[Rosemary]

Russ, you do make me laugh. I should find all your funny posts and make a little book "Life of Russ" 

[in the hills]

We are at 800 ft and our land slopes steeply. Wouldn't have thought it possible for it to get so wet  . It is just squishy  ..... water oozes up through the grass as you walk.


An elderly neighbour at about 1000ft told me that for 51 years he has been able to say he had a dry farm but not this year ! ..... even his fields are sodden.


Think everyone must be in the same  .... BOAT.


OOHHHH ...... just think back to those distant days of drought. 

[Plantoid]

Look on the bright side suzieQ , knowing where the springs come up could be to your advantage in water supply and in laying drains.
Perhaps mark each source with a tall white marker post and accurately mark it  on a big scale map of your homestead in readines for planning your drainage .

[Lesley Silvester]

I would follow Tiz's suggestion but I don't have a TV to watch Eastenders.

I can't see how there can possibly be any more rain up there.  Roll on summer.

[Plantoid]

There could be another 6 inches of it from now till 23.59 hrs new years eve apparently . We certainly got our big wheel  barrow filled since 18 0.. yesterday  till 18 .00 ish today .

[Lesley Silvester]

And then how much after midnight?

[green grass]

Hi all,i ve enjoyed reading your rants and although it is not at all nice what you have had to put up with.I like many others would love to be in your poistion,but the nearest i ve got is 2 allotments on a priate site,so i have one plot in which i grow my fruit and veg and the other plot is where my 8 chickens and Sam the Harlequin x cockral live,plus my 2 Berkshire weaners are on order(not born til feb next)and im still trying to buy a couple of pygmy goats.It would be a dream come true to lay my hands on few acers of land round the city of Sheffield,but unless my numbers come up then i dont suppose i ever will.So may i wish you all a happy and drier new year and keep positive.....

[Bionic]

I have streams running through the field where there shouldn't streams. 
Apparently its the wettest year on record for England but only the 5th wettest for Wales. I can't believe that. I didn't hear a mention of Scotland so don't know where they stand.
The forecast is for a dry few days in the new year. I hope they are right.
Sally

[happygolucky]

Poor Russ, I can hear "White Rabbit playing from here"
We have no problems other than them horrid slugs, stopped them in the bedroom now, our house is build on the ground and there are voids everywhere so that's where we think they come up from, nothing worse than getting out of bed for a wee and treading on a slug...anyway, I put salt all around and under the carpet and no more, they are possibly all fried under the carpet now.....
Our chickens are fine too, all the gravel is dry and drains away so great, not so good for dog walking and my expensive wellies had a hole as soon as I bought them due to the forestry putting down huge stones ready for the big machinery, anyway, I have more boots now.
We are hoping to move one day but this house is good for being in a dry spot, it still rains but it all drains well here...just need a better coat when I have some more savings, anyway, it certainly made me cross a few houses of my wish list, one must be flooded all the time now.......its sold as well !!!!
 For those who grow stuff and keep animals, at least we have not had the bad frost YET and not too sure if too much rain is worse than too little!! anyway, hope 2013 has the perfect weather for us all!!

[jaykay]

Ok, next time I am even tempted to whinge about the rain and mud, and getting wet whilst feeding sheep, I will remember Russ having to wash his clothes in the river and put them back on   Yuk and brrrrr!

[Sylvia]

Rusty,I worry about you!! What do you have by way of heating? I know it's difficult to keep dry and, sometimes, it's easier to sit in wet,muddy clothes and lose yourself in a book,its  almost like hibernating, but do you have nowhere at all where you can dry out wet things?
I hate asking even close family for this favour when my clothes are caked with mud and I can easily swish things out in a bucket(having no river nearby ) but it's the drying that's the problem.
Absolutely  NONE of my family mind,I know, but I still hate asking 
I've been racking my brains to figure out a drying shed but have come up with nothing.
Anyway my  man, you keep well and as comfortable as you can. We  need you on here and would miss you sorely if you were ill.
 

[happygolucky]

I suppose you could go to the nearest supermarket and stand under the hand dryers for a while!!! I know a lot of people used to go to the library but supermarkets are good now, warm with toilets on hand and you do not have to be quiet!!!
 I am not sure how you can get anything dry without a dryer or heat of some sort!!

[Sylvia]

One solution I've come up with is to do all outside jobs naked   You could wear just a plastic mac to keep the worst of the cold  off and in  case you had a caller  and swoosh down under the hose when you've finished. I might try this tomorrow. It has to be more comfortable than soaking wet clothes!!

[Lesley Silvester]

I once tried drying wellies, having waded through a flood, under a hand dryer.  It overheated long before they were dry and I had to wait a while before i could continue.  Plus I wasn't very popular with other people who washed their hands but couldn't dry them since I'd knackered the dryer.

Sylvia if you have a plastic mac wouldn't that keep your cothes dry?  I used to have a set of water-proofs when I did more outside stuff.  The main problem was sweating inside them, which makes you wet anyway (and smelly).

[Sylvia]

MGM,I wore waterproofs today and came indoors with them covered in mud and a soaked jumper and shirt where the rain had run down my neck. The insides of my leggings were wet up to the knees so soggy trousers as well and no way of drying them     The driving rain gets in no matter how well got up you think you are
So, I shall try my experiment tomorrow and let you know if it makes life easier or not. (I think I'll  keep my knickers on though  )