As I predicted at the end of my August post, September has been rather busy work-wise, and so the homestead has been rather neglected, especially as the nights have been drawing in, and some days I've not been finishing work until seven, by which point it's too dark to do anything useful outside. Still, as usual, some things get done anyway. The little garage This is the most exciting thing, which we'd been planning for over a year but never quite got round to - we had a little garage removed. This little garage, made of asbestos and falling apart, sat outside our front gate, banging in the wind, blocking the view, and generally good for nothing except storing rubbish on the way to the tip. Finally we got some nice people to come and take it away, and I am delighted with the difference it's made. We can see the trees down in the valley, and there's so much more light in the front garden and the living room. Not entirely sure what we're going to do with the concrete base yet. The men who removed it suggested a hot tub. Someone else suggested a BMX ramp. Personally I'm favouring a bench and some flowerpots, but in reality it'll likely just sit there like that for the whole winter, which is fine. The veg patch I've not done much with the veg patch this month other than a bit of light weeding and some harvesting. I've picked all our damsons for gin (they're currently in the freezer), and we're having regular harvests of kale, chard, turnips, and a few flowers. I keep meaning to dehydrate more calendula (and then think of something to do with it once it's dried). I've also been down to the bottom field a few times and harvested some blackberries, also now in the freezer. The bottom field was the site of the other exciting (and not planned this time) happening of the month. The dramatic cow rescue The local dairy farmer uses our fields for some of his pregnant cows, and one cow, having recently given birth, slid down this slope and couldn't get back up again. Fortunately, the farmer was on hand with medication, encouragement, and finally a digger, and after a rather undignified episode, the cow was retrieved and wandered off, unperturbed. Her calf, however, had found itself a cosy spot in the long grass on the wrong side of the electric fence, but we didn't discover this until the farmer had left. Since we are a long way from being expert cow-wranglers, it took us a long time to persuade it back to the rest of the herd. What else? No DIY of course - I've spent far too much of my time staring at a computer screen this month. And I've still not rebuilt the wall that fell down - that will have to wait as well. I have done a bit more scything though. Endless scything One day I'll get to the end of the field, but then I suspect it'll be almost time to start again from the beginning. The new chickens like to 'help'. I can't scythe while they're standing near, of course, and the old chickens are so pesky I won't scythe if they're in the same field, even if they're on the other side of it. But the new ones are a little more wary of me, and so they keep their distance, so I don't mind if they rake through the long grass while I'm cutting, as long as they're in front of me and I can see where they all are. Sometimes they get a bit close, and then I have to sit down with them and inspect the bug situation until they get bored and wander off, and then I can start again. Other things Other things are ticking along. I finally tackled this bush, which was threatening to swallow the postman each time he came to the front door. I haven't taken an 'after' photo though, and the cuttings are still (after several weeks) just lying on the ground outside the window, so I'm not sure we can count that as a success.
Other things, more long-term, are in the plotting stages too. We've got someone quoting (hopefully) to replace the roof of the stable block, which is full of holes, and if we don't do it now the rot will set in and it'll be much harder to rescue. If we do that, we can use the stable for storage, and free up the garage nearer the house for use as a workshop. And, even more exciting, a different man came to talk about some trees... I'm not going to say any more until things have been properly agreed, but if we can pull this off I shall be pretty darn pleased. So again, I'm not making any plans for next month, aside from trying to harvest what's actually growing in the garden, and trying to cook and process most of what we've harvested. And a bit more scything, of course, and maybe some DIY, maybe not. We'll see.
2 Comments
Mum
3/10/2020 06:55:46 pm
Getting rid of the little garage really has made a big difference. And that concrete is definitely calling out for a bench to enjoy the view from. As always I’m impressed by how much you achieve xx
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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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