Far Lands

Yesterday was the end of the road for our first livestock, O&G our turkeys. For a Christmas interpretation of the day see http://thefarlandsturkeychronicles.blogspot.com/ On that blog I promised more photos and a sideways video (!):- Although the day was bright and sunny, our mood was reflective. They had a nice life, we kept telling ourselves. 10 and 15 pounds in weight. We also reflected that killing is almost completely alien to our modern life, yet the results of killing are so prevalent. Other Xmas preparations have been more jolly:- cake, sweets, wrapping, invites to three parties on three consecutive nights (we feel we have arrived in Hayfield (not quite local , that being only when several generations are in the cemetery)). Tomorrow we will pick the first brussels and take them with the turkey lurkey to Reading. Happy Christmas to all my blog followers (I hope the plural term is not too optimistic).

We moved to Farlands a year ago (yesterday) in 3cm of snow and -4C. Nothing has changed:- we have been snowed in over the weekend.   But, then again everything has changed. Our lives, well my life especially could not be more different. At Cherko Ri we used to spend weekends relaxing - walking, going to church, sometimes massage or yoga. Sarah read the entire Guardian and I may have finished off a philosophy essay. At Farlands it is life on a smallholding. I feel a lot of sympathy for David (R4's Archers) and our real local farmer Tony. They work hard all day every day. So this weekend we fixed a leaky gutter, and installed metal grids in the top of our 6 downpipes. Chopped wood (we have just finished our big wood bin next to the house), put up shelves in our office, sketched plans for our new heating system, and husbanded (?) the turkeys. We had to cope with a power cut, and being snowed in. Good stuff too though! Sarah starred in her church panto, and took gr

Its been an exciting week! We have made the decision to extend Farlands, and to replace the entire heating system. Boilers, biomass, solar thermal, solar PV, wood chip, RHI, pellets, logs, heat pumps (ground and air), insulation, garages, sheds, hoppers, log stores, chip stores, surveyors, building & planning regulations and so on has been whirring round and round my head for months. Almost since we moved here, when we realised that oil is so expensive, and that we needed a bigger kitchen / utility room and a gym! It whirs and whirs round my head. I write lists, get quotes, have meetings, analyse all the figures. But, I can't decide. Enough to drive a man to drink, or worse... That's where Sarah comes in! Interestingly, this process (I gather info, she decides) is not unique to us. A few years ago we did a yoga course with Charlie at Braziers Park in the Chilterns. It was founded in 1950 as an educational trust, and is "is a continuing experiment in the a

Today I launched our cottage for 2012 with a blog running for 12 consecutive days and ending on Xmas Eve; see http://thefarlandsturkeychronicles.blogspot.com/ Will the turkeys make the New Year? You'll just have to read it!

It's been blowing a hooley all day. Lashing rain, gusting winds. Warmer than last few days (10C) but does not feel like that. We seem to be surviving - only one window now leaking (needs sealant) which is great, wood stacks still covered and turkeys still here (not on Kinder). But going outside, even for me, and even with my early Xmas presents from Sarah of fur-lined boots, new puffa (so I have a garden one!) and thermal salopettes-under-suit, has not been that attractive an option. This is to the L of the water tanks. So, inside jobs! More loft insulation, office work in respect of our RHI / biomass boiler plan and kitchen action. I have frozen beetroot (trial), made more sloe gin (thank you Prescotts), made mincemeat (and whilst I did that I experimented with drying apple slices - worked quite well), and fed the cake. Cake, mincemeat...and the PM. It really is true that once you are Prime Minister you really do get everywhere! Take care in your hooleys!

The snow came overnight; the first snow for Farlands this year, and the first snow ever for the turkeys!

A quick quiz (2 questions):- 1. what are stillsons? a) a pair of pistols (as sported by Eastwood in Pale Rider ) b) a pipe wrench c) small stiletto heels Stillsons are in fact a pipe wrench (invented by Daniel Stillson in 1869 in the US), and should be an everyday term of smallholding managers or wannabees. My Uncle Jim has just been to stay, and amongst a myriad of jobs (more later) we attacked our water issues. Stillsons were necessary and not only did I not know what they were, but every one of my neighbours (irrespective of age or gender) knew exactly what they were. We borrowed 17 sets. We first attacked the stop cock outside the house, and ended up fitting a new piece of pipe (complete with new olives (not edible ones)). Although this photo shows Jim out of the hole, he spent several hours in it, in the rain and the wind. I acted as chief Stillson-handerer-overer, and I now like to get Stillsons into as much conversation as possible. But, the real action came insid

I am like a bear; I feel increasingly in tune with the seasons. I spent the Summer working long days predominantly in the garden / on the land. Chopping wood, tending the veg beds, waterproofing our shelter (it has been referred to as a House) and tending our livestock. As a result our wood bins are full (both kindling (in some old wheelie bins) and the main ones next to the house), and our wood stacks are covered up. Our kitchen is festooned with garlic and foraged nuts. Our spare bedroom smells (nicely) of apples and potatoes (not supposed to be stored in the same room, I think). Our freezers are crammed full of both our garden produce (fruit mainly but also some runners, beetroot and wedges (thank you Gail for freezing advice!) and also from our foraging (some sloes, chestnuts and elderberries) and our turkeys are fattening nicely. Sarah has extended this analogy by commenting (questioning, I suppose really) that now I am ready for hibernation. She wonders whether I will spen

We still have a major water leak (we are on a spring, ie not mains water). Somewhere in the system between the squash-court-sized water tank and the 6 houses including us and 2 farms that it feeds. We are trying to track it down - today I dug out our stop-tap next to the house. But it is a major headache. Today when Sarah got up at 5 to leave for London, I went to turn our water on (turned off yesterday so that the big tank fills and we have water for a week or so). And a bit awkward in respect of our guests (we have a 6 week booking in the cottage). In fact, they could be reading this! Very nice guests, in fact so nice we are having them round for a drink at the weekend. The turkeys are in trouble (with me!). I have confined them to their barracks for most of each day now. It was becoming too time-consuming herding them back after they had been fraternising with our neighbour's turkeys (their relations in fact); time-consuming and embarrassing. Last time I chased them, the

Autumn is here - very wet and windy this week! Our bench (at the front of the house) will not stay upright, and one day I found it halfway down the bank. The wind and rain mean inside jobs! I've been in the loft - insulating it. It's 140m2, and involves taking the boards up (some take 15mins or more because of so many nails), then laying 200mm of insulation, then a spaceboard (polystyrene worth 100mm), then re-boarding it. I reckon this job will take me 30 years. I found some money today for the 1st time - a coin much larger than a 2p piece; an old 1p. Turkeys doing ok. They went free-range after a week or so, and generally understand that they should stay in the orchard (top paddock). But, I do spend some days chasing them about and yesterday broke our broom doing it! Generally entertaining the walkers as they go by. The orchard is about to grow in meaning - Mum has just ordered our 40th birthday present: trees. Includes sweet chestnut, hazel (a cob

For completeness, I am including in my blog, my two recent snapshots of a day in the life at Farlands. I wrote this one on the 15th September. Yesterday was a full on day - washing, chutney, mowed grass, weeding and installation of 2 turkeys. As well as harvesting from veg garden, and continuing the plum processing & storage! We have had PV installed, and now like to complicate life around it - so yesterday (best day for PV since installation) I ran as many machines as possible (washing, oven, extractor, hob; it coped well)! Veg garden going well. I try to weed a bed a day, and yesterday it was the asparagus bed (thanks Max; 9/11 plants surviving). We have just got 2 turkeys (for Xmas), Osbourne & Gove. Spent ages making their house but I am not sure now about the whole enterprise. They need food, water and make lots of noise. To be honest, I can't wait to wring their bloody necks! We are in the middle of the plum harvest. I estimate we have a 100kg tree, and it has bee

I've decided I've just got to start somewhere! I've wanted to write this blog for months, and in fact have drafted several posts. But, up until  now, I have not been able to muster the decisiveness needed to decide whether to open it up to the world or limit it to friends and family. I've opted for the world! Welcome to Far Lands ! Wood stack in the bottom paddock, Oct 2011

What is my blog about? Well, I have named it Far Lands which is a small pun on our new house name, Farlands House (see photo) and also a little ironic as will become clear. Farlands House (Farlands Cottage arrowed) In December 2010, we (my wife Sarah and I) moved to Farlands House which is a large 19th century house with several acres. Our aim is to develop a smallholding with a thriving veg garden, a few animals, and a managed woodland. We want to do this in a sustainable way, utilising where possible renewable energy. We see ourselves as stewards of the house and land, and want to leave it in a better condition than it is now. We like the CAT (Centre for Alternative Technology) mantra: reduce, re-use, recycle. Our overall aim is a greener, more self-sufficient way of life. What else might be in my blog? Well, I am a keen mountaineer and I write the occasional article for climbing magazines. And I am an avid reader - I like mostly classics, both old and new. Thoreau's '