Monday 1st October š
I made a batch of tomato soup last night ready for my lunch today, it simmered slowly on the Rayburn hob, lovely. I got thinking about the green tomatoes and looking at something a bit different, enchilada sauce seems like a good way to go, not that we eat enchiladas but the children do so I will give it away, and invite myself for dinner when they make them lol. I also made another batch of granola, with walnuts, almonds and maple syrup this time and a pinch of cinnamon š
This morning is one of those beautiful sunny mornings with a hint of mist early on so itās going to be another lovely day. Just as well because the first job on my list apart from animals is to get my bedroom cleaned, yes kids, even adults have to do their bedroom š For some reason that we have never fathomed it gets very dusty, very quickly and drives me mad, so strip everything, wash everything, Hoover everything, polish everything, job done, almost, because the windows need a clean. Now donāt get me wrong Iām not someone who is fastidious about smear less, sparkling windows but I do like to be able to see out of them š¤£š¤£ especially this time of year when the early morning sun beams in through them. The extra blankets go in the wash then itās out to collect eggs and remember the price increase from today.
I made a lamb hot pot for dinner tonight, we have quite a few bits of lamb breast to use up so it may be a favourite on the menu this winter, for this one I actually used a small shoulder and from the writing on the packaging it looks like it was one of ours, in fact it will be mutton so should taste amazing. It was going to be a cobbler but I donāt have any GF flour so just in case Charlie wants some, I have done it without the ācobblesā if she doesnāt I canāt easily knock up some dumplings and pop them in halfway through cooking š
Had a bit of flour to use up some I made some batches of crumble mix for the freezer and a few dumplings hopefully to use later.
My body, at last seems to have caught up with my mind and I am finding I can work easily and without swellings and ache and pains at the end of the day, having said that I can feel my thumbs starting to ache but a couple of ibrufen should sort that out.
After my delicious tomato soup for lunch I got on with sorting out the greenhouse. When we decided to get a new one I cleared it all out and stored the stuff I wanted to keep, throwing out anything I didnāt want. Moving it all back in again was lovely, it felt comfortable and familiar so Iām not in the least bit disappointed. I had got rid of the mish mash of staging I had so I need to sort something else out, we have plenty of wood so it shouldnāt be hard, I started looking at greenhouse interiors to give me ideas and that led onto looking at passive solar and now Iām looking at ways to achieve that! With almost everything out itās easier to begin again with what I really need to put in, black water tanks for heat storage will be a definite and gravel or slabs on the ground to increase thermal mass & insulate the North facing lower panels, we need to remove some of the tree branches that are blocking out the sun rays on the South side and Bobs your uncle, it should be a whole lot betterš
Tuesday: My day to have Mia so out early to get the feeding done, I wonder how many customers read the memo about no egg collections on Tuesdays š there are plenty of eggs out there from yesterday though so itās ok if a few still come.
We watched the BBC 1 programme āDrowning in Plasticā , I am not easily shocked but itās horrifying, what have we done to the world ā¹ļø
Wednesday: Lovely day with an even temperature, quite pleasant. I have been working in the garden, more tidying and hoeing etc, I pulled up the rest of the outdoor tomatoes and put all the green ones in the poly tunnel, they may ripen, they may not but at the temps are set to dip at the weekend I figured they were nearing the end anyhow. I weeded the brassica cage and that was two jobs in one as the rabbits had a feast of weeds and now the ground is clear. They are still producing loads of florets and the leaves are still nice and green, mostly, I am going to see how long they keep on producing for. I cut back (hacked actually) the kiwi in the fruit cage as it has got a bit out of control, as yet it has never produced a fruit but it adds a good bit of cover and foliage for the time being, maybe one year when all the conditions are right it will surprise me š The torts are still awake though not eating much at all now, the daytime temperatures are pretty warm so itās no surprise they are still awake but that should begin to change over the next couple of weeks and when they no longer wander around I will put them into a straw filled hutch and then the hutch will go into the shed. I know these are used to fridge hibernation but I have never done that before and was worried about it so decided to stick to what I know. I cut the lawn which will probably be the last cut this year, I also got round to putting some pieces of wood along the barked area so that the chickens donāt keep scratching it out onto the lawn, every time I cut I have to rake the bark off the lawn first and have been meaning to put up a small barrier for a couple of years, job done finally.
I ordered myself some screws, they will be hidden along with my screwdriver bits so that I actually have some to hand when I need them instead of sorting through buckets of old, knackered, rounded off, screws, John says, āyou can have theseā yes cos they are no bloody good thatās why, cheers for that š
Quick rest at lunchtime then back out to plant a couple more shrubs and a tree, then time to pick up and sort eggs, even though they have gone up the sales have not declined in the least!
Then I ran out of steam š at this point it would be mice to sit down with a cuppa and a slice of cake but I havenāt made any for ages so itās a banana instead š My foot is giving me jip today, the upper surface of it, when I had the flare. Apart from my two fingers that went numb so did the skin on my left foot, it seems to have started to go back to normal feeling but itās stinging in the process. My little finger is still not quite back to normal yet and the nail beds have also died back about 1/3 from the top of my finger, I tell you the body can do some pretty awful things to you that when it wants to.
I keep meaning to tell you about the āloofahā washing up thingy, the first bit I used has only just gone into the compost bin this week, I canāt find the original blog but it must have been around June time so it lasted approx 4 months, pretty good going I think, I have now cut a new piece š
I made an Eves pudding as a treat, I was going to do crumble but thought that was a bit boring, itās similar ingredients just a different set up š
Lovely evening with a super pink sunset š
Thursday: A pleasant enough morning, one that doesnāt need a coat, the sun is not out but the temps are not cold. āwhat jobs are you doing todayā John asked this morning, weāll pick a job, any number of them really but while the weather is kind Iād better chose an outdoor one so this morning I will be cleaning out the pens/huts in the orchard, washing out water and food bowls, raking the floors, 5 huts and 2 rabbit pens.
Mum came over early morning and did some gardening while I carried on with the cleaning out etc, I let the light Sussex out for the very first time, itās all bit new for them and there were a couple of scraps but they settled down eventually.
We sat and had coffee about 11.30 and ate some wet walnuts as a snack, delicious, I am still picking them up despite saying I wouldnāt, I can help it, I donāt want to see them going to waste, sometimes I stand on a few so the chickens can pick at them.
Just as well I keep collecting them because I had to throw a tray out, the bottom tray of the stack had mould, probably due to lack of airflow so I have put an empty tray underneath to stop it happening again, mould and nuts are not a good combination and even though it only looks like itās on the outside it will have got inside so better safe than sorry.
We have had a couple of reports of a drone flying over the village on two separate occasions this week, one was yesterday near me but although I was outside all morning I didnāt see or hear anything. It un nerves people because this is the criminals latest way of finding out what is on a property, and as we are in such close proximity to the air base both the police and air traffic control are keen to find out who is flying it.
Friday: Overcast but pleasant. Occasionally I set to a job that was never in my plan for for the day, not that I ever have much of a plan but a vague idea of what I want to get done. Today on a whim I decided to get the mĆ©nage sorted, normally throughout the Spring and Summer I weed killer it to keep it tidy but this summer I had not been able to and itās out of control. I did weedkiller it about a month ago but it needed doing again and it will need another go in a couple of weeks or itās just going to end up as waste land. While I was about it and the creosote was to hand I thought I might as well start creosoting the timbers as well, this is no small job š and I have managed to do one whole end, inside and out and it looks pretty good, just another three sides to go š¤Ŗ I have definitely go some of my mojo back or I wouldnāt have even attempted it. It is due to rain tomorrow and hopefully Sam will be over later to drag the fields if not I will have to coax John into doing it tonight!
Sam did come over and we managed to get the drags on the back of the tractor so that job is done. Shelley, Josh and Flo came over and Josh bought over an apple crumble made with his own hands (Mummy assures me he washed them first š)
Spoke too soon about the mojo though lol, my legs are aching like crazy, a cuppa and some inbrufen is in order.
When John came home he had to get the drags back off the tractor as Sam couldnāt undo them, they are very heavy chains and once they have been bouncing around the field they are difficult to undo!
We had Joshās crumble for pudding, delicious, he loves his food and more than that he loves home grown and home cooked food, he is always delighted when I ask him if he wants to take some tomatoes or cucumbers home, ooo yes please Nana lol. Mia on the other hand will try stuff but usually spits it out š¤£ ah well as long as she tries, thatās the main thing.
Did a quick bit of shopping this evening and stood chatting to a neighbour outside the shop, I couldnāt believe how mild it was at 8pm on an October evening.
Saturday: Itās peeing down, canāt say we werenāt warned and looking at the forecast itās in for the day, we do need it though, I canāt tell you how dry everything is, Iāve never know a year as dry as this one. Tomorrow looks to be dry though, so itās not the āonce it gets here it never leavesā scenario we usually have š
John did most of the animals this morning, I did the orchard lot as usual, when the clocks change it will be my turn to do the lot as it will be dark when he leaves in the morning and dark when he gets home at night. It will be rainy day jobs today, I have plenty to choose from, apple processing, cleaning, chutney making, John will probably tackle the end bay in the hay barn or the back area which needs a quick tidy. This afternoon we are off to have drinks and cake with a 90 year old Uncle who is still very spritely, in fact I think he still swims on a daily basis š
Well John didnāt pick a job in the dry in fact he didnāt pick a job at all which didnāt really sit well with me but I guess time off now and again is needed and tomorrow is supposed to be dry so hopefully he will do something then š I did a batch of tomato purĆ©e for the freezer then a bucketful of apples.
A good evening to light the Rayburn but it seems she is not having any of it today either! It took three goes at lighting to get her going and now she is busy crackling away, I think my longing for the flick of a thermostat is getting stronger each year š
Digging about in the bottom of the freezer this morning I found an aitchbone joint of beef which has been in the slow cooker for quite a few hours, what a treat, will probably have it with mashed potato and some carrots from the garden.
Sunday: Bright and dry but chilly this morning. We had a hot air ballon over us this morning, normally they are a bit further in the distance but this one was right over the field next door and then landed in the field over the road, John said he saw about 3 of them when he was driving back from his Mums so it must have been the perfect weather for them. I lit the Rayburn mid morning to take the chill off the place, she went first time today š
At the minute John is up the back burning some of the debris from tidying up the wood pile, there is quite a bit still to burn.
I am suffering a bit today as bits of me ache all over and I have no idea why?
So the sun came out and now itās boiling indoors with the Rayburn going as well šš
John cleaned out the chickens in the afternoon and I moved the tortoises to inside the greenhouse where I can keep an eye on when they slow right down ready to hibernate. Then I decided to get the area ready that they will go into once they wake up again in spring, it needed a couple of things planted in there and some low fencing around the outside so they canāt escape. We have plenty of wood š¤£ so I set about re using some of it, I need to build a couple more pieces before we set it in place next week, then it will be ready when they are next year. Itās quite a big area under the crab apple tree next to the decking, I have put a hut in there for them and some paving slabs so they can heat themselves up, planted a shrub and some herbs for food and shade, I just need to get a deep enough dish for water which will have big pebbles in it, put in a couple of hiding places and maybe a tree stump or two and then it should be tortoise heaven.
frieslandfarm (flowers) 