Hi
I'm Michelle - or Spinpup. That's because I love spinning my dogs' fur. We have 2 big Rough Collies and a little German Spitz. Their fur spins beautifully 1/2 and 1/2 with sheep's fleece.
My ex-husband was a wood turner, so an awful lot of the house and furniture is made of wood!
I have 2 adult children, who help with the hens
, dogs
, chopping wood and keeping the ever-hungry wood burner fed. We have 2 woodburners - the best being a large Esse. The smaller one is in the dining room so we only use that when we have company.
I'd always wanted a smallholding so decided to start right where I am, in a semi in Lancashire. Our garden is wide and quite long, so plenty of room. I have the bottom 1/4 fenced off for hens - Warrens, Light Sussex & Ex-battery hens. There are trees in there so they're happy and productive.
I'm currently investigating the possibilities of aquaponics. It makes sense, especially with the cost of everything going up so much. We're vegetarian so wouldn't eat the fish though!
We're pretty self-sufficient in the summer. We have 2 large wooden raised beds and loads of planters and pots dotted around. That's because our soil is rubbish for growing anything other than bamboo and willow. It's heavy clay and often waterlogged. Fruit trees don't do too badly, especially the ones next to bamboos, which keep the fruit trees from getting their feet too soggy. We have 3 big compost bins, which give us loads of compost, thanks to the hens contributions, but I'm still learning about compost - I find it much more difficult than local councils would have us believe!
I'm a part-time IT teacher and full-time writer so have plenty of time at home to put off working by seeing to the animals and plants.
Have quite a few traditional hobbies which fit in with our as-self-sufficient-as-possible lifestyle:
- Making willow baskets - have planted some to produce our own. Want to try making live willow structures, looking for a suitable course.
- Wool crafts - spinning, knitting, crochet, felting.
- Card-making
- Jewellery making
- Baking/making - bread, yoghurt (goats is our favourite), wine & beer brewing
As well as other hobbies:
- Swimming
- Reading
- Writing
- Computers
I'm passionate about camelids
and would love to have llamas one day. I grew up around horses
so a couple of Clydesdales wouldn't go amiss either! I learnt to ride on a beautiful, placid Shire, absolutely love the big heavy breeds.
I'm currently on a low-carb diet, so am chitting some Vivaldi potatoes - they were bred to be higher protein than most varieties. It will be a great excuse to overeat when they're harvested!
I used to run a training company with my son but we closed last summer - with debts. We're in danger of losing the house (because the creditors know we have equity built up in it). My biggest regret, if it happens, will be the loss of the garden. But we're staying positive and working hard to keep it. If the worst happens we are very tempted to rent somewhere more rural. If anyone hears of any smallholdings or houses with large gardens for rent we'd be grateful if you could let us know!
Looking forward to getting to know people on here, it seems a friendly forum, and contributing/learning loads.
Michelle [Spinpup]
Topic: Hi from Lancashire! (Read 4740 times)
