Promised Pics

Well, Laura's phone cable finally arrived yesterday, so today she has been playing!! Here are some pics :)

The dreaded angle grinding

The Turkeys when they were still really small

And them now!!

The Ducklings when they were tiny

Slightly bigger here, theyre getting positively huge now!

Smaller pigs ;)

Bigger pigs, being big pigs!! :D

Harriet, Ludo and Clarabelle's older sister, is a punk, and thus can be found in obscure places around the farm.

Bradley with Lemmy on his head!! Thats Dad William down at the bottom there.

Laura and Clarabelle

Ludo, looking quite proud of himself!!

The funniest looking Chicken ever!

Molly down on the beach back when it was warmer!

Molly trying to come on our camping trip with us.

Dylan decided he wasn't quite big enough.

Dylan and Brad relaxing by the fire, looks like Brads getting a back rub and everything!!

Well there we go, a few new ones of the babies need to be taken methinks, they're growing so fast! Hope you've enjoyed the pics x

All we want for Christmas

Well.. everyone keeps asking us what we want for Christmas and other than a van, which is a tad on the expensive side we were getting a bit stuck so we've decided to put up an amazon wishlist on here.

At the moment it is just Laura's, but Bradley will either make his own or add stuff to hers accordingly.

When you go on if you switch the 'sort by' to priority, and if you wish to purchase (no pressure by any means) please get the cheapest options available.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/1KRATEPY875G0?
reveal=unpurchased&filter=all&sort=priority&layout=standard
&x=16&y=10

(link will no work properly so copy and pasting may have to happen)

I'll try do an update later x

UPDATE!: We have a present request for Bradley: Subscriptions to New Scientist magazine and Blueprint magazine. Please :)

Most Exciting

Well well well... today, it is finally happening, what we have been waiting for for what seems like a lifetime... today: we get carpet!!

Well, that's not that exciting really is it now you say... NO! It is truly. For today our room shall be complete, dust free, splinter free, warm and best of all; quiet! Yes, finally the echoes of the house shall not pass through our floor at all hours, we will no longer know if Dylan is scratching himself, or if James is home from the pub, no longer shall we here that Molly has gone too close to Megan, nor Pirate FM shall travel up to our sleeping ears. Today is a good day. Finally we shall have our own space, finished, and we can unpack for the fifth and final time!

Whilst that excitement is predominant in our day we unfortunately lost a chook last night, she hadn't been right for some time, so it was for the best, but it was still a little sad. But its an old life for our two new ones, who are both doing very well, they're outdoors now, still under the heat lamp but gradually getting used to the cold and the big wide world. They're even starting to get grown up feathers which is rather lovely, unlike the ducklings who, know how to escape from their pen and are still yellow and fluffy.

Winter is really starting to draw in now, the nights are seriously cold but Laura got the wood burner on last night, all by herself for the first time, and she shall see to it that it is on every night now until the ridiculous cold is over. Fortunately the rain and clouds are back now so the edge has been taken off the chill.

We still haven't made any exact plans for Christmas, we have to wait and see whats happening here first, but we hope to go up to London beforehand, around the start of next month, to see the Christmassy sights; and the shops (added by Laura :D). And then again in early January as Laura has her first school reunion! Not quite 10 years worth but organised through facebook since about 80% of the year are on it!!

Well as I type the carpeters are entering our room the start their magic :D I have taken some piccys, but on an old school camera, so they will have to be developed first: before and after shots.

In other news, this week we ate the first of our squashes. After a sick day which Laura spent watching Jamie at home (2 hours worth) she was inspired to make a lovely Squash Risotto. Its always exciting to have the first of a harvest, and it really makes one appreciate the turning of the seasons and the blessing of good home grown nosh.

We better get on, it took three of us about two hours to get everything out of our room, it will probably take much longer to get everything back in, starting now with James' room so they can carpet the hallway.

We hope you all are well. x x x

Cold and Frosty Morning

Well, it has been a while since we last updated, mostly because we have both been rather ill, and secondly busy trying to catch up on the work left behind due to being ill. First Bradley was struck down by the mighty stomach bug; thus having to spend most of the weekend in bed, and then Laura got it too. We are both starting to feel better now but still a little worse for wear, and very behind on work.

Life has been quite pleasnt otherwise. First we had two lovely baby chicks be born, well, four, but only two made it out their shells, both Maran/Buff Orpington crosses. They are very sweet and have been named Ludo and Clarabelle, it looks like Ludos a girl and Clarabelle is a boy! But we'll have to wait a few months and see if we're right. We're really hoping for a boy so fingers crossed everyone!



A Maran Cockeral like our proud Dad.



A Buff Orpington Hen like Mum.

Then Monday was, of course, Guy Fawkes night, and we celebrated by going to visit Tom and Laura in Golant to drink mulled wine and watch the fireworks (and then Autumnwatch with the beavers :D). Their house is on the hill and the fireworks were going off by the river below us so most of the lower level fireworks were just by our eyeline, pretty amazing until some of the rockets started veering towards us!! Golant is on the Fowey River:

... and the sound of the fireworks bouncing off the valley sides all around was incredible; like a shoot out in a Tarantino movie, quite scary - esspecially for the poor animals around us, but good fun.

So now were mostly back to work. Getting the house tidyed up since we've been a little lax while we've been ill, and getting some of the outside work done. And Laura is getting on with her coursework for her RHS Level 2.

We hope this finds our readers well! x

Winter just popped by for a quick cuppa.

Well, today has turned out quite nice indeed.

A family turned up to talk to Dick, but he wasn't here so I ended up telling them all I knew about waterwheels, which is surprisingly a lot! Its always a little odd when randoms turn up but seeing as they were recommended to us by people we sort of know (if using someones swimming pool and sauna while they're on holiday counts as knowing them!!) and they were genuinely nice people. I think I helped them out on what they needed to know so it made it worth running around in my pj's after escapee turkeys and pigs and getting my new slippers wet :(

Ive done a fair chunk of the chores now, watered the polytunnel which was a few days overdue :S It is hard to remember it when its pouring with rain outside!! And got a lot of the downstairs done, yet it feels like I've barely scratched the surface on that one! It is nice to know that the kitchen is at least hygienic now!!

Well, I promised a rendition of what we've done so far so here it is, an entry I made in another journal copied and pasted for all to read!!

Tue, Oct 2nd 2007

Today we lost a turkey. This isn't the most positive of starts I must admit, but its relevant to the road we have been travelling thus far.

Our first job here at the farm was scything - not the easiest of jobs for a newbie like me, but Bradley was on hand to clear up my mess. We were scything the top paddock, ready for: our Christmas turkeys. At this point, Bradley was not keen on the idea of turkeys, other than the obvious benefits of raising them ourselves, guaranteeing their high quality of life; as even with the best intentions, even if they're free range and organic: if they're mass farmed birds, they still wont have as high a quality of life, well compared to ours at least, which are spoiled rotten.

Soon after the scything day we acquired a flat pack shed and some electric fence which Bradley was set the task of assembling (this is what happens when you tell Dick you don't like turkeys) And once that was finished, 12 of the tiniest, sweetest little birds arrived. They were so small they could stand on the palm of your hand - and would. They took to Bradley like he was their dad, and he took to them too, so much so that now they have all their wattles and snoods, he still loves them. So here's to our little lost turkey.

There have been various other jobs for us here over the past few months since early August when we properly started working here. Vegetables have been planted, pigs have been tended to, willows have been mulched, lawns mowed (an acre big lawn on a steep hill!), admin done, kitchens cleaned, geese cuddled (they hate it but they're so soft!!) courses attended, feed bought, chickens wings clipped :S, animals cleaned out (least fun job), harvesting, holes dug, signs made, ducks chased!, polytunnel and greenhouse watered, dogs washed, plants maintained, kitchen done up, and Bradley's favorite: walls angle grinded!! Plus so many other bits and pieces, it will talk all day to carry on!!

About half the time we've been here we've been alone, which is always daunting but has been quite nice for us at the same time. We've also been getting involved in local life: the pub! And exploring our surroundings whilst walking the dogs (10 mins walk to the local beach :D)

We've pretty much got it made it has to be said, and our experience here has really inspired us towards setting up our own smallholding and doing our bit.

Right, I better get on - find out what I can do with some ham...

Winter tapped me on the shoulder and said to say hi.

Well today it is officially freezing! Which I apparently forsore as in my wisdom yesterday I purchased a lovely pair of bootie slippers: warm toes are always good. And thus as the year turns were starting to think about what needs to be done in preperation for the coming season.

Today shall be a day of sorting things out: getting the house back to a sociable state. Both the kitchen (or at least the kitchen celling) and our bedroom (sans carpet) should be finished today, so we can start to get things organised, or at least organised enough. I look forward to the day the kitchen is finnished properly and we dont have to keep organising it and reorganising it and so on, and - if the temperature stays like it is today, keeping the doors shut!!

Then I will need to brave the baltic climes, and go outside and do some sorting in the garden, the outdoors has been mildly undertended with all the action going on inside, so I'll need to do some weeding, and possibly some planting, depending on time.

Over the past couple of weeks we've had two broody birds, a duck: Daisy (our female muscovy duck) and a chicken: one of the Buff Orpintongs. But yesterday the chicken apparently decided she was bored, went and layed a yummy egg in the goose house and wondered off to the outside (she obviously forsore this turning of the weather too!) So we made our first venture into the land of incubators. As the Buff had stolen most of the eggs that were layed in the hen house we now have 20 little ones waiting to be hatched, were hoping for a couple of boys, so Im going to have to learn to to sex chicks!

Other than that we have not been up to much, the kitchen and bedroom have taken up most of our time, then weve had some slow days and even a day off to try and recover from these darstedly colds we all have. But there is now plenty to do, and lots of people turining up this weekend to entertain us!

Looking towards the winter season Im thinking about the dreaded C-word, or prehaps the two dreaded C-words: Christmas Cake... I realise I am a bit late for this, but I think it will be worth a try, you never know - I may have a secret talent lurking in the depths of my cooking skills just waiting to be unleashed! Also plans for christmas presents are starting to ensue, as we are slighlty budgetly limited I plan on making a fair chunk of the pressies, but I really need to get moving with them.

And so I shall continue with my day. And cook some paoched eggs since I am now the poached egg queen.

I'll try get some piccys up on here soon, and a back log of things weve done since we got here :)

Our new life in the country

Well, about... 3 months ago now, we had just graduated, were jobless, on the verge of homeless and living in very cramped conditions in a bungalow in Falmouth. Then, one day, we got an offer from a friend to go stay on her smallholding and help out for a couple of weeks while we sorted our lives out, so off we trotted and a couple of weeks turned into the rest of the summer, into a few more months and we havent looked back since. 3 months later we are moved in, married and getting ready for winter and its still the best job in the world!

So this is our story, for our friends and family and anyone else who can be bothered the read our ramblings about being green, being together and life down on't farm!