Tidy, tidy - The Accidental Smallholder

Posted: Saturday 22 May, 2010

by Rosemary at 4:38pm in Anything goes Comments closed

Well, Dan and I are up at Dalmore again, boots loaded up with pots and plants.

And dogs. Happily, our two and John and Linda's two are getting on rather well. Tess is the grumpiest - no surprise there then - but even she's coming round. She's a bit scared of Kimi, but Kimi is so easygoing, she just ignores Tess's shenanigans. Fillan's just bonkers and as long as he can run, he's happy.

We've now got tomatoes and cucumber in the greenhouse and peas, beans and courgettes ready to plant out in the vegetable garden.

Yesterday, Dan and I walked the fences again, taking notes of what needs to be done. We've decided to focus on the paddock for the hens and the two acre field, where we'll put the sheep initially. Today, Dan's been pulling out old fencing, ready for John to repair it next week.

I've been working along the west range. The looseboxes are now emptied and swept. There's some stuff to come out of the roof space which will help the ventilation, but I don't "do" ladders. I was accompanied by swallows, so we'll have to be careful not to disturb their nests. The boxes are large and in good condition - if a little high for a Shetland. I don't envisage them being in much though. The concrete floor needs a wee bit of attention but that can wait.

The byre is also emptied. There's room for six cows - the old neck chains are still on some of the stalls. Emptying the looseboxes and byre meant more skip runs and an increase in "stuff" in the cart shed - at least it's moving in the right direction, though. Out.

We've abandoned the inflatable mattress in preference for a real one and we had a much better night's sleep. Our other job for this weekend (!) is to make a detailed list of what we want done in the house, for our builder.

The weather's still fabulous - some rain at night but glorious days. i wonder if it's always like this in Barry.