Smallholding
Sleepers / Smokey / Ditch
Sunday 11 February, 2024
Monday 5th February
Still windy. Dan started removing the gooseberries – and the huge amounts of ground elder.
Tuesday 6th February
Racing corgis. That’s Gwenna at the back – not because she’s slower, but because she’d have been distracted by some smell.
Bryn and Gwenna.
Vet was out to give Smokey his annual onceover, flu & tet, and teeth check. He behaved perfectly. Although, I think he’s hoping he won’t be noticed if the vet returns before next year.
Salix Mount Aso / Seeds / Wind
Monday 5 February, 2024
Finally got the polytunnel cover cleaned; I started it last week and now it’s done. What a difference. I’ve moved all the plants out of the green house into the tunnel so that I can get ready to start seed sowing. I’ve had the seed box out and sorted out February seeds.
The seed box
I also sorted through the shallot sets I bought for autumn planting that didn’t happen. Jermor and Griselle – two or three were a bit soft, but plenty to go in later this month.
Jocelyn / Hedge / Wheelbarrow
Monday 29 January, 2024
W/e Sunday 28th January
Storm Isha has been and gone and so has Storm Jocelyn. Thankfully, the only damage was the relocation on a sheet of black plastic from the vegetable garden to the door of the plant room.
Storm damage.
On Burns Night, we had a traditional meal of haggis, neeps and tatties. Even after all these years, I still get a buzz from wandering out into the garden and pulling fresh vegetables for dinner – in this case, a neep. It was very neepy.
Storm Isha / Fire and ice / Murphy
Monday 22 January, 2024
W/e Sunday 21st January
Once again, not much to diary.
The snow lasted until Saturday, then a thaw set in followed by rain. Sunday saw Storm Isha hit; I think we missed the worst of it. The plastic sheeting covering the b=veg beds relocated, but there’s no point putting them back on yet.
Dan and Murdo had more fires on Thursday, so now the old pig pen is clear and ready for planting, but that won’t be done until the autumn. Sunken garden and front garden are the focus for now.
Garden / Fluke and worm testing / Owl mittens
Monday 15 January, 2024
W/e Sunday 14th January
Not a whole lot happening. The weather has turned dry and cold, which is great and water levels in the fields are dropping.
The man we’re hoping will do the landscaping in the front garden came to see it on Friday and is preparing an estimate. These photos are as it is now; Dan and Murdo have burned all the brash and we can actually see the space better now. Feeling quite excited. And Dan’s ordered the sleepers for the retaining walls in the sunken garden.
Ivy / Cables / Flood
Tuesday 9 January, 2024
Monday 1st January
Well, here we are, all bright eyed and bushy tailed for a new year! Garden is going to be top of the agenda along with finding some decent teabags.
Tuesday 2nd January
Right, list making and taking the decorations down were the orders of the day.
Wednesday 3rd January
The cows are due their annual Bravoxin top up by the middle of the month; I’ve ordered, or whatever is available this year.
Happy New Year and all the best for 2024
Monday 1 January, 2024
Happy New Year and all the best for 2024!
Here’s the last two weeks or so in images.
Tuesday 26th December, Dan had a bonfire. Still burning on Wednesday morning .
Home, 29th December. Before the next storm.
Festive preparations!
Monday 18 December, 2023
Monday 11th December
Dan took an hour off in daylight to manure the beds in the polytunnel that will have corn and squash next season and start to put manure on the raspberries and blueberries.
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Manured polytunnel.
I’m still feeling a bit sore but much better, so walked the dogs and got soaked. How much more rain can we get? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this wet.
Shingle bells!
Monday 11 December, 2023
Monday 4th December
Woke to heavy rain. The snow is now all but gone; it’s windy, cold and wet.
Well, that'll be the snow gone.
Dan and I had a walk up the orchard and pig pen as was. A friend of his is semi-retired so he’s offered to work for Dan for maybe a day a week (I hope he has good waterproofs) so their joint project is to take down the internal fences in the orchard and the pig pen, and replant with native trees where there are gaps. We’re also putting in 100m of native hedging along the far end of Home, for wildlife but also to screen the builder’s yard next door, so that strip needs to be fenced.
Snow / Bonfires / Escapes
Monday 4 December, 2023
Monday 27th November
We’ve got real November weather now - cold and damp, light and heavy rain showers. Thank goodness for wood burners.
Still, at least it’s cold enough to worm the ponies. Ashley did Gracie yesterday afternoon and I did Smokey this morning, before he had his breakfast. He was very good – which was great, because it was double dose Strongid P, so I had to do it twice.
Started to clear up at the back door, ready for the Winterfest display. Didn’t get it all done – Dan’s going to make me a new shelf, because the old one is mostly rotten.
