Far Lands

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 ...

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