The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: devonlad on October 20, 2013, 06:05:02 pm
-
have spent the last two weekends totally immersed in my lovely life. last weekend was spent with chain saw in hand taking out some large dead trees and hauling them up to the shed to turn into free firewood for the winter. This weekend has been a fabulous mixed bag which began yesterday morning with slathering up the ram and setting him about his tupping business ( is it ever so wrong to stand and watch ?) and then spent the remaining day and a half cutting back my huge hedge- have got the ingredients for a massive bonfire in a couple of weeks.
last week as a I was several hours into chain saw wielding my neighbour's friend appeared and after a few minutes of helping me drag some branches down to the bonfire site he said " I bet you long for the day you can pay someone to do all this for you ?" I looked at him with amazement- this is as good as it gets in my world, one of the great days. he didn't get it at all - got me thinking back to the days before I was lucky enough to live here with all this - weekends usually involved shops, and occasionally the gym, and often looking around for something to fill the time. if I get to Sunday evening and am not aching and covered in scratches then its not been a good weekend- just thought I'd ask- what's as good as it gets in your worlds ?
-
Spot on :excited:
-
Yup! Know exactly what you mean. We have been out today cutting peat for our rayburn.
lts wet so it weighs a ton, but what a buzz you get when its dry and you have free fuel, well worth the back ache. Usually done earlier in the year but didnt get round to it. Hard to explain the feel good factor to someone
who isnt a smallholder or the like. :farmer: We are very fortunate ! :thumbsup:
-
Well not exactly 'free' firewood , but not bought !
Chainsaw = £200 ish
chain oil = £5
petrol = £6
2 stroke oil = £5
safety gear = £50+
just being a pedant , lol .
I bought a bow saw once , £3 ish and an axe about £5 . That was about 30 years ago .
I must have a dozen or more bow saws and axes now , (they must breed in the shed !) , and just i lick with a file now and then keeps them going . The only fuel is a bowl of porridge or a cheese sarnie .
If a handle of an axe breaks i make another from home grown ash . If the blade of a bow saw goes beyond sharpening i make another from an old hand saw .
Cutting fallen wood most of the time here , then either use it on the fire or turn it into charcoal to heat the forge to temper the bow saw blade .
The ashes from the forge and the fire then go on the compost heap , the veg plot or the willow bed . The compost then goes into the ground that grows the oats for my porridge , or the ashes help the willow grow to provide wood for the fire or forge , and to make baskets to carry the wood to the fire , or food from the veg plot .
Can i hear Elton singing the circle of life in the background ? lol .
That's what keeps me going here ( not Elton or the song ) .
-
we got our licence for £56 and loads of wood that we were able to cut up with a bow saw, we have gone through some blades but enjoying the very cheap heat, plus tons of kindling that we just gathered while we walked the dogs...we have 2 big open fires and have not had the heating on in this big house, its cold when you go out the room but in the room too hot....hope to do the same when we move. I am always amazed at the amount of free wood is available, we have permission too!
-
If most of us could do half of what you do Rusty the world would be in a much better way, I know we can do it, we just convince ourselves we can't.
Your a credit to your country, you amaze us all.
-
I can understand that Devonlad, i think the big difference is... Its Yours, its your baby, everything you grow, rear, make...its for your little world...
when we where out in France, i had exactly the same feeling, :thumbsup:
and i can't wait to get that feeling back :excited:
-
Thanks for posting that Devonlad, you made me smile.
My trouble at the moment is that I have all "that" to do, plus a house to do up, plus a full time and more job. I really long for the day that I can do smallholding jobs without feeling as though I'm working against the clock all the time because there's so much to do.
Thanks for making me realise just how much I've got, as opposed to just how much I've got to do!!
-
thought it might ring a few bells- you're right of course rustyme but in the spirit of re-pedantry (??) chainsaw was a Christmas present two years ago so wood is slightly cheaper at least he he
-
We have also spent the weekend chopping and hauling dead trees from our woods for the log burner; sometimes in the pouring rain. Also clearing and pressure washing a barn now the swallows have gone (they don't half poo a lot!). We have loved every minute! Can't wait to get livestock after Christmas (have only recently moved in and need to save up again and pay a large tax bill first).
Helen
-
Done 3 ton yesterday all home made screw highdrolic log splitter belt on cellular saw and the log burner fire brick Lind
-
Well done devonlad , freebies are the besties !
The fuel tanker comes this christmas does it ? lol .
Funny thing happened the other day , i was walking to the land and passed someone i know , outside his house , chopping logs with a brand new axe .
He was a bit dangerous with the axe so i just said was it safe to pass ? He laughed and said that it was harder work than he thought .
I just said that it was a nice axe , and would keep him warm and get him fit . He said if i chopped the rest of the logs for him , i could have the bloody axe !
So i spent 15 minutes chopping logs , had a cup of tea and then carried on my way to the land , with my brand new axe over my shoulder .
I'll try to get him to plough his garden with 2 shire horses next time i pass lol .
-
:roflanim:
Not bad that must work out to about £70 an hour
-
My world....today the boat was running and we did 4 runs between Elgol and Loch Coruisk.
Super customers, not too busy, mild weather (polo shirt for me, fleece for the skipper), beautiful light, 2 great skua, 3 porpoise, 1 great northern diver and 3 red deer hinds on the shore.
Previous 3 days with a friend + sledge hammer reducing an 8m x 4m garage to easily moved pieces in preparation for the new 8m x 8m garage.
Day before that the wife and I moved, then erected, a load of security fencing to keep the cows away from the area of croft where our shipping container and various parts of the "ex garage" will be "stored".
Feeling healthy, achey, happy and worldy wealthy.
Aye, life IS good!
Rgds
Sskye.
-
Yes they say wood keeps you warm 3 times, once when you cut it and cart it, once when you chop it into logs, and once when you burn it.
Right with you Devon lad, some of my best days are working around the place. If I won the lottery I'd still be here chopping wood....I'd just have more time to do it !
-
I used to love the days of filling the Rayburn with free wood. Where we lived there was an old wooden pier. Every time there was a gale and the wind was in the right direction, the next morning the beach was covered with old stanchions and the air was alive with the sound of chainsaws. We only had a bow saw but still manage to acquire a lot of wood.
These days, my lovely life is still be able to look after my goats and I am so thankful that my lovely OH, who is a real townie (but still quite nice ;) ) is prepared to help me by carrying stuff and heaving me up and down from the milking bench. It was also a joy this year to be able to do my own garden since I've had the raised beds built. Those beans tasted wonderful and I have some squashes soon to be harvested. :excited:
-
Nice to appreciate the small things in life that do not cost lots of money, although we had some old wood given to us ages ago and it stunk the place out.....it was coated and possibly a bit toxic but we survived.......I like something to gather while on dog walks anyway...I take an Ikea bag out with me for kindling and sing to myself!
-
I do remember one occasion when the bit of pier I was burning must have had a hollow in it that was full of tar. Just as I opened the door to put more wood on, there was a loud BANG and bits of burning wood flew all over the room. One landed on the cat. Poor thing was fast asleep on the rug and the next minute I was beating her with a tea-towel. She must have wondered why I was angry with her but she was actually on fire. OPnly her fur though. The carpet came off worse.
-
I do remember one occasion when the bit of pier I was burning must have had a hollow in it that was full of tar. Just as I opened the door to put more wood on, there was a loud BANG and bits of burning wood flew all over the room. One landed on the cat. Poor thing was fast asleep on the rug and the next minute I was beating her with a tea-towel. She must have wondered why I was angry with her but she was actually on fire. OPnly her fur though. The carpet came off worse.
:roflanim: :roflanim: , thanks for the laugh.....when we moved my father in law and husband were in the garden getting rid of rubbish in the incinerator bin, as I lay in the hot bath I could smell the smoke and them laughing and suddenly remembered all the aerosol cans in the bin bags,,,,yes, a big bang but no one was hurt......just lots of ash everywhere!! that's me off to bed now I have had a giggle.....nite all you lot, our fire has long gone out and so has mine!
-
got me thinking about how we classify free in this life- Our hens for example recently bought themselves the wire and posts to extend their run, have paid for themselves in the first place and pay for their food. However we will probably never reclaim the initial setting up costs of hen house and wire/posts- perhaps "not bought" is a more accurate description.
You've also really got me thinking about those jobs that I happily do the "slow" way and those that I take the shortcut with. I own a strimmer but more often than not prefer a combination of scythe (£1 at farm sale) and billhook. last summer I scythed every thistle in a 4 acre field and then spent hours raking them all up and burning them. All summer we have been working away on a long term project to improve our parking. this has involved removing a hedge and bank, building a retaining wall and levelling all the ground behind it. it has been months of work with pick axe, spade and wheelbarrow and is still not finished- it was pointed out to me that I could have hired a digger and done the bulk of re-landscaping in a day- where's the fun in that ??. But now that I have a chain saw that works, my bow saw is rarely used and I can fill my log store in a weekend. It seems that some jobs I'm happy to take time over and others less so. As very small scale farmers we do not have most of the equipment a larger operation might have and therefore have no choice but to do some jobs the long winded way-good job its my hobby. My Christmas and birthday lists only ever contain stuff for working outside, and the list will outlive me i'm sure. This year i'm after some more sheep hurdles as our flock size increases so does the need for a bigger pen. will be writing to Santa Claus some time soon. at least my list isn't as daunting as the OH's- hers contains a tractor, a proper pig ark ( to replace my free-ish reclaimed pallet one) a cow shed and a Dexter cow. I on the other hand am sure she'd cope just as well with a new spade
-
A dexter cow ? you had better make that two, agricultural livestock must by law have a companion animal of the same species. :thinking:
-
devonlad, its all about what we like to do, some people spend fortunes on other things like plastic surgery, gambling, holidays, trinkets, drinking, eating out etc etc, thats their choice and it may or may not make them happy, at least your hobby gives you something back...not much is actually free I suppose but in my eyes, anything that makes you love life is worth millions! :thumbsup:
-
just to add, sometimes, as in the case of people with loads of things to do, using any form of help enables them to do more, even when I am making cake or bread I use a mixer, otherwise I would be in the kitchen too long and no time for my internet :innocent: . Time ticks on, so doing things the quickest way sometimes pays off so you can also get other things done. My husband has been working every day for ages, so unable to finish wood chopping, we may well end up hiring a chain saw or something as we both have no time, the last time I did the sawing, I sprained my ribs. Can Santa fit a Cow in a stocking? :innocent:
-
A dexter cow ? you had better make that two, agricultural livestock must by law have a companion animal of the same species. :thinking:
oh god- that sounds even more expensive- she's not reading this post if I can help it :'(
-
He was a bit dangerous with the axe so i just said was it safe to pass ? He laughed and said that it was harder work than he thought .
I just said that it was a nice axe , and would keep him warm and get him fit . He said if i chopped the rest of the logs for him , i could have the bloody axe !
Folk often don't realise how much hard work it is... A friend of mine has just bought a log splitter; to be fair, he had already spent a lot of time chopping, and with a full time job etc, he just didn't have time to do it all the hard way.
Mind you - I'd much prefer being out in the garden now - I'd even do the grass voluntarily - if somebody would offer to write this bl**dy essay for me! Argh! Why did I ever think it was a good idea to go back to uni?
(Only joking - I'll be ok once this is out of the way - I hope...)
-
I generally stick to hand tools for everything .
Reason being i can fix or even make most hand tools i need , making a 4x4 tractor or a digger is beyond me . So too is providing the fuel to run them and , buying the new spare parts to keep them going .
I do have horse ploughs and circular saws though !
The horse plough being powered , obviously , by a horse . A horse that , in theory , gets it's fuel from feed grown on site , grass , hay , oats, barley etc .
A horse can also provide it's own replacement , something i have yet to see a tractor do !
The circular saw needs power . This can be provided by an engine ,which needs fuel , or by water power , which just needs a waterwheel .
I have converted timber from tree to plank with 2 man saw and pit , but i then need another worker .
I have also planked trees with a one man hand saw . No problem if i only need to convert one tree , but a killer if i need to do more .
So , saw bench it is . I have old diesel engines , lister and petter , that use very little fuel , so it depends on what i have at the time .
An up and running water wheel , or the diesel engine that will run on any oil , cooking , heating , diesel , engine or even hydraulic , or any mix of the above .
So , for me , i prefer to use tools that i can get cheaply , or free , operate mainly by hand or power obtained on holding , horse , water and maybe a little home grown sunflower oil , or waste oil i get given .
Others prefer to go a different route and work to earn lots of money , that takes up hours of their time . They then 'need' a gadget or implement , for every job they do on the holding to save time . Time they spent earning the money to buy the implement blah blah blah !
Horses for courses .
-
We have spent days putting up a secondhand poly tunnel - on sloping land :roflanim: - in the :raining: . Buying it was one of my :idea: moments. I could write a book on this ::) .
-
Oh has invested in a circular saw?? thing with a rotating blade on or in a bench. Looks bloody dangerous to me but he spends many a happy hour cutting wood for our woodburner. Suprising what keeps a man happy!!
We had a good weekend, went to chard and picked up two ewes for our flock then on Sunday we sold a ram :excited: . so a good one i'd say.
Could do without the rain though :raining:
-
A dexter cow ? you had better make that two, agricultural livestock must by law have a companion animal of the same species. :thinking:
Care to reference what law exactly?
-
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69368/pb7949-cattle-code-030407.pdf (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69368/pb7949-cattle-code-030407.pdf)
Welfare of animals act :Ref the 5 freedoms.
1 freedom from hunger and thirst
- by ready access to fresh water and
a diet to maintain full health and vigour;
2 freedom from discomfort
- by providing an appropriate environment
including shelter and a comfortable
resting area;
3 freedom from pain, injury or disease
- by prevention or rapid diagnosis
and treatment;
4 freedom to express normal behaviour
- by providing sufficient space,
proper facilities and company of the
animals’ own kind;
5 freedom from fear and distress
- by ensuring conditions and treatment
which avoid mental suffering.
-
Oh feldar! You passed the door :wave: - and the kettle was on!
-
............ he didn't get it at all - got me thinking back to the days before I was lucky enough to live here with all this - weekends usually involved shops, and occasionally the gym, and often looking around for something to fill the time. if I get to Sunday evening and am not aching and covered in scratches then its not been a good weekend- just thought I'd ask- what's as good as it gets in your worlds ?
I manage to do all my farm/sheep work, go to the gym, Rugby training and play the odd match on Saturday. :P
-
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69368/pb7949-cattle-code-030407.pdf (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69368/pb7949-cattle-code-030407.pdf)
Thanks for that document, which I am familiar with.
If I could just draw your attention to the title page:
"Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock"
There is a big difference between a code of Recommendations, and something which is "against the law"!
Welfare codes do not lay down statutory requirements.
However, livestock farmers and employers are required by law to ensure that all those attending to their livestock are familiar with, and have access to, the relevant codes. Although the main aim of the welfare codes is to encourage farmers to adopt high standards of husbandry, they may also be used to back up legislative requirements.
Where a person is charged with a welfare offence, failure to comply with the provisions of a welfare code may be relied on by the prosecution to establish guilt.
The text in the shaded boxes boxes within the code of recommendations, is the law as it stands on the date that the code was published.
There is nothing which states the keeping of a single animal is against the law.
-
Well if you already knew that why didn't you post it? what pedantic idiot has the time or inclination to troll through reams of government crap , I don't , I just select the relevant bits that I think apply to me , And if that isn't law then why is it on the document ?. Why the hell can't these bodies just have black and white rules instead of accountant mentality jargon ? :rant:
-
I manage to do all my farm/sheep work, go to the gym, Rugby training and play the odd match on Saturday. :P
I think I've become a little (or very) sad, in that anything that keeps me away from being at home and working on my land feels like an unwanted intrusion which I resent. I'm sure that it is possible as you state, to do everything necessary to keep the livestock and farm going and do other things. When we moved here 4 years ago we acquired our lovely little cottage along with an adjacent field ( which we bought separately). at that time there was no viable fencing for livestock, no shelters, no pig house no lambing shed and a huge neglected garden. "The project" as we tend to call it has involved developing what we have into something much more usable. we now have chicken runs, field shelters a lambing shed, a huge vegetable garden and orchard as well as a cottage garden. the field is properly fenced and also divided into separate paddocks so we can rotate stock and also keep pigs. The lane was too narrow to get anything bigger than a car down, so that has been widened, hedged moved and laid- all done by hand and all done by us. On top of this we have a huge quantity of dead or dying wood to be processed for the fire and future projects include creating a wildlife pond at the wettest part of the field, building a cowshed and levelling a large area of ground so that it will be easier to get a baler in to the field in future. We have just started on our building extension to create a large utility room at the back of the house which although is being built for us will require a huge re-landscaping of the cottage garden as well as an ongoing project to move tonnes of earth to create somewhere better to park the cars and trailers. The list of "projects" is endless. I'm sure we could stop developing tomorrow and live with what we've got- I could get my golf clubs out of the loft and go back to a different way of living. Right now, nothing fills me with as much pleasure and drive as the work we do here. Just over a year ago I stated a new job, which carried with it a few perks, one of which was gym membership. A couple of months in a new colleague asked if I'd be interested in going to the gym with him of an evening. My reply I'm afraid is that if I've got enough energy to do that then there's probably a few fence posts that need banging in instead-
-
Well if you already knew that why didn't you post it? what pedantic idiot has the time or inclination to troll through reams of government crap , I don't , I just select the relevant bits that I think apply to me , And if that isn't law then why is it on the document ?. Why the hell can't these bodies just have black and white rules instead of accountant mentality jargon ? :rant:
Pardon me! Simple answer being you made a statement which it turns out was incorrect, but required double checking to see if you knew something no-one else was aware of!
For starters, I would have thought that anyone advertising as a course provider has a duty of care to ensure the information they impart is factual, and not a personal interpretation manipulated to suit their own ends.
If you're going to comment on an issue it pays to bear in mind that somewhere there'll be a "pedantic idiot" who has taken the time and trouble to wade through the "government crap", or has a degree of experience on other issues which permits them to comment, hopefully to benefit others and in order to prevent further confusion or misunderstanding.
Simple answer is to read the document in its entirety, then query the content with the department concerned who will advise if your own interpretation of the "relevant bits" are correct, either legally or as a recommendation.
-
Some people were born to be penpushing pedantics- I was not , I deal in practicalities . The people that make these rules and regulations up have never slept in a stable and helped a mare through a difficult birth , or or spent hours unfreezing pipes so their animals had water , I would rather show novices how to do the job rather than how to fill a form in, far more important to get that right than polishing a desk.
-
Apologies if it's a private conversation ;) I thought the whole point of introducing welfare codes for animals/livestock was to make the prosecution of those mistreating animals more possible. It seems that whilst anyone with half a brain would know what maltreatment looks like it was necessary to clarify exactly what an animals rights were before you could charge someone with abusing those rights. The intention seems honourable enough , though the finished product does sound as if it was cooked up in an office far away from anything vaguely animally and sounds woolly and toothless.
-
....and if it's woolly and toothless, don't buy that sheep either.... Herd and flock animals are just that...and should not be kept in a solitary lifestyle, they need companions to communicate with . Common sense does not come from a book.
-
....and if it's woolly and toothless, don't buy that sheep either.... Herd and flock animals are just that...and should not be kept in a solitary lifestyle, they need companions to communicate with . Common sense does not come from a book.
Nobody is disputing that .........
Simply contesting a statement that was not in fact - correct! :tired:
-
I f you like " correcting incorrect statements " so much - why don't you get a job at No 10 ?
:innocent:
-
Final whistle peeps. I think we've clearly established the facts about the legalities of keeping a cow by itself, and hopefully the welfare issues that may not make it strictly "illegal" but do make it something that shouldn't be done as a matter of routine, and certainly not as a permanent arrangement.
The rest of this discussion please take off-line, and let's get back on topic to devonlad's appreciation of the life many of us on here are so lucky to enjoy.
Thanks for your attention, in case the above wasn't clear enough, I don't want to hear another word about who said what to whom when about what or I'll have to get the whacking stick out. :thumbsup:
-
You pair need putting on the naughty step......what a lovely life :innocent:
-
One of the things we make a point of doing is making time to stop and look at stuff. It's too easy to walk through a field with your head down looking for thistle and not see the rainbow. If you're stuck in an office, factory or shop when do you have the opportunity to stop and look at a dragonfly hunting around the pond or a bumble bee shoving its way into a runner bean flower or a lamb's tail waggling when it finds its lost dam?
-
Since being ill I appreciate my dog walks more - I no longer go on a fast walk to keep up with them(can't anyway now :'( ) I saunter through totally fenced Forestry grounds so that my little hunters can still run free and do what they were bred for, and I can admire the newly planted trees and shrubs and look forward to seeing how they have grown as the years come and go. :excited:
-
Although I don't get out and about like I used to, I do get to sit in my armchair and watch the birds at the feeders - several goldfinches visit regularly - and see the changing seasons in the garden. Ok we do live in a built up area, but it's not difficult to focus on the contents of the garden and not what's the other side of the fence.
-
Oh feldar! You passed the door :wave: - and the kettle was on!
That's it next time i'm calling in!! we could have done with a cuppa. :innocent: