[Lesley Silvester]

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. 

[happygolucky]

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!

[Lesley Silvester]

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.

[happygolucky]

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.

, 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!
 

[devonlad]

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

[tizaala]

A dexter cow ? you had better make that two, agricultural livestock must by law have a companion animal of the same species.

[happygolucky]

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!
 

[happygolucky]

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  . 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?

[devonlad]

A dexter cow ? you had better make that two, agricultural livestock must by law have a companion animal of the same species.

oh god- that sounds even more expensive- she's not reading this post if I can help it 

[Ina]

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...)

[RUSTYME]

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 .

[Bramblecot]

We have spent days putting up a secondhand poly tunnel - on sloping land - in the  .  Buying it was one of my moments.  I could write a book on this .

[feldar]

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  . so a good one i'd say.
Could do without the rain though

[midtown]

A dexter cow ? you had better make that two, agricultural livestock must by law have a companion animal of the same species.

Care to reference what law exactly?

[tizaala]

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.