each month, but with things being as they are, most of these donations have been online, and it seemed a bit daft keeping track of them. Still, foodbanks have been needed more than ever this year, sadly, so it's been good to be in a position to donate. 11 solo days out for me (2/11) No more for me - but this is something I need, so I'll be making more of an effort next year. 10 loaves of bread made (0/10) Still none! Plenty of pancakes though... 9 bike rides (achieved in July) No bike rides in December, although I'm starting to feel the pull towards the trails again. Not while it's so icy (and not while we're in tier 4 either so we might be waiting a while). 8 organised runs (2/8) No. I have been for another run with our little running group though, which was nice. I need to build back up slowly I think. 7 new places visited (4/7) Not really been the year for it, has it?? 6 attempts at cheese making (0/6) I'm hoping this will get more likely once I've got a kitchen... 5 'No Quibble' weekends away (0/5) Not really the year for this either... We do hope to get away somewhere, preferably for a proper holiday, in 2021, but we'll see how the world is by then. 4 pairs of socks made (1/4) I'm delighted with my single pair of socks! 3 days volunteering (0/3) 2 LAND centres visited (1/2) 1 holiday (0/1) No, no and no. Well. That wasn't really the year any of us had planned, was it? Who would have thought that even things like meals with friends would have been put on hold? Looking back, I'm surprised how many of my 20 things involved being out and about. I did at least achieve some of them - letters written, books read, household things made, meals with friends, eating produce from the garden, donations to the food bank, and bike rides. Not too bad I don't think. I won't be doing this again. I'm sure in a normal year it would have been a lovely way to keep track, but this year with the world changed so much, it's just served as a regular reminder of all the things I wasn't doing. Of course some of them I could have done anyway - I certainly could have joined in with the sourdough craze -but somehow priorities changed. I did like the discipline of regular updates though, so I'll see whether there's anything else I'd like to track this year. Although perhaps it's best not to tempt fate... Here we are on the shortest day of 2020. What a year it's been. But I'll save my reflections for the end of the year - who knows what will happen over the next few days. Today is a good day. I was up early, and lit a candle while I ate my breakfast, and I must say candlelit breakfasts are a marvellous thing and I plan to have many of them in 2021. After breakfast, I went for a stroll as the sun rose. Well, I assume it rose, as it did get marginally lighter, but it was difficult to tell through the gloom. I don't think we've got much chance of seeing the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter tonight. Later in the morning, an exciting thing - a delivery of woodchip, from a friendly tree surgeon. I'm very excited about this. The chickens are confined to their run because of the bird flu outbreak, and the hay we had on the ground was getting rather muddy and needed changing every week. I'd been looking for hardwood woodchip, as it's said to last many months in a chicken run, which seemed perfect. Sadly, the only places I could find that delivered used pallets, which require lorries, which do not fit down our narrow lane. Eventually I found a tree surgeon, who charged a little extra for delivery as we're an hour from him, but who dropped off this giant pile of hardwood chips this morning. This is about four times what I'd estimated we'd need, but he charges by the load, so I've taken it all, and will use the rest for the paths in the veg patch. I put a couple of barrow loads into the chicken run, and they're delighted, as it's full of woodlice and other critters. We're trying to change something about their environment every day or two while they're shut in, so they don't get bored and start pecking each other. A new bucket of woodchips will provide a nice bit of entertainment. I had to make a trip to the post office late morning, and while I haven't managed to get all cards written, I've done more than normal, mostly to people I don't see or talk to much. It's been nice writing long waffly letters these last couple of weeks. While I was out I nipped to my favourite bookshop cafe, ate a takeaway mince pie in the car, and bought lots of things (principally for myself, oops). I'm back home again now, and things are quiet. I've watched the end of a film I started yesterday, and eaten another piece of Christmas cake (there'll be none left for Christmas day at this rate). In a minute I'll take the chickens a bedtime treat (the older ones take themselves to bed about 3.45 these days), and I was contemplating a sunset walk, but I can barely see the end of the garden through the fog, and the sideways rain is making it even less appealing.
I've created a cosy little solstice corner on the windowsill (with my beautiful new solstice print from Kt Shepherd, which fortuitously arrived today, and some reduced-to-30p supermarket tulips), and I think I'll end the day where I started it, between candle and fairy lights, contemplating the year ahead and looking forward to the longer days. Almost the last update! There are so many things on this list that I'm not going to get anywhere near the end of, but that just sums up this whole year all round really. Let's see how we did in November. 20 things mended (10/20) I keep feeling like I must have mended more things than this. Certainly many things have broken. Perhaps I'm just not very good at keeping track. Apparently none added in November. 19 letters written Well I'm not sure I managed any in November in the end! But I'm on the case writing letters to go into Christmas cards, so I'm confident that this target will be met in December. 18 days without internet (6/18) No more whole days, although I did get a bit better at getting out of bed without looking at my phone in the morning. Could do better. 17 books read (achieved in March) Gone back to some old favourites recently - usually a sign that my brain is too full and I can't take on board anything new. 16 household items or pieces of clothing made (15/16) Well now, I'm counting this, even though technically I didn't actually make it, Peter did. It's a tabletop standing desk, and while I haven't used it as much as I should have, it's definitely come in handy and saved my back a few times. 15 meals with friends (achieved in August) No more in November, and now we're all only allowed to meet outside, probably no more this year. 14 meals from home grown produce (stopped counting in September) More pie! 13 evening lectures (7/13) I watched a webinar on electric cars run by a local environmental group. Not something we're considering right now, but definitely on the cards at some point in the future. 12 donations to the foodbank (10/12) Counting two this month - one online donation, and then a donation to a friend's fundraiser. 11 solo days out for me (2/11) 10 loaves of bread made (0/10) 9 bike rides (achieved in July) 8 organised runs (2/8) 7 new places visited (4/7) 6 attempts at cheese making (0/6) 5 'No Quibble' weekends away (0/5) No, no, no, no, no, no, and no. 4 pairs of socks made (/4) Yes!! Finally I finished my socks!! I've been wearing them as 'outer socks' since I finished them (they're rather too chunky for sole socks) and they are SO warm and cosy. Probably not going to get another three pairs finished this year...
3 days volunteering (0/3) 2 LAND centres visited (1/2) 1 holiday (0/1) No, no and no. Yawn. What fun idea this was, and how odd it has all turned out! I shan't be doing it again next year. I can see that it would have been a lovely way of structuring my months had the world not turned on its head. As it turns out, it's felt like an increasingly irrelevant list of things I thought I might do but which turned out to be impossible (except for things like bread and cheese - I could have done those, but didn't). Anyway, there we are. Final round up next month! November feels like an awfully long time ago. The weeks are just running by right now, and work has been so busy I've barely stopped to draw breath. I'm counting down the days until I break for Christmas - seven working days left now, which seems simultaneously Far Too Long and not enough time to get everything done. Anyway, it seems I did get some non-work things done in November, despite feeling like I did nothing at all but stare at a computer screen. There even seems to have been a sunny day or two! The veg patch Lots of harvesting in November! Well, lots of turnips and kale and chard at any rate. And a single cabbage, which was almost hollow inside thanks to some kind of critter (not a chicken). I was surprised how well the garden was holding up, although it did start to look quite straggly towards the end of the month, and has now had a good tidy up. I've spread a combination of compost and green manure over all the cleared beds and am planning to leave them alone until the spring now. The meadow I finally got round to removing the last little bit of cut grass from the meadow. It's nothing you'd call hay - just a soggy mass. The new chickens loved roaming around after me, scratching for bugs in the newly exposed soil. They seem to have adopted this field as their own, and spend a lot of time in there, which is interesting, as the older ones barely go in it at all unless I'm in there. Funny bunch. The grass has been used as mulch round the fruit trees, and even just two or three weeks later is starting to rot down. Marvellous stuff. DIY Ah, poor neglected DIY. I did finally get round to some in November though, and finished painting wood oil onto the ceiling beams. I'm determined to get at least SOME insulation up before the year is out. I did this single piece as a test several months ago, but then decided it would be much easier to paint first, rather than trying to avoid getting paint on the plasterboard (I was right, but it still took a while). I've now started screwing battens to the joists so I can attach the plasterboard over the insulation. Let's see what December brings. Damson gin! (and more pie) I picked our first damsons in September, and threw them in the freezer, and finally in November got round to making damson gin. It probably took twenty minutes from start to finish, including finding jars with lids, and was one of those jobs where I wondered what on earth I'd been waiting for. There are a lot of those lately, and the answer is usually that I'm waiting for enough head space to be able to think clearly... Anyway, come January we will have damson gin, and that will make me Very Happy Indeed. While I was in the jar stash, I also got the calendula flowers that had been sat in the dehydrator for months and threw them into some almond oil, and picked the last of the ones in the garden, and threw them in olive oil (I'd run out of almond). Still not entirely sure what I'm going to do with them, possibly calendula salve, but they might as well be infusing in the meantime. Another job I'd been putting off that took about five minutes. And Peter made another pie! I'm growing to be quite reliant on these pies. They're a concoction of whatever's been brought in from the garden, or needs using in the fridge, with a large number of eggs broken over the top. They're massive, and I end up eating pie for every meal for days. Possibly need to start using a smaller tin. First frost (I think) We had quite a lot of weather in November, including what I think was our first frost. There's also been rather a lot of fog, and some extremely soggy days. I used one of them to put together my seed order for next year's veg patch. This year I just planted all the leftover, randomly acquired seeds I had in the house, which led to a rather higgledy piggledy mix of things that grew well (turnips, kale) and things that didn't (sweetcorn, peas). For next year, I've done a deliberate order of all kinds of things, but have chosen varieties that are suited to exposed, cold, windy sites. They've arrived now, and I need to spend another rainy day sorting out a planting plan so I don't end up leaving everything too late, as usual, and running out of growing season. So that was November. I'm always amazed when I write these posts that things have actually happened, because until I sit down to write I'm convinced nothing's happened at all. This is why I write this blog I suppose - to pin down the things I have done, to make myself remember, so I can look back and think yes, I was outside for a while, yes, things did grow, no, it wasn't raining all year, despite what it might feel like.
And what will December bring? Well, I know some of it, since we're already a third of the way through. So far December has brought trees! An awful lot of trees. Hopefully there will be some insulation in the kitchen, and maybe I'll even do a bit of dry stone walling - there are plenty of them in need of attention. And sadly December will also be bringing chicken lockdown, as our beaky friends will be confined to barracks after the outbreak of bird flu. What an end to the year. |
Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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