the daydream fund challenge thread

Davesnave

CTC, I sowed my parsnips a few weeks ago too, and they are only just showing; not that far behind the radishes that are marking their rows. Everything has been slow, so I wouldn't give up yet.

Under cover it's a different story, so I should get my first courgette next week. Blooming good job, as the last two I bought in Morrisons were bitter & inedible.

We caught another small rabbit today. It thought it was being clever, hiding in a bit of drainage pipe, till I blocked the ends! As we were going out, it came for a ride in the car and I dropped it off on the other side of the village. What a softie! I'll have to get tougher than this.:( Still, no damage from the bunnies as yet, maybe because I hear Reynard has an earth a couple of hundred yards away.

Welcome tiddles - please feel free to daydream here any time you like!
As to the Self Sufficiency Bible, I've not read it, but the author, Simon Dawson, has a column every week in my local paper, and he's excellent, so it will be on my birthday list too.

If you want to sample some of Simon's writing, go to: www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/dawson

Blairweech

Has anyone seen this from the BBC? They are doing a smallholding show this year, where 10 would be smallholder couples have to run a smallholding for 6 weeks, and the winner gets to live there for a year.

http://www.rural-smallholdings.co.uk/running-smallholding/smallholding-news-features-take-part-in-new-smallholdingfarming-tv-series/

The deadline for applications is today though (i've only just found out about it )! I don't think I can do it as I am enrolled for uni though

Edit: I applied. I rememberedI could defer my place for a year if necessary. Probably won't get through anyway as I am hardly TV material, but then at least I tried.

Lotus-eater

The problem with that sort of show, is that all will mostly be shown on TV, is your relationships with everyone else. I don't want to be seen like that.

I like the look of that book Tiddles, although the market is quite full of inspirational self sufficiency books atm. Have you tried the original John Seymour SS book? He was an inspiration for the Good Life and he did it well before it was popular.

stitching_witch

DH and I went to see his employers today regarding a phased return to work.

Unfortunately his employers do not agree with our GP regarding DH's fitness and have offered him a small lump sum payoff. It actually just covers 1.5 years untaken holiday pay and a month's notice, but we do need it desperately. Although this sounds good in the short term and will pay rent/council tax/overdraft etc for a few months, in the long term it won't mean our income will increase. At least it gets us out of a deep hole for now.

As we drove home feeling quite dejected, DH suddenly grinned. "I can afford the bees now" he said.

Another step along the self-sufficient road. :j

Davesnave

Blairweech, TV shows about farming and the countryside are all the rage, which is good if they help people to understand about rural life, but some may also create an over-rosy picture, like the Property Ladder programmes of old. There, people were often saved by the madness of the market, rather than the exercise of any skills. Anyway, I'm glad you applied; nothing ventured and all that. You are very brave and I agree with lotus about being exposed 'on the box.'

After 8 months I'm sure of two things: running any smallholding is demanding of time & energy, and in the initial years at least, there's no money in it!

On the subject of money, I'm sorry to hear that your DH isn't being accepted back at work stitching witch. I presume you are weighing up all the options & I wouldn't wish to advise from a position of ignorance, but do look at the situation in relation to the law regarding constructive dismissal. Either way, I hope you get your bees; we all need more of those!:)

elantan

i really like the way he is looking at it stitching witch ... and wish you both all the best ... with those positive thoughts i am sure it will be an interesting and inspiring journey you will be having

stitching_witch

Davesnave wrote: »

On the subject of money, I'm sorry to hear that your DH isn't being accepted back at work stitching witch. I presume you are weighing up all the options & I wouldn't wish to advise from a position of ignorance, but do look at the situation in relation to the law regarding constructive dismissal. Either way, I hope you get your bees; we all need more of those!:)

I can see where you're coming from Dave, but to be brutally honest, DH isn't fit enough to return to the heavy engineering work he did before he fell ill. The three huge abdominal operations he has had in the last two years means he'll never be able to do the lifting and twisting involved. It's a very small firm and have no other type of work he could do.

His employers could dismiss him under capability procedures with no financial gain to us, and are making a few of the other guys redundant so this is really the best outcome for us at this time.

The allotment secretary likes the idea of the bees; he just needs to get the agreement of the whole committee. This is one advantage of having parish allotments - we all know each other personally so more likely to get a "yes" from them.

Lotus-eater

I hope bees work out for you, but if you are looking at possible financial difficulties, then other options could be maybe much better. From what I understand with all the bee deaths and difficulties atm, alot of people make a loss on their bees.
It will be worth talking to a local bee keeper about it anyway.

tiddles

Welcome tiddles - please feel free to daydream here any time you like!
As to the Self Sufficiency Bible, I've not read it, but the author, Simon Dawson, has a column every week in my local paper, and he's excellent, so it will be on my birthday list too.

Thanks Davesnave - I've ordered the book now.

I like the look of that book Tiddles, although the market is quite full of inspirational self sufficiency books atm. Have you tried the original John Seymour SS book? He was an inspiration for the Good Life and he did it well before it was popular.

Thanks Lotuseater - yes, I have a copy of the Seymour book - I'm always happy to have even more inspiration!

stitching_witch

Our naughty chickens have a habit of dragging all the nesting material into the main part of the coop, complete with the two fake eggs I've put in there to give them a hint. Each morning I scoop it all back up and put it back in the nest box, tell them off and know I'll be doing it all again the next day.

This morning I scooped up the straw and the fake eggs from the coop, opened the nest box and saw a brown egg! DH swears it isn't from the fridge and, actually, it hasn't got a "use by date" on it.

It's our first free-range, organic egg!!:j:j

Now what do I do with it? Only one egg between all of us and I don't want to mix it in with others from the fridge. I'll just have use it in a cookie recipe which only uses one egg, then we all get to share.