Smallholding
Sun / Frost / Trees / Heathers
Monday 20 January, 2025
Monday 13th January
I think we had a bit of rain overnight – but much milder. Windy, so making it feel a bit raw. Showed 11C on the car this morning. Overcast for most of the day.
Dan weeded what will be the heather bed – we have 150 heathers to plant this week, so I’m planning to make a start tomorrow.
The cats are enjoying what they hope is a cat gym. It’s not.
Cat gym.
ORFC / Bonfire / Thaw
Monday 13 January, 2025
Monday 6th January
I think we had a bit of rain overnight – I’m sure I heard it battering on the Velux. Definitely milder this morning, with light cloud. Dan’s decided to ask Murdo to come two days next week, rather than tomorrow. The trees for the Spinney should have arrived by then and the ground should be soft enough to plant them.
Still working on the speech. Sold a table and a chest freezer. And a bone saw.
Tuesday 7th January
Cold and dry. Speech coming together. Sold the bottles – yay!
Frozen / Selling stuff / Writers block
Monday 6 January, 2025
Monday 30th December
Breezy and dry – not as wet or windy as forecast, although the wind was strong overnight and there had been a wee bit rain. We seem to be missing the worst of the weather at the moment.
Read late into the night last night; so tired this morning, so had a wee lie in until 10am. What a treat!. I was reading the Scottish Independence Convention’s Transitions Papers. They probably need a bit of an update (and a decent proof reader) – most were written in 2020/21– but they are very good.
Christmas and Twixmas
Monday 30 December, 2024
Monday 23rd December
Dottie discovered the laptop screen. She's watching Yukon Wildlife Cams.
Type your caption here.
Tuesday 24th December
Finally, I made a start on clearing the polytunnel. I knelt on some nettles – my knees were still prickling at bedtime. I’ve weeded round the nettles and will go back with better gloves. And knee protection.
Winter Solstice 2024
Monday 23 December, 2024
Monday 16th December
Windy overnight and a bit breezy during the day, but a nice day with some sunshine and showing 11C on the car. I took Linda to Ninewells for an appointment – all good news.
Dan made great progress plating the hedge in Home.
I thought Mickey looked a wee bit footsore last night so kept them in today – hay and water – and he’ll just get chaff for his feeds (no beet pulp). Hopefully, he’ll be fine. I switched to feeding them twice daily for the winter but didn’t think about the possible impact of a double amount of beet pulp.
Cows / Workshop / Rohirrim
Monday 16 December, 2024
Monday 9th December
I found Mickey’s passport in the barn last week – in a pool of pee. Don’t ask. I must have had it out for the vet and left it lying somewhere. If you have horses, you’ll know how pungent horse pee is. And clinging. It was banned from the house to dry out but it’s had it. So I set out to get a replacement. It’s issued by the Veteran Horse Society, but the Traditional Gypsy Cob Association has taken over their passport issuing. I sent it to them last week, after emailing a warning.
Sitooterie / Hedging / Heathers
Monday 9 December, 2024
Monday 2nd December
Rain overnight; damp and cold this morning. Jings, it was 13C yesterday. It’s maybe half of that today, with a significant wind-chill.
The sitooterie has arrived. We love it.
The sitooterie is here.
Wormed the ponies this morning; it’s a once a year job, and both were very good. None landed on me or the floor, so that’s a huge win.
Paths / Pew / Sitooterie trial
Monday 2 December, 2024
Monday 25th November
Blowing a hoolie, but dry and sunny until about 3.30pm, when light rain started. I thought it was just getting dark, but it wasn’t. The ground has that scoured look.
Dan suggested this. It's done in Lonicera nitida, as ours is.
Lonicera nitida cat hedge.
Dan set the frame for the base for the sitooterie this afternoon, despite the inclement weather. Murdo’s here tomorrow, so the plan is to get the ballast in and concrete poured. I think we MAY get the building this week!
Sitooterie / Bert / Soup
Monday 25 November, 2024
Monday 18th November
It’s very cold. Dry and sunny but must be -2C and it hasn’t changed much all day. The outside taps thawed out about 4pm, long enough to let me fill the sheep’s water and the ponies’ trough in the barn. I had to use the spare drinker for the chooks this morning and both are now in the feed store overnight. My plans for weeding, of course, didn’t come to fruition. And won’t tomorrow, according to the forecast, so the plan is to prune the blackcurrants, gooseberries and blackberry.
Frost / Weeding / Sitooterie
Sunday 17 November, 2024
Monday 11th November
Dan finished the preparation for the hedging plants and got the first bed planted up yesterday. I think it looks pretty good.
Final bed prepared forhedging.
He and Andy also split and stacked more wood. A session next weekend should see the backlog (pun intended) dealt with. The woodstore looks fair braw.
