Tag: self sufficient

Posted in Friesland Farm

Happy New Year 😁

Posted on by frieslandfarm

I hope you have all had a lovely festive time and I wish you a very happy 2022. We still have Covid (who would have thought it 🙄) but we are getting to grips with living with it on a daily basis, let’s hope this year coming is a little more like life used to be 😁

We have wined and dined, loved and laughed, rested and recuperated, felt grateful for what we have, watched endless Christmas tv and generally had a fabulous time. All the while of course, we have had to continue doing the daily routines with animal feeding and care no matter what day it was but that is ok it’s what we signed up for.

I have also spent some considerable time thinking about how we move forward with the Smallholding this coming year. I had mused over cut flowers and that is still very much part of the plan I just need to put it into practice now. As well as the usual bunches of flowers I saw a lovely jam jar posy while I was researching and thought ‘oooo yes, I like those’ they very much they fit in with the ethos here, the jam jars can be returned time and time again for refilling, they are small enough to fit on any table or surface if you don’t have a large enough area for a full vase of flowers and all kinds of up-cycled embellishments can be used including the customers own if they want a particular ribbon used, yep I really like this idea, ‘Flowers @ Friesland Farm’ is in its newborn phase 🥰 Locally grown, no pesticides or artificial fertilisers used, minimal miles, grown with love and pride, doesn’t get better than that does it 😁 Add to that the plants I divide or grown from seed to sell at the gate and the direction for the year is looking good, just got to hope the weather is kind 😜

Betwixtmas: 😂 We we’re not idle (not all the time anyway) over the holidays, the chickens and ducks keep on laying, the horses need checking over, the other non laying lot still need feeding and watering as do the dogs and cats as well as ourselves. We have been busy most days with cleaning out and cleaning up, the huts that the birds were moved out of when the avian flu came have now been cleaned and power washed. The hard standing has been cleared of leaves and debris and power washed, the leaves all over the driveway have been raked and piled under the trees and we have been moving woodchip onto the paths in the garden. We also moved plenty of barrowfuls to the orchard where the ground deteriorated very quickly once the rain came. When the weather permitted we worked on the veg garden to get ahead ready for spring, putting home made compost on the beds, harvesting leeks, carrots and beetroots, we still have kale and cabbages in the ground, the broad beans are growing nicely as are the garlic and onions. Flower bulbs are beginning to appear which is always a lovely sign that the wheel keeps on turning. There were also plenty of times when we sat and watched a film or saw family and ate up all the festive food 🥰 No matter how hard I try not to have too much food in, there always seems to be too much, none of it is wasted though. John had bubble and squeak on Boxing Day and I have three more portions frozen as well as cooked veg which will make soup at some point. I have some cake from an unexpected visit that I also froze because we have Christmas cake and Christmas pudding to eat up first and of course plenty of chocolate to get through 🤪

Once all the festive food is used up I have set myself a bit of a challenge (in fact I have started it even though we still have stuff left) I am not doing ‘veganuary’ but I am intending to make vegetables as much, if not the biggest, part of our meals. Sounds easy right but I also want to use seasonal and mostly what I have grown myself, this is a lot easier said than done. I searched for some inspirational recipes online but most of them overlook the seasonal and there are plenty of ingredients that have come from far flung corners of the world which I want to avoid. So you see keeping it interesting is a challenge. I will be using store cupboard goods that I have already such as rice and pasta (though I could make my own pasta if I run out) As it is winter then soup is the easiest go to lunch, packed with home grown veg, very nutritious and healthy which is what is needed after the indulgences lately.

The first recipe was lovely and lacto-vegetarian (it seems there are different versions of vegetarianism) John did not eat this 😂 but I fried off some butternut squash (cubed) along with some garlic and some dried sage in olive oil. Fry just enough to get them coated and then add a splash of water to flash cook until the squash is soft, then add chopped mushrooms until it all caramelises, add to cooked pasta and I crumbled blue cheese on top though you could use whatever cheese you like such as Parmesan. Twas delicious I have to say and what’s more it felt like comfort food which is all the more important during the winter months. I also got some vegetable soup going in the slow cooker, turnip, butternut squash, carrots and onions from the garden, I added celery (which I had bought for Christmas) some mushrooms and some peas, veg stock, bouillon powder and pepper. Cooked it down for a good few hours until everything was soft then turned it off overnight, blitzed it and reheated in a pan for lunch the next day, delish and I felt I had already had my five for the day 😁 Let’s hope I can keep up the momentum 😝

Butternut squash quickly fried in olive oil with garlic and sage, add water to flash cook, once soft add mushrooms and cook, add to cooked pasta and crumble cheese of your choice on top 🥰

New Year’s Eve went without a bang this year in fact we went to bed at 11.30 lol, well it arrives wether you wait up to see it or not doesn’t it and I think it was pretty muted everywhere this year. New Year’s Day we started off well, John started to build a plant table for me, for the plants I will have for sale this year coming and I sorted out all the pots of English Bluebells which will be the first plants to go out, and then it started to rain quite heavily 🙄 So we came in for coffee and waited for the rain to stop, it didn’t, so we took down the Christmas decorations and hoovered and polished instead 😝 Years ago I would have cooked a roast dinner on NYD but ever since the kids were late teens and too hungover the next day, I haven’t bothered. The place looks bare with the docs down and I can’t remember what went where beforehand 🤷‍♀️ but it’s a job done and quite literally ‘dusted’ 😝 sorry, not sorry.

I have been through all my seeds to see what I needed to get, turns out I have rather a lot of them and don’t need much else at all. For the few seeds I did want, we popped to the garden centre to get them there, I also picked up some first early seed potatoes. I am good to go now and as always I am chomping at the bit but I also know it doesn’t pay to get started too early. Our weather at the minute is ridiculously warm, 17c which is insane for Winter but I am also aware that it can take a real plummet at any point and if I have over sown I will be struggling for space so it’s best to hold fire and wait a while. There are a few things I can get started, some extra broad beans, there is still time to sow those and on the flower front, sweet peas can still be started off now.

Sunday: The weather was kinder today up until just after lunch, we got busy, John finished the plant table while I sorted out more plants to put out for sale. Once that was sorted and John cleared up the wet leaves on the drive he came to help me on the bed that was the herb bed and needs clearing. It has taken quite a while, many of the bigger herbs such as fennel and lovage had very big strong roots and I needed to wait for the ground to be soft enough to dig them up. There were a few other things to salvage, ice plants which I have potted up and will move to the tortoise run for them to feed on, a blackcurrant sage which I wanted to get out in good condition, that has now been replanted elsewhere and also a large patch of aster which has now been dug up and divided into many plants 😁 On the whole the area is now ready to clear ready to put grass down. The project after that which is also rattling round in my head at the same time is the cut flower patch, forming a plan on what to put in and how many of each plant. John and I also talked about putting the patch in the front paddock but we decided that for this year it will be better in the veg garden and we will work towards moving it next year. The idea being that it gets sun all day, it can be seen and even accessed on a pick your own basis if needs be plus it will look lovely but I need to see how well this year does before investing in fencing etc.

Have a great week, still one more bank holiday to go 😁

Posted in Friesland Farm

Dizzy, another storm & getting my stores in.

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 6th December: Today was a bit of a write off, I went out and did the morning rounds but started feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous halfway round, that feeling didn’t leave me all day and so apart from the absolute basics I didn’t do anything except sit or lie down. I was hoping it would pass quickly, I had the same thing on Sunday morning which went after about an hour but this time it didn’t shift until around 2pm. So I didn’t get anything done at all really and am hoping it’s a passing thing.

Tuesday: I haven’t got the dizziness today but I still feel a bit like my head is a dough ball. That I can cope with, the dizziness not so much, I am guessing it’s sinus related and that it doesn’t last too long. Going from the warm, out to the cold and then back into the warm makes it worse. It was a lot colder than I thought when I did the morning rounds, it didn’t look that cold but my fingers and toes were telling me something different 🙄 We have another storm warning, high winds, cold weather, possibly snow, at the minute it is quite calm but likely to be a different story by the end of the day. I would have liked to get on with doing the rest of the pantry but we only just picked up the door yesterday and I don’t want to put any food source in there until I can keep any animals out, cats, dogs and mice included, so that will have to wait, John is putting the door on when he come home from work later. I think I may make mince pies today, seems like a good day to get that done and another thing I can tick off my list.

Early evening we got the door lining in and the door on the pantry so it is pretty much finished now, I am super chuffed with it. Everything in there is something we already had, it looks like it’s been there for years which was the intention and I have plenty of space to be able to store everything I am going to grow next year plus hang dried flowers and stock up on extra things that I can’t usually get in the kitchen cupboards, yep happy, happy me 🥰

Now I have the space I have ordered some apples direct from an orchard in the UK, I have long since finished my apples as there were not that many. My intention is to do the same with whatever produce I can as well as oranges direct from the grower in Spain, I am cutting out the middlemen that make a big fat profit while producers get paid a pittance for their goods. At least if I do that then all the money goes to the farmers, growers and producers and not the supermarket chains.

Wednesday: Windy today and cold rain with it at times, I got the morning jobs sorted and then out to do the morning feeding and watering. I just got back in when Sam called to see if I wanted to go to the garden centre, the twins were at nursery and it is one of the first times she has had a morning to herself since they were born so off we went 😁 When I got back I sorted through the Christmas presents I have already got so that when I go shopping on Friday (I made John book a day off 😂) I will know what I still need to get. Then I started sorting through things to put in the pantry, I have things all over the place and so it will be great to have it all in one place and know where it is and what I have got. I am going to have a field day next year, drying, dehydrating, pickling, jamming, jarring and storing oodles and oodles of different things. I have started a list of different combinations of jams, dehydrated vegetables for soup mixes (thus relying less on the freezer) yep the pioneer women in me will be in her element 😂 I will definitely be hoping for the best but preparing for the worst case scenario as you never know what is around the corner. A bit ott maybe? But maybe not 🤔 China are the biggest producers of tin cans in the world and they are having crisis after crisis with energy supplies which in turn means they keep shutting down factories, including the tin can ones. You may think that won’t affect you but the knock on effect is that there will be a shortage of them, knock again means there will not be as many tinned products on the shelf, people start buying dried goods, shortages occur, people start panic buying or stocking up, the supply chain is easily affected all the way to us as individuals. You only have to look at the fuel panic to see how quickly things get ridiculous, whichever way things pan out, I will either have plenty to keep us fed or plenty to keep us going if needs be. Being prepared is not about being a weirdo with a massive underground bunker stocked with supplies (although I admit that would be awesome 😝) it is about looking ahead and asking yourself ‘what would I do if ? happened) and then trying to give yourself a buffer against that scenario. In the last twenty years that kind of thinking has completely fallen by the wayside and we have a ‘live for today culture’ which on the surface of it is fine but hopefully we have plenty of tomorrow’s ahead of us as well so it makes sense to look beyond today, I guess a lot will find that out the hard way eventually 😏

In the afternoon as well as doing the usual I also got the horses in, the farrier is coming at 9am tomorrow and I don’t want to be under pressure when Jack starts to give me the run around in the paddock🙄

Thursday: Had to be up and about pretty sharpish this morning so I could get the morning rounds done before the farrier arrived. I was halfway through them when he turned up early lol lucky that I did get the horses in overnight then. Jack was a right prat today, normally he is good as gold for the farrier but not today 😏 he messed him about a fair bit and then once he had finished and moved on to do biscuit Jack decide to lob his hay net at my back while I was talking, no idea how he managed to get it undone let alone toss it in my direction 😂 he was ‘hoofing’ the ground and snorting, very impatient to get back out to the paddock. Once I took him back out there he had a good welly around to get it out of his system.

Once the farrier had gone I got on with the rest of the rounds and skipped out the stables so they are ready for next time they need to come in. Next I was due to have my hair cut but the hairdresser had messaged me the night before to say she had double booked me with an mot for her car lol, that’s fine, it gave me breathing space that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. The reason for that was because Sam was arriving with the twins much earlier than usual today, it was Mia’s Christmas play and as with most schools only one person from the family was allowed to attend so that meant the twins needed to be looked after. They came over just after lunch and they too were in high spirits today, must be something in the air! I had the twins right through to around 5.30 and I honestly don’t know how Samantha copes, it’s pretty simple with one toddler but with two that go in different directions, are much more nimble than I am and so that much faster it’s like trying to catch a room full of bouncing balls 😂 I just stop one from doing one thing and the other is already up to something they shouldn’t be and added to that George has quickly worked out the round and round the table game when he doesn’t want to be caught 🤪

Once they had all gone home I could make my dinner and relax for the evening that’s the beauty of being a grandparent, the children go home and are someone else’s hard work 😁

Friday: John has more or less finished for Christmas now and so I had booked him for the day to go Christmas shopping in Oxford. We got the animals all done and off we went, might as well stayed at home really as the shop didn’t have what I wanted and I sat in the coffee shop and ordered it online to be delivered 😂 We did actually get a few other things but it was hard going, no wonder the high street is suffering when their stores don’t have the stock but the warehouses do 🤷‍♀️ That took up much of the daylight hours really and so apart from the afternoon feeding there is not much else to report for today.

Saturday: I did the morning rounds while John started clearing some more of the back bit, there was a last bit of old roofing that had to be cut off and taken down. Once we were both done John went to make coffee, he came back and I used his favourite phrase ‘I have a plan, you are not going to like it’ 😂 His plan was to move everything else we had left to the storage caravan, I thought this was a waste of time because it is stuff we will be using and it will have to come back over at some point. My argument is why move it twice? ‘because we have nowhere to put it’ is his reply, well that’s my plan, we build a cupboard 🤪 And so that’s exactly what we spent Saturday morning doing, building a cupboard, we used all the odd bits of wood and cut offs from the ply and now we have a very useful cupboard with a worktop that has the vice bolted to it, brilliant, even if I do say so myself. In the afternoon we popped over to see Shelley and the Children and had tea and cake with them before coming back to do the afternoon rounds. The days are very short in the Winter for animal work, no sooner have you had lunch and it’s time to start thinking about feeding them and shutting the up for the night but we are marching towards the Winter solstice and then the days will very slowly start to stretch out again 😁

One box of oranges arrived today but I don’t know where the other box has got too 🤷‍♀️

Sunday: John helped with the animals this morning and then gave the gutters a clean out now most of the leaves have fallen. Meanwhile I planted some pretty pink cyclamen bulbs I got in a sale and also some persica which were originally marked at £45 for five bulbs 😮 but I got them for £5 so a bargain indeed. Then John went off to the tip with a broken fridge and a broken microwave, I cleaned out the greenhouse and got the dahlia bulbs all brushed off now they are dry and I have them stored in boxes under the staging in the greenhouse, hopefully they will survive. In the afternoon John went to watch the Grand Prix round at Maccas and I did some crafting, I did have the race on though and it was an exciting and controversial race, good job nobody was here to see me jumping around and shouting at the final lap 😂

That’s another week over, it was mild ending weatherwise, we have had everything so far this winter from snow and ice to wind, rain and sunshine, the temperatures have so far ranged from just below freezing up to 14c 🙄 that seems to be how things are these days, all over the place 🤪

Posted in Friesland Farm

Snow, a beautiful bargain & a pantry 🥰

Posted on by frieslandfarm
Monday morning beauty 🥰

Monday 29th November: Oh what a lovely Monday morning 🤪 snow on the ground, flipping freezing and as yet (2pm) it has not thawed 🙄 A different routine this morning, the birds are now all housed and so that means there is no point John doing them in the morning before he goes to work, it becomes my job 😏 I was glibly thinking ‘I don’t need to go out until mid morning’ but then realised that I actually would have to go out first thing of course (silly me) The horses need hay, the water buckets need the ice broken and although we had filled up the feeders in the stable block and for the ducks, the others in the orchard will still need feeding and watering. So I donned my big ‘duvet’ coat, my isotherm wellies (they keep your feet warm down to -10 🥰) and my leather gloves because if they get wet it doesn’t go through to my fingers and make them freezing cold. I did all the feeding and watering and then had to set up a small run for the light Sussex hen with the chick, everything needs to be enclosed and no wild birds should be able to get to the food or water, this is quite a task but luckily, as it happens year on year now, we are prepared. Once I had finished outside it was back indoors to divide up some blocks of mature cheddar for the freezer and get those in along with some blocks of butter and a carton of milk. I am not stocking up honestly lol, the milk I asked John to get on top of our regular delivery because he seemed to be drinking a lot of tea. In the end we didn’t use it and had our normal delivery this morning so I need to freeze it and save it for another day. The butter I am going to need when I start making mince pies by the dozen and if I have them in the freezer ready then I can do them when I want to. The cheese is because John only eats mild cheese which is not much good for flavouring something like cauliflower cheese so if I put it in the freezer I always have some handy and it’s not going hard in the fridge. I have been a Jack of all trades today because after that job I went and painted the pantry. I say painted and John is going to tell me it’s not finished but that is the look I am going for 😂 he will hate it, I will love it, it’s my pantry and once the door is on I doubt he will ever go in there 😂 Then I spent a bit of time trying out new bits of crafting, I want to make some decorations for myself and so have been having a go at cone trees, not pine cone trees but cone shaped trees, I haven’t finished yet but if I am pleased with the result I will take photos. A quick sit down with a cup of tea and then onto the next job of the day, caramelised red onion chutney making 😁

With the chutney on the go, the dinner prepped ready for this evening and an apple and blueberry crumble also made, I got all togged up to go outside and do the afternoon feeding and egg collecting. Luckily the outside taps had thawed and I was able to get more water to the ducks, geese and horses who also had more hay. The shift took me far longer than it did to write about it 😂 I had planned on coming in for a cuppa before shutting them away at dusk but by the time I had finished that, collected the post, checked the egg shed, fed the dogs and the cats it was getting dark and so I shut down doors etc before coming back inside and taking off my artic gear. I just got into the kitchen when John arrived home, typical that he arrives just as everything is done. He asked if I had painted the pantry, I told him yes but he won’t like it, he said and I quote ‘it’s your pantry, you can paint it how you like’ 😮 As we went through to have a look, John shouted at the dog who was busy helping herself to eggs from the bucket! Normally I put the bucket of eggs in the sink but there was the paint tray in there so I put it on the floor, I won’t make that mistake again 😂 The reason I don’t box up the eggs right away is because then the cat sits on the boxes which is ok-ish when the weather is dry but if it’s wet she gets the boxes dirty. Sometimes I feel the battle is already lost before I even get up 🤪 I complain all the time that the geese eat all the chicken food (because they should not be down in the stable block) the dog eats the cat food (he reaches up on the side to sneak it out of their bowl) the chickens eat diesels cat food (big no no) if the he hasn’t eaten it all and now the dog is eating the eggs, I need some sort of order back with the feed routine which will be easier now the birds are all shut away.

Hens on lockdown 😏

I think I am just going to relax this evening, once the dinner is made, eaten and washed up that is! I hope it thaws overnight, Smallholding life is a lot harder when it’s freezing outside.

Tuesday: i did the rounds again this morning and it has all thawed thank goodness, it was hard work over the last few days 🙄 The art of the job is getting in through the stable doors without letting any hens out 😂 this morning just as I opened the door and ducked down to go in, one of them flew straight at me from where she was perching, I did t have the heart to tell her she has a very long time until she can go outside again 😏

I didn’t have anything in particular planned for today which was just as well as Sam came over with the twins and Shelley and Flo came after Flo finished nursery so it was a few hours of chaos and cacophony 😝 Once they had all left to do the school run I sat in total silence enjoying the moment 🤪

I did have time to make a cake before anyone arrived though, it was a recipe I wanted to have a go at, pumpkin cake with a cream cheese frosting. The verdict from the little ones was ‘nah’ the verdict from Sam was ‘not bad’ I can’t decide if I like it or not 🤷‍♀️ I think if I did it again I would doctor the recipe somewhat as it is quite heavy, more like a pudding texture but chances are I won’t make it again lol.

Wednesday: Busy day today, first up, the morning rounds and sorting out fresh water, feed etc then onto digging up the dahlia bulbs and putting them to dry out in the greenhouse before storing for the winter. The smaller ones I have left in the ground to see if they survive but the big star ones and the cafe au lait I have dug up as I don’t want to lose those. Some of them have got massive over summer and so I should be able to get lots more plants from them in spring. I also found a couple of lupin seed heads which I have drying in the kitchen now, also for sowing again next spring. I had quickly painted the remaining bits I needed to do in the pantry before doing the gardening and so once that was dry I went back to get some bits of furniture cleaned and moved in there. The apple rack is going to live in there and needed the dust cleaned from it, also a cupboard that needed a hoovering to get the dust off. The rest of the day until feeding time I spent cleaning out screws and nails from the workbench which is also going to be going in there. The bench is one that we inherited at our old house from the previous owner, it is old, heavy and well used, it will look fab once it is cleaned up. But before I can do that I needed to clean out the little cubby holes at the back which were full of screws and nails, some of which have been there for well over twenty years I imagine 😂 I sorted through thousands of screws and nails of all different sizes and types, lots were rusty and so have been thrown away, lots are still very useable and indeed we are always looking for nails and screws so sorting them all out will be a good job, well done. I have now ordered a screw organiser thingy that will go on the wall and I can sort them out into sizes hopefully. I came in for a s quick sit down before having to go out and do the afternoon rounds and saw what I thought was an egg customer sat in the car, I went out with more eggs as we have had a few visitors to the shed today. He got out and asked for Samantha, my thought were now whirring as the horses were due to have the dentist visit but I didn’t think it was today, I asked him if he was the dentist and yes he was 🙄 A quick phonecall to Sam and it seems she had the wrong day written down 🤪 he agreed to come back tomorrow bless him, which is when Sam thought he was coming. The reason that I couldn’t supervise is because Sam doesn’t know how Jack is going to react, previously he had to be sedated to have his teeth rasped and it’s not something I would be confident overseeing. I finally got a sit down for about half and hour before starting with the afternoon rounds and egg collecting.

Huge dahlia tuber root, hopefully I can get a lot more plants from it next spring.

I am not quite sure where Thursday and Friday went lol or what I did on those days except that the horse dentist came back to do their teeth and it’s good to finally get a rough idea of biscuits age, apparently somewhere around 20 years old. She is in good oral health though which is good to know, Jack also has no problems and his lameness has gone so that is good as well. I have had the twins three times since Thursday morning so no wonder I have no idea what else I have done 🤪 Friday (I think) I went into town with Shelley and Flo for a mooch round the charity shops and to get a nice coffee. I found a few bargains including a gorgeous Rumtopf pot, I did already have one but this one was so lovely I couldn’t leave it sat there so I bought it 😁 I gave the other one to shelley so she can have a go at it next year. Traditionally you fill the rumtopf with layers of fruit, rum and sugar, the fruit can be a complete mixture which means to can add to it as the season progresses. You then eat the boozy fruit around Christmas time. I tend to use plums and brandy but any combination works just as well if you fancy giving it a go.

Saturday: I had the twins for a couple of hours while Sam and luke went to a meeting and then it was time to go to the family Christmas party. Each year (except last year) my sister hires the hall in Kelmscot and we have a big family get together, there are a lot of us and we need a big space for everyone to be able to come 😂 This year it was mainly centred around the children having fun so there was a disco and games and a sack of gifts for them all, we all did something for a buffet and as always there was plenty to eat and drink 🥰 It is important for the children to get together as a good few of them have only known pandemic conditions which is really quite sad.

Sunday: Up and about early this morning and after getting all the Smallholding jobs done, feeding, watering etc, and then the household things done, washing on, rubbish out etc, I could finally get on with the job I was excited to get started, the pantry 🥰 We had moved some of the cupboards in yesterday but we could finally get started on fitting shelves and fixtures. I am delighted with how it is going so far, I have plenty of shelves and storage space and I have lots of hanging space for drying flowers or storing onions and garlic. I have tried to use everything I already had here and have easily achieved that, I still have a fair amount to put in there but here is a sneak preview 😁 I can’t wait to start stocking it with goodies 😍

Posted in Friesland Farm

Bulb planting, leaf gathering & snow!

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 22nd November: The temperatures have dropped to normal levels now and so I think our run of mild weather is gone for good. I don’t mind a cold dry winter it is much better than a mild wet one 🙄 Even though it is colder the sun was out shining away and eventually it warmed the ground up enough to get rid of the frost, I had already decided I was going to be doing a bit outside and the sun was an added bonus. Bearing in mind it has got colder I filled up a tonne bag with straw and took it to the orchard where I used it for the Guineas, rabbit, quail, lovely gut Sussex and the turkeys. All the pens and huts are now filled with a good amount of straw for them to burrow into if they need it. I also filled up all the wild birds feeders so that they have plenty to keep them going on a frosty morning.

After that it was on to the big job of the day, planting all the tulip bulbs as well as some giant alliums. I think there were about 450 tulips bulbs if my memory serves me correctly, they have all now been planted in various places and should look splendid come the spring. Some of them I used to plant up some pots that will go out for sale next spring, most of them went into the raised flower bed in front of the house, a sprinkling of them went into various other pots and then a good amount went into one of the raised beds in the veg garden. Those ones will be specifically for cut flowers and once they have been cut the bulbs will be discarded. This is what happens in the industry, once the flower is cut it can’t send goodness back to the bulb, normally you would allow the foliage to die back so that the bulb can get a good recovery ready for the next year, but picking or cutting the flower means that doesn’t happen and so the bulbs are discarded. This means that once all the tulips have been picked I can clear the bed out and use it for veg later. The pots of tulips I have had to put under a metal run that we use for chickens sometimes, this is to protect the, from all and sundry, chickens from digging in the pots, squirrels from hiding nuts in the pots and this disturbing the bulbs, I know foxes will dig up bulbs, not sure if they eat them or just dig to see what else is under there. Best to try and protect them as much as possible otherwise all the work ends up being for nothing. I still have a small box of gladioli bulbs to plant as well, I need to decide where they will go. I had to books I ordered arrive today, ‘the flower farmers year’ and a flower arranging book, plenty to read and I will probably find I have already done something wrong but I had to put the bulbs in before the book arrived and certainly before I had chance to read it through.

I did notice that although the garlic I planted is coming up but that the same cannot be said for the onions, something has been pulling them out so I have now covered them with environmesh to give any remaining ones a bit of a chance. I also can’t see any sign of the broad beans I sowed, I am thinking that the mice may have got them, I really should have sown them in pots first and then planted them out 🙄

We had a rich beef stew in the slow cooker for dinner tonight and an apple and blackberry crumble, definitely getting into comfort food season now. The Christmas pudding has been boiling away on the hob for two hours, it has another two hours to go before allowing it to cool and then store it ready for its main event on Christmas Day. I also got a soup veg bag out of the freezer this morning and made a batch of soup, should be enough for the next couple of days and a welcome warm lunch on cold days. I think soup is the best thing during the winter months, full of goodness and it warms you right through to the core 🥰

Tuesday: Early morning appointment for blood tests this morning so I was up and at it as soon as the alarm went off. I had I intended to come back home and get on with some things but Shelley suggested a trip into town and so that’s where we went. We had a lovely morning mooching around and getting a few Christmas presents sorted, plus a coffee stop which is always a pleasure. We stopped to collect Flo from nursery on our way back and I spotted some amazing looking ginkgo biloba leaves, when I started gathering them up they made the most beautiful and natural pompom 🥰 The leaf collecter lorry arrived shortly after so we were lucky to be in the right place at the right time 😁

Nature is a wonderful thing 😍

Once back home I got on with sorting out dinner for the evening and then a bit of card making u til it was time to do the afternoon rounds. The day finishes early at this time out year (outside at any rate) by around 4.30 it is starting to get dark. I decided the dark evenings are a blessing and they give me time to make things and so this evening I made a dried flower wreath. The wreath is from last Christmas, I leave it to dry all year and you end up with a lovely dried moss ring perfect for adding dried flowers that I picked in the summer months and hung to dry.

I seem to have lost a couple of days in between lol, suffice to say that I didn’t do much outside stuff mainly inside. I have been filling any gaps in the walls of the pantry and my sister came over with a drawing she has done of how it will look when it’s done. I need to give the walls a miss coat of paint, just enough to take the blockiness out of the ply walls and make it look rustic.

I think it was Wednesday that the APHA announced that poultry must all be housed and bio security measures put in place from Monday, here we go again. To be fair we were expecting it as we do nearly every year now, one of the reasons it hardly seems worth continuing with poultry 🙄 Hardly good for them when they have to spend months locked away, let’s hope it’s only them this year and not us again.

Thursday: My plan was to paint the pantry but first I wanted to get some cleaning done, the low sun at this time of year drives me nuts as it shows up all the dust 😂 After lunch Shelley, Flo, Sam, Lucie and George called in after their morning at soft play. Later that afternoon Sam was back with all the kiddies including Mia and the twins stayed here while Mia went for her swimming lesson.

Jack (horse) is lame 😒 no apparent cause at the minute, no cuts or heat in his leg, it’s possible he has knocked it or kicked it himself. He will be monitored for a couple of days to see how he goes, no point bringing him in as he will just kick the stable door and that won’t do his leg any good as it is one of his front ones. He is bearing some weight on it but clearly has an issue, I cut him some fresh willow to see if that helps at all, he is better off to continue moving at this stage we think.

Friday: I still haven’t got the pantry painted and I had no intention of doing it today either, it’s blooming cold out there so I would rather be inside doing something else 😜 Mostly that consists of making Christmas cards etc, trying out new ideas, making bread and cooking. The weather took a dive at lunchtime, windy, rainy, cold, not nice today at all, I was not looking forward to going out and doing the rounds late afternoon. In a couple more days that will not be an issue as they will all be penned up in the stable block so I will only have to nip across the hard standing.

John has just phoned to say he is in the queue for a booster vaccination at a walk in clinic, that means I will probably have to go outside again to shut everything away for the night 🥶

Josh and Flo are coming to tea tonight and staying over, it’s been a long time since they have stayed at Nanas, before the pandemic they would regularly come and stay and then everything went sideways and we have never really quite got back on track with sleepovers 😏 Spaghetti Bolognese and a jam sponge pudding for dessert is on the menu.

You may wonder (or you may not) how I am getting on without the Rayburn, well I have a lot more time to do the things I like doing and I thought I would miss the heat but I don’t. The only thing I really miss is being able to dry the washing each night but it’s a small price to pay compared to the amount of work it took all year to run and maintain it.

Saturday: Oh my days what a night 🙄 gale force winds were roaring and kept me and plenty of other people awake half the night,seriously strong gusts at times, scary stuff but no damage though as I write this Saturday evening the winds have not actually stopped all day and are still pretty fierce. Add to that snow, yes bloody snow and it was not at all nice out there, the wind was bitingly cold. I had to go out and top up the horses water and also give them some hay, on the way back I made up the stables in case the snow didn’t clear and I had to bring them in. John went off to get feed once he had done the morning rounds and then in the afternoon he reluctantly went out to fasten down some of the roof that had come loose from constant buffering. At 4pm shelley came over with Martin and the kids and we walked up to the farm next door where they were having the Christmas craft Fayre ooosh the wind was strong and cold but it all added to the adventure, we met Mum up there, had hot chocolates and mulled wine, bought some raffle tickets and then walked home again. I will be glad when I don’t have to go outside anymore tonight 🥶

This is my pantry which at the moment is a blank canvass but it will look super and be a great place to store all my produce and things.
Beautiful but could do without it lol

Sunday: It started off as a normal enough day, we did the animals, Sam and Mia came over to check the horses and rug up Jack. We had a discussion about where and when we will move them next but at the minute they are staying as they are. We went to the farm shop to get some bales of sawdust ready to shut the birds away and then we went out. Basically I dragged John round a couple of garden centres and a Christmas craft Fayre. I am doing well buying locally made gifts for the girls, I can’t really do it for the grandchildren but whenever I can I try and buy local. We bumped into Charlie and Macca at one of the centres so we stopped and had coffee and cake with them. Up to that point things were grand 🤪 We got home, unloaded and then the power went 🙄 I spent too much bloody time trying to get through to the power company, they are very busy due to the storm we had and so basically send you round and round in circles trying to report the outage and find out any info about when it would be back on. We had the big job of moving all the birds to do so we got togged up and went out to get that started. We put in clean bedding, blocked up any escape holes, put in water, feed, dust baths, perches and grit bowls as well as making nice little nest box areas. We also moved the ducks this time, they have gone into the point of lay pen, obviously they don’t roost so I made a little sleeping/egg laying area out of hay bales and straw for them. By this time it is starting to get dark and we have no lights 😂 we got the geese back up into the back paddock where they will stay for the duration and we herded the ducks from their current abode to their new des res. Then it was time to move all the hens, some of them had already been living in the stable block so they were easy enough. A few stragglers in the side paddock had gone to their usual hit and so we gathered those up a d put them in with the others. Then onto the big hut in the front paddock, we filled the first two poultry crates and took them to the stable, when we came out the lights were back on in the house yippee 🙌 We collected the last two poultry crates of birds and put those in the stable and finally we were done. It’s a pain having to shut the birds away for what is likely to be a few months but it’s what we have to do. On the flip side it makes them all easier to look after and of course they won’t get eaten by the fox plus we shall be able to find all the eggs. I have given them some extra treats, sunflower seeds and dried seaweed and I have used diatomaceous Earth in their feed as a wormer and in their bedding and dust bath, it’s like a five star poultry hotel 😂 Once that was done it was time to come in and get that cup of tea we had been looking forward to when we came home earlier in the day.

Posted in Friesland Farm

Christmas cards, stir up Sunday & books done ✔️

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Thursday 18th November: Yes it’s Thursday before I get to write anything down and that’s not just because I have forgotten. It’s is because Monday, Tuesday and four hours Wednesday morning I have mainly been doing paperwork ready for it to go to the accountant before the self assessment deadline 🙄 Our end of year is April but that and the following months are pretty hectic times on the Smallholding and so it gets pushed to the back of the to do pile. Then of course we had the hen do and the wedding and so I couldn’t really focus on anything other than those events. Well now the time had finally arrived when I could take a couple of days to plough through it all and get it sorted which is exactly what I did. I look forward to not having that nagging voice at the back of my head and being able to focus on what is ahead of me 😁

The rest of Wednesday I spent getting Christmas card orders done, in all honesty I never expected to have two big orders, I was just making them as and when and putting them out for sale in the little shed. On top of that I have had a request for some for a Christmas craft fair and so I need to make quite a few up for that 😜 I am not complaining as I love doing them but all the while I a thinking about the bulbs that need planting, the wood chip that needs moving as well as the daily jobs that need doing around the house and on the Smallholding itself.

The egg numbers have dropped off drastically and we are at the point where we have to decide how we want to move forward. Do we buy in more laying hens, we have been doing this for years and we have also had fox attacks for years on and off that wipe the flock out. Or do we move in a different direction entirely, I have tentatively started with the fresh flowers and it is a direction I would like to go in but I need to do a bit of research first and I also need to either commit fully and use some of the paddock space or not commit and tickle along until I need to expand 🤷‍♀️ decisions, decisions 🤔

The weather has still remained mild and really I should have been outside getting the veg garden bedded down for winter but in my head I am thinking, it will wait until spring if necessary but then spring will be a frantic affair 😂

This morning I spent a bit of time doing some more cards while FaceTiming with Shelley, the children have chickenpox and so she is holed up at home with them, after the lockdowns we have already had that can’t be any fun. Sam has messaged to see if she can come visit with the twins, of course you can, time has to always be made for grandchildren especially while they are young, other things can wait they are not that important on the scale of things.

Well it’s Monday 22nd and I have been poor at doing this again lol. What have I been up to? Mostly making cards and tags whenever I have time, I needed to get some made for the Christmas Fayre at the farm next door next week and so I have spent a lot of time doing that inbetween mundane every day jobs. I did get the Christmas cake done and that will need a feed this week. I also got the Christmas pudding mixed yesterday on stir up Sunday 😁 though I am waiting for a pudding basin to arrive so that I can steam it for a few hours. I usually use a Pyrex glass bowl but it is very difficult to tie the grease proof and tin foil top onto the bowl so I finally gave in and ordered a proper pudding bowl.

Stir up Sunday, the Christmas pud for the Mid Winter feast 🥰

I went to Oxford on Saturday to the Victorian Christmas market, slightly disappointed with the Victorian side of it but the stalls were mostly artisan goods so that was brilliant. I hate the markets where the stalls are full of things you can buy in the shop or cheap stuff from the internet 😏 While I was out shopping, John was busy screeding my pantry floor which is now ready to fit out. I am getting a second hand door that Martin has taken out on one of his jobs and all the fixtures and fittings will be upcycled or recycled things. I am having my sister give me a hand with this as she has a much better eye for styling than I do but it also needs to be practical as well.

The temps are set to fall quite a bit this week, to nearer normal for the time of year, we have had it too good for too long 😂 but it was very nice while it lasted and hopefully it will make the winter seem a little bit shorter 😝

Have a great week and once again apologies for the lack of dedication to writing things down 🙄

Posted in Friesland Farm

Card making, cake baking & bread.

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 8th November: Hellooo I will try to be a little more focused on writing the blog this week, been an bit slack if I am honest 😁

This morning it was fresh but not frosty, a beautiful pink sunrise greeted us first thing. John did the morning feeding and letting out and then went off to work after requesting a fresh loaf of bread. Happy to oblige as I haven’t made one for over a week so it was about time really. Once the bread was on the go I sorted out what would be for dinner later and prepped the veg. I also made a crumble, apple and strawberry 😋, strawberry’s always smell amazing when they are cooking and while apple and strawberry is not a usual combination for crumble it is a very tasty one so give it a try. While waiting for the bread to do I may as well do other things in the kitchen so I also made a sort of flapjack. Not the standard type with syrup though, this one was a combination of oats, honey and peanut butter, a touch of salt, some vanilla and a handful of granola. All mixed together and then pressed into a tin, marked into squares and put in the fridge. This will be my ‘breakfast grab’ or ‘I feel peckish’ snack 😁

Is there a better way to start the week than with a freshly baked loaf of bread? 🥰

I did a few other things around the house as well as prepping some more Christmas cards ready to decorate another time, need to get ahead with those as there will be plenty to do in the run up as it is.

The evenings are drawing in and so it is now my turn to do the afternoon feeding although John rang to ask if I could also shut them away at dark as he would be late. It’s not the only thing that was be late because if I have to go out and do that, it means the dinner doesn’t get put on until I come back in, which is ok until John starts moaning he is hungry when he comes home 🤣 tough mate, I can’t do it all 🤪

We had the straw delivery yesterday and we had a conversation about carbon capture and how lots of farmers are now growing a carbon capture crop instead of food. I get why it’s an attractive choice for farmers but in my opinion it’s very short sighted, we will be growing less food to feed the country and having to import it instead, what’s the point of capturing carbon on the one hand while creating it on the other 🤷‍♀️ Somebody explain that one to me if they can please 😏 If you are going to grow carbon capture then at least use an edible crop if possible.

Had another phone call about more woodchip tonight, I don’t like to turn it away so even more will be arriving tomorrow 😂 I need to shift some of the other pile I think.

Tuesday: It was a lovely day today with above average temperatures and plenty of sunshine. With another wood chip load arriving today I thought I ought make a good effort to move some of the pile that is already there. I barrowed until I couldn’t barrow anymore and then I went onto cutting back the dahlia foliage as the frost has blackened most of them now. Sam arrived mid morning with the twins and we spent an hour or more moving the electric fence in the front paddock. The horses haven’t been in this paddock for a number of years because I planted 4 fruit trees in there but these have been fenced off. The grass got too long to mow and my scything is not up to it 😂 so I needed to get it eaten off in order to be able to mow it next spring. It will also help to flatten the ground out with them trampling all over it 🙄 After a break for lunch and some playing Sam went home, Charlie also called in while they were here, back from her honeymoon 🥰

Time for the afternoon rounds and egg collecting, while I was out there I replenished the hay for the rabbits and Guineas, topped up all the water holders, put in clean straw for the ducks and some for the hens in the stable and then while waiting for someone to come and collect something I barrowed a few more loads of woodchip 🤪

Wednesday: I spent most of the day making Christmas cards to put out for sale, I was feeling quite tired so a day doing something gentle is a good way to regroup.

Thursday: I cleaned and hoovered the boot room before going out with Shelley and Flo and spending a lovely few hours at a Christmas market and garden centre. We met Charlie and Macca there and had lunch as well, lovely day. When I got back it was time to feed the birds (who had been left in because I was going out) collect the eggs and then the twins arrived to stay while Mia went for her swimming lesson. In the evening we went round to see Mum and Ken who have had a nasty bug but are just starting to get over it now. There are such a lot of nasty bugs going around as well as chicken pox at the moment, dodge the bugs winter is ahead of us I think lol.

Friday: The day started with rain but the sun came out mid morning so not a bad day. I thought I had better get my Christmas cake started so this morning I have measured out all the dry ingredients and they are now soaking in brandy and orange juice for the next 24 hrs. If you fancy a go at making your own, I followed a Merry Berry recipe, they are usually pretty foolproof and there is an online calculator to adjust measurements to the size and shape of your tin. A tip you might find useful is to measure your tin and then use a permanent marker to write the size on the bottom for next time, this goes for any baking tin you use, I am always forgetting what size they are and it doesn’t really do to guess 😂 As always I substitute what I haven’t got with something I have and likewise if there is an ingredient you don’t like then just change it, I will be using walnuts instead of almond because that’s what I have available.

Saturday: I got the rest of the cake ingredients mixed and then combined to two and cooked for four hours 😁 Christmas cake done ✔️ just got to ‘feed it’ weekly.

Mid morning Sam, Luke and the kiddies arrived and I looked after the children while Sam and Luke went for a meeting. Once they were back Luke helped John to get a bit more work done out the back and now the pantry is nearly ready, just need to concrete the floor and put a door on then time to fit it out with shelves etc. Meanwhile Sam was sorting out the horses and the stables, the horses came in to be wormed and then will stay in for a few days. The children were helpful, on the whole 😜 Luke stayed on after the rest of his family went home and worked with John until dark.

Christmas cake 🥰

Sunday: Today we needed to get a lot of tidying done in the back bit, stuff to the skip, stuff to the burning pile, stuff to put up for free, stuff to sell. Mid morning we went to Charlie and Maccas to look at the wedding photos, popped to get a bit of shopping afterwards and then back home to shift more rubbish and get the scrap wood burnt. We had someone come to collect any decent burning wood and someone come to buy some bits we were selling. You can’t beat a big bonfire in November so that’s what we had🔥

Posted in Friesland Farm

A farewell, a home brew & Christmas cards

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Thursday 4th November: Again it’s midweek before I think of sitting down to write the blog, not sure why that is happening but I will try to be better otherwise I forget things.

Monday I spent the morning cleaning and then making some banana bread in the early afternoon before doing the afternoon feed and egg collecting rounds. The clocks have changed and now it is getting dark before John gets home from work and so it’s my turn to start doing the birds in the afternoon, the mornings are still light enough at the moment for John to do them before work. I also cleaned out the dirty ducks, no matter how much you clean them out they soon make a mess especially if it has been raining.

Tuesday I can’t really remember what I did first thing although I must have done something 😜 At midday my sister picked me up and we went to my cousins funeral, a lovely send off and a bitter sweet day really. Sad that he has left this world but happy that he was here at all and we spent a lovely afternoon with family reminiscing.

Wednesday was much busier, I figured I ought to get my arse into gear a bit 😂 As soon as the frosty morning disappeared I went out and got some things done in the veg garden. I have been waiting for the compost heaps to drop a little before putting any more on them, and now that they have I was able to pile on any dead foliage I had already pulled up a couple of weeks ago. I went into the big tunnel and finished the tidying I started late last month. The citrus trees have now been wrapped ready for the cold months ahead and all the beds are covered, it pretty tidy in there now, I cut back the lemon verbena and will be using some of that for various things, the dahlia is now cut back and the pit wrapped up, just some lettuces growing in there for winter use.

After that I sowed a packet of broad beans and some onion sets in the small raised beds John put in earlier in the year. I feel as though I am now getting the hang of year round growing, it has taken me long enough lol. I have leeks, cabbages, kale, winter lettuce, carrots and garlic already growing and now I have the onions and beans in as well, I really should add some peas to that list and it would be complete.

Mid afternoon I made some tea, not any old tea mind you, this tea was grown by me right here 😁 I have a camellia sinensis plant and have been growing it from small for the past two years, this summer I harvested a few leaves and dried them. There were just enough for a small cup, I bought a small tea pot and had a little tea ceremony. It wasn’t very strong but it did taste like tea, my self sufficiency goals are complete ✔️

The darker evenings come quickly now and it wasn’t long before the curtains were shut and the lights went on and after having dinner I went off to the flower arranging group. Tonight it was a demonstration by a local florist who has competed and won a medal at Chelsea, she did four arrangements, all different, all beautiful and now I will have to have a go a some of them myself 🥰

Thursday: I spent the majority of the day making Christmas cards with buttons and up cycled bits and pieces, they sold well last year and I want to get ahead I bit in case there is demand this year 😂 Apart from that and doing the rounds in the afternoon I didn’t do anything else on the Smallholding.

Friday: Oh my that was a cold night 🙄 very frosty this morning though the the sun is shinning through so hopefully it won’t last long. First thing this morning was a delivery of materials so I got that all sorted and then decided to make some roasted butternut squash soup, def a soup day. I had a look at a few recipes and then made my own up, I roasted two small squash with some red onions, garlic a chilli and some celery leaves in olive oil and some salt and pepper. Once roasted I blended it up with some vegetable stock and water, some of the recipes have ginger or maple syrup in them so depending on how you like your soup you can add what you like really. I went for a touch of maple syrup 😋 Apart from the maple syrup and the veg stock the rest of the ingredients are entirely home grown so the food miles are very low in comparison, also the energy consumption levels, minimal processing, just great quality food 🥰

I need to get back on some healthier than usual eating as I feel a bit urgh, dumpy, doughy, you know what I mean 😂 extra layers of winter clothing doesn’t help either.

Saturday: Spent the morning doing a bit of cleaning while John was busy out the back continuing with that project. Lunchtime a straw delivery arrived and then I went to Sams to look after the children overnight while they went away.

Sunday: Came back home around lunchtime and had a nap 😂 the twins were awake at around 4am having a dinosaur fest, I could hear them roaring at each other and laughing for about an hour 🤪 Roast dinner at Shelley’s late afternoon and that’s another week done.

Have a good one x x

Posted in Friesland Farm

Half term antics, a wedding & Samhain 😁😁😁

Posted on by frieslandfarm

It is Wednesday and I realise I have not written a single thing for the blog! The main reason for that is that I have had other things on my mind and plenty to do that is not Smallholding related.

Tomorrow is Charlotte and Maccas wedding day 🥰 and so as you can imagine I have had lots of things to get ready and sort out for that. Couple that with half term and going out with the grandchildren and there is not much time for writing or anything else really. On Monday afternoon we went on a pumpkin trail that a local farm/cafe/campsite had put on for free in their woodland area, the kiddies really enjoyed finding the pumpkins and the treat at the end of the trail.

On Tuesday morning I went with Sam, Mia, George and Lucie for a photo shoot, part of a competition Sam won on social media. That was a fun morning until the twins got tired and fractious. Back home for lunch and then Sam and Mia went out into the front paddock to move the fencing for the horses again as they had eaten off the little bit extra I had given them on Sunday.

This morning I have mostly been organising my bag for staying away overnight ready for the big day tomorrow. I also had to nip round and make sure the rabbits, Guineas and the birds in the orchard were all topped up with feed and water, make sure the horses water was full up and that all slip rails and gates were closed just in case 🤪

Thursday: Charlie’s wedding day 🥰🥰

Friday: It’s going to be a short blog this week 😂 Wednesday afternoon, Sam, Shelley, Charlie and I left for the The Wheatsheaf hotel in Northleach where we spent the night before the wedding. Lovely hotel and the food was superb, the staff were friendly and very accommodating. The next morning we were up early and had breakfast before the hairdressers, make up lady and photographer arrived. We spent a wonderful and surprisingly relaxed morning getting ready before John and the cars arrived and we were off to the venue. Stone Barn near Bibury, again another fantastic venue, the staff were amazing and know their job well, the food was outstanding and the day was filled with love and laughter, an absolutely delightful day celebrating the marriage of two wonderful people who make an awesome couple. An amazing day full of so many thoughtful little touches, a day of many amazing moments for my memory bank, just perfect 🥰

My very beautiful youngest daughter Charlie and her new husband Sam aka Macca

Saturday: After doing all the usual jobs we spent the rest of the day taking down old bits of the back area and putting up new stud work for the pantry. A very exciting project as far as I am concerned because it’s were I get to store everything I grow or make and hang flowers and herbs to dry 😁 That literally took us all day to get that sorted.

Sunday: Oh my days, rain, torrential rain, non stop torrential rain! Then flooding in the back area because the outside drain was blocked, John normally keeps it clear but because of everything else he has been doing it got left. We had water coming in everywhere out the back 😏 Then the electric tripped, we went round trying to find out what had tripped it, it took six goes of turning it back on only for it to go again before we found the culprit which was an extension lead to one of the freezers, it was getting wet and electrics do not like that 😂 Eventually after spending time in the pouring rain, John managed to get the water to run away. We then got on with the job we had originally gone out there to do which was take down some more of the old stuff at the other end of the building where Johns pool table will be going. It’s like playing rubics cube at the minute because we have to keep moving everything from one place to another in order to get any further forward, eventually it will all fall into place.

We went out with Sam, Luke and the kiddies for a Sunday roast, it’s Luke’s birthday tomorrow so it was nice to have a bit of time out with them to mark the occasion.

The clocks went back last night and it’s Halloween or Samhain today. Samhain marks the end of the natural year really, everything is now harvested including nuts and berries and growth naturally dies back ready for the winter sleep. Having something hearty to eat is appropriate, it is a season to celebrate feasting now, not too much though or else or your stores will be gone before the next growing season gets underway 😂 I will miss the summer days and temperatures but I also enjoy the darker nights and frosty mornings, hunkering down and staying cosy as much as possible. I still have plenty to do outside in the garden but at this time of year if it doesn’t get done it can wait until spring, I can find plenty to occupy me inside if needs be.

Have a good week and find lots of things to do that give you that cosy feeling, Winter has arrived 😬

Posted in Friesland Farm

A mixed bag of a week 😏

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 18th October: I had fully intended to get a fair amount done today but in the end I didn’t. The one thing I did do was to get the tortoises inside ready for the winter sleep. I found Voldy pretty easily he was still out and about, when I started searching for big billy though he was nowhere to be found. I spent about 15 minutes searching the compound, searching again, moving the hut, looking in the foliage etc etc. I was just about to give up, convinced he had been taken as he can’t get out of there (unless he was Houdini) I noticed some loose soil near a big tuft of grass, when I lifted it up I could just see the top of his shell. He had dug himself so far into the ground that he was hardly noticeable, definitely time for him to go away indoors 😜

I came indoors once I had discovered his whereabouts and picked up my phone to record the story for the podcast, I could see I had many messages and once I opened them I realised that we had received some devastating news this morning. My cousin who was double vaccinated but had contracted Covid around three weeks ago had died. We had been getting daily updates on his condition since he was admitted to hospital and things had not looked good but we were all hoping that he would pull through, he didn’t and it was quite a shock really. Covid is still out there, two vaccinations mean that the risk is less but there is still a risk, it doesn’t make you immune. That’s the reason I have done nothing else today, I just couldn’t find the energy or the concentration to do anything. As I have said before I have a big family, a close family, we all keep in touch with each other as much as possible and so it feels close to home and has hit hard. My heart goes out to his family, he was a big character with a big heart and he will missed so much by all of us but especially by them 💔

Tuesday: I have mostly been sorting stuff out in the back area, goodness knows how we accumulated so much stuff 🙄 but it all needs sorting out. Lots of it just needs to find a new home, some of it needs to be thrown away, some of it will stay in the back but we need new shelves to keep it on, some of it will go to the scrap man and some of it we have no idea where it will be going yet. I moved a fair few things today but when John came home we went through the stuff I had no idea about, was it any good? did John need it for something? 🤷‍♀️ Hopefully a few more sessions of that and we should be all sorted 😜

Wednesday: We are getting to the time of the year when I start doing the animals rather than John. The mornings are dark and only get light just as John needs to go to work and the evenings are drawing in every day which does not give John much time once he gets home. So it becomes my job to do it instead as the garden is not demanding so much of my time anymore. This morning was my first morning, it was thundering and hammering down at 7.30 🙄 I left it another hour, had a shower and got the eggs from yesterday sorted and by 8.30 the sun was shining 😁 I got all the feeding and letting out sorted and then I spent the rest of the morning cleaning out the light Sussex pen. I cleaned out their hut, sprayed it for red mite, put in clean straw and then I barrowed umpteen loads of woodchip to put on the floor in there to stop it getting too muddy over winter. I did want to get a tarpaulin over the top but it was very windy so there was no way I was going to be able to do that on my own, best wait for a calm day when there are two of us around. Shelley called round with Flo at lunchtime for a couple of hours and then John came home early so he did the afternoon rounds.

I had my third vaccination this evening, initially there was some confusion with this vaccine, we were informed by Lupus Uk and NHS vaccine that this was a third primary. When I rang the surgery they said nope it’s a booster but eventually the catch up of information happened, when I got the appointment and when I arrived for the vaccine I was told it is a third primary and I will be due a booster in six months time. Either way I am glad I have had it, the efficacy of the vaccine seems to wane according to some sources so I would rather keep topped up just in case 🤔

I keep thinking I need to do more for winter veg but having watched a you tube video that someone else has done I realise I am pretty prepared. Leeks, kale (of various types) cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, they are all growing well out in the garden. Winter lettuce in the greenhouse, and carrots and beetroot are still in the ground doing well, the only other veg they had growing that I didn’t were chard and turnips both of those I won’t miss if I don’t have any 😜

I still have a fair bit of preparation to do on some of the veg beds to get them ready for winter, mostly because they have been left to their own devices all summer and need some control measures, some of the weeds are taking over. The brassica cage has not been used since I finished harvesting the sprouting broccoli back in spring. I didn’t have time to go in and clear it and now the weeds are pretty rampant including a wild blackberry. My plan in there is to pull or dig any perennial weeds and then smother the annual weeds with cardboard, that should hopefully knock it back a bit and give me a chance to sort it when I have more time.

Thursday: I spent a couple of hours first thing recording a podcast and then I spent the rest of the morning sorting out draughts around the two doors in the kitchen. The wind has changed direction NE and it’s quite cold, I can feel it blowing in through gaps. I have ordered some draught excluder for the door frames and I ordered some thermal curtains for when it gets very cold. I have saved some wool insulation that comes with fresh food deliveries sometimes and have used them for the floor in front of the doors to stop any cold coming underneath. First and foremost I don’t want to be cold and secondly we need to save energy wherever possible, it’s the right thing to do for our pocket and the planet. John came home just after lunch so we sat down with a cuppa for an hour before he went and got on with some more of the side cladding. Meanwhile I prepped dinner for later and also prepped some tomatoes, onion and garlic for roasting later when the oven was on. That will make a nice passata once I have put it through a sieve and I will be having that for spag Bol tomorrow. The twins arrived with Sam and Mia who went off to swimming lessons leaving the twins here to have their tea. Our electrician arrived to do the bits of electric work we needed to get done, lol everyone arrives at the same time, chaos, actually it wasn’t too bad. I did think the twins would get all upset with a stranger in the house but they were fine mostly because I was feeding them by then so they were more interested in the food 😜 After everyone left we were able to get our dinner sorted, I also made some toffee sauce to go with some sautéed apple for dessert, very easy and very delicious on an October evening 🥰 John went out to put the animals to bed and that’s another day done. My arm is fine, I did think it might hurt but only slightly where the actual vaccination site is nothing more.

I have been collecting a few flowers to dry and the combination of these drying is really pleasing at the moment, hopefully I can do them justice when I try using them in some sort of arrangement.

Friday: It was much colder this morning than it has been for months but the sun came out and there is still some warmth there when it does so I got some washing on the line. John was up early and so he did the animals before going to work, he will be home early today and will be working on the side of the building, trying to get it all done before it really gets too cold. It is a different winter for us this time, no Rayburn, no wood chopping, no cleaning out of the ashes, not cold in the mornings before we get to re light it. The electric radiators give us constant gentle heat that we are not used to yet lol, I said to John this morning ‘it’s a bit warm in here’ 😂

I got this evenings dinner sorted, the tomatoes, garlic and onions I roasted yesterday have been pushed through a sieve and I have a delicious passata for my spag Bol later. John has mince, I may make it into a shepherds pie or I may just do mince and potatoes separately with veg not decided yet. I have got a pan of soup on the go and I have used the carrot tops in the soup as well, I looked it up to see if you could eat them because I wasn’t sure and turns out you can. They have 6x the amount of Vit c in them than the actual carrot plus calcium and potassium, nutrient packed so not going to waste them. Both lunch and dinner tonight will be entirely from produce either grown by me and reared by a local smallholder plus the bread is made from flour at the local mill, food miles approximately 7 🙄 a good day I reckon, I also know exactly what has gone in to each meal, no added extras or unnecessary ingredients unless I choose to add them 😁

Late morning I spent some time in the big tunnel clearing down, weeding etc but the sun came out and it got a bit warm in there 😂

Saturday: This started off with John coming to shout me for some help, I had my dressing gown and slippers on still so quickly changed and went out to see what the problem was. The dog had disturbed and chased a muntjac deer in the small paddock at the back, the terrified deer had tried to jump the wall but got his antlers stuck in the stock fencing. It was thrashing about and making a heck of a racket for something so small, John quickly got the wire cutters and we were able to release it successfully. It ran off back down the paddock, along the walkway, through the other paddock and then through the hedge along the side. We had no chance of making sure it was ok as it was gone like lightning 🙄

I went back in got a shower and went off to get my hair done, John stayed at home doing some more to the side of the building, it is almost finished but not quite. I think he will be happy when it’s done as it means he can start on his pool room 😁 Once home again I spent the time sorting out a few bits for the wedding and also some thermal curtains for our two doors in the kitchen. The aim is to reduce our energy consumption as much as possible both for our pocket and the environment and the doors are a bit draughty, we need to get them sorted next year I think.

I picked a few more dahlias for the kitchen, the plants just keep on giving, they certainly are the best value for money of all the flowers I have ever grown I think, I just hope I can keep them alive for next year.

Sunday: I spent until mid afternoon working, firstly I helped John do the animals as he is not feeling well then I spent a very pleasant few hours in the front cutting back dead foliage on the flower beds. I pulled up quite few aster plants that seem to have grown where I hadn’t intended, I feel like a achieved a good amount out there and it’s still looking good even in late October. After that I went into the front paddock to extended the grazing area for the horses, that took me a lot longer than I had expected as I didn’t think the area I added was big enough to last very long and so I gathered up more fence stakes and electric tape and made it even bigger. The reason being that the horses are looking longingly over the other fence on the side paddocks and I don’t want them to break into there anytime soon 🙄

Back inside for a sit down and to check on John who by this point had gone back to bed, we did a Covid test, it’s negative, hopefully it’s just a passing bug and he will be well after a good sleep. I made some beef broth, I would have made chicken except I don’t appear to have any saved chicken carcasses so beef will have to do. I chopped up and onion added some garlic plus some of the bouillon powder and a bag of frozen beef broth I made a few weeks ago. It is one of the best things to use as a pick me up when you feel unwell, it’s light on the stomach but highly nutritious and helps to rehydrate, what could be better 😁

I will be feeding the animals and egg collecting this afternoon and then I will be putting them to bed as well I think. Then I have an evening of getting my eyebrows threaded and tinted plus an eyelash lift ready for the wedding this week 🥰

Posted in Friesland Farm

Wood chip, garden bounty & a change of plans.

Posted on by frieslandfarm

Monday 11th October 2021: Must try harder to write every day and not forget like I did last week 🤪

Already this morning the plans I had have changed and it’s only 9.30 am. I had a phone call from a tree company who are working in the area had want to bring wood chip😁 I am on a site where they can ring and ask if you want some, I said yes please and now I have three loads coming 🙄 so I need to decide where they are going to dump it and what I will do with it. We use a lot of it on the pathways in the veg garden, it’s ideal for suppressing weeds and does need renewing each year. We used to use a lot of it in the ménage but that has just become a weed bed at the minute so I can put it straight on there although I will probably put it there when I get time to sort it all out. So the jobs I had on my list go by the way and make way for a different job today, sometimes that’s just how things go. I might have another cup of coffee before having to get stuck in to moving it all.

I have spent most of the day shifting wood chip onto the pathways (still a long way to go yet) I spent the rest of the time, cutting things down or pulling things up. I have tidied up the hoses and anything I left lying around which is always a fair amount of stuff 🤪 and I worked right until it was dark. I did have a short interlude when Shelley came over with Josh and Flo and we cooked sausages on the fire pit (Shelley moved a few barrows of wood chip for me as well)

Tuesday: Another busy one in the garden, I was going to move more woodchip but I was thinking while I was falling asleep last night that I needed to get the fruit cage in order so that I could woodchip in there. If I did all the paths around it first I would find it hard to push the barrow, so I spent the morning tidying, weeding, cutting back and repotting the blueberries and the yellow raspberries. I topped up all the pots with compost and added some pelleted chicken manure and some carbon at the same time. I did actually find a few raspberries 😁 only around 15 but still that’s a win. The raspberries have on the whole been terrible this year but there is a late flush, due to the weather I imagine and so I might get a few more before the weather turns.

I did plan to sit down after that but found I had more energy so I changed jobs and barrowed some of the homemade compost onto the smaller raised beds that John put in for me. I got three of them filled, added some carbon and covered them with membrane, they will stay like that until I either decided to plant into them for winter or leave them until spring. I have a lot of much smaller beds now which is time consuming at this end of the year but will be much easier to look after in the growing season hopefully.

I did get the dinner on first thing in the morning and got the ducks some clean bedding before I started all of that lol.

Wednesday: Another good lot of work in the garden today although I did sit down at 1.30 for a good hour or so, the more I do the more tired I feel the next day 🙄 But I feel like I am really getting somewhere and making good progress with the preparation which in turn will make next spring a lot easier hopefully. I started off in the greenhouse picking any remaining chillies and peppers then putting the plants outside, they will go in the compost bin when there is room. I cut all the lemon grass, took the tops to the rabbit and Guineas and kept the rest of the stems, some are for sale some I will find a use for. I also took one of the plants inside to overwinter along with another ginger plant. I dug up part of the horseradish, it has got huge and I don’t want it taking over, some of the root I put out for sale the rest I will grate and freeze. Next I fixed the side of one of the long beds, the wood had rotted and the side collapsed and then onto a fair amount of weeding. I picked all the remaining courgettes, they are small but still useable. All the while I was popping back and forth to the kitchen because I was baking bread. While I was waiting for the bread to cook I made a batch of tomato soup all with home grown ingredients, garlic, carrot, basil, tomatoes and a lovely red pepper. Back outside to get some more bits done before moving 4 barrows of woodchip. I think I earned the sit down lol.

All home brown ingredients for tomato soup, can’t show you the finished article because we ate it all up 😋

Thursday: Mostly busy indoors today which was unexpected, I was quite tired so I had already decided to potter today rather than get stuck into anything big. But the day didn’t pan out like that, Luke came to rebuild the end side of the building which is the undercover outer area, we had a discussion however an decided to completely remodel the whole thing 🤣

Friday: Gotta love Friday and especially a sunny one 😁 I got busy straight away with putting some bits up for sale to make room in the back covered area and then I started dismantling the worktop and anything around it in the area where the door will now be going. I also rang the surgery as I had notification from nhs vaccine that I need to get a third vaccine booked. There is some confusion over if this is the booster or a third primary vaccine but a bit of research showed that the booster is the same as the origin vaccine so I can’t see it makes much difference really except that I am then supposed to have a booster in six months time as well 🤷‍♀️ Luke is busy out the back opening up the new doorway and re fitting the doors, can’t believe we didn’t do it years ago it would have made much more sense lol. I have barrowed a few loads of woodchip as well today, if I do some every day then eventually I will get it done.

Lemon grass tea, full of antioxidants and goodness and so easy to grow in the UK

Saturday: Did a bit of pottering about first thing, I was waiting for someone to arrive who was coming to buy some equipment we were selling. They were a lovely young couple eager to get started on some land for their smallholding dreams, it was lovely to chat and show them around listening to their enthusiasm 😁 I totally forgot I had a loaf of bread proving mind you 🤣 all was not lost and after I had baked the loaf I went outside and cleaned the Guineas and quail. This was a big clean out ready for the coming winter months, mostly they get skipped out, that’s just the messiest bits clean up but this was a complete job for both pens. The quail often come inside for winter as they will keep laying then but I think this winter we will leave them out and they can rest from egg production. I put in fresh hay for the rabbit and cleaned out all the water and feed bowls. A quick bite to eat and a little sit down before going out to sort the light Sussex pen and the Turkey pen.

Sunday: Been busy today helping John do the side of the building, it coming along nicely now but still a fair amount to get done yet as always 😜

Thai chillies in various stages of drying out
Still managing to harvest a few things though the summer veg is coming to and end now.
The flower garden is still giving up its bounty, this has been one of the best decisions I have made, they brighten up the garden and the house 😁

The summer veg garden is almost finished but there are still things growing for winter, I have leeks in as well as kale and brassicas and winter lettuce.

As we have been redoing the side of the building I thought it would be a good idea to buy a bat box, we have plenty flying around at night and so a box seemed like a good idea. It all adds to the diversity of the wildlife we have here.