the daydream fund challenge thread

choille

Dave we have a similar hen that I thought had an egg problem/peritonitis thing but I really don't know what's wrong with her & should of despatched her too but that's tomorrows OH first thing task as she aint improving.

RAS - OH got more pipe & we will wait until rain stops a little & we are gonna by pass where we think the block is. We have some new connectors - I just repeat what I'm told as I know nuffink.9Did you do your windmill course?)

Lost our phone line yesterday with lightening - 4 exchanges off we hear but fine now.
Kazcow your plans sound great.

lostinrates

Its the most beautiful morning here...sunny, warm and still. BONFIRE TIME! I might even get the grass cut this afternoon! Yippee.

I want to take some more photos this weekend to get an idea of how the garden has been over the summer when I look back/choose plants for next year.

RAS

choille wrote: »

RAS - OH got more pipe & we will wait until rain stops a little & we are gonna by pass where we think the block is. We have some new connectors - I just repeat what I'm told as I know nuffink.

Did you do your windmill course?

Do hope your bypass works and you get piped water back ASAP.

Do you run a collector off either the caravan or the shed roofs into butts?

Regarding the windmills, not this year. Realised in March that my arm was just not right and I was still struggling badly.

About a month ago it relocated further and is now much better (does not hurt continuously and hurt like mad when I use it seriously.) So I have finally been able to dig, saw and pull ivy off the house etc.

I am doing a bee keeping course instead, partly because we finally got permission to keep bees on the plots. The first couple of weeks I struggled to manage the frames and they are only 5 pounds weight. I can lift a full super (20lbs plus) when checking a hive but manipulating the brood frames requires sustained grasp and steady hands, of which I currently only have one.

The strength in that arm is building up but is nowhere near ready for proper construction tasks. I was using my weight to wangle a frame together yesterday, when most people would push it together with their hands.

Windmills are still on my mind though.

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

Its the most beautiful morning here...sunny, warm and still.

Wall to wall rain here ATM, but then I'm back on the polytunnel foundations, so expect further deluges! If the spring starts up, I'm stuffed......:(

Up to now it's been going well, but I've given up following the manufacturer's advice and stuck 2 barrowloads of concrete over every base plate, rather than earth. I'm sure earth would be OK, but I tried it and couldn't keep the blessed things within tolerances. With concrete it's one quick slurp of muck, put the thing straight in all planes, bang it to the correct height, check, fix temporarily and the next day fill the hole up with stones and earth, confident it's going to stay put.:)

The hen is no better and no worse. She's done a bit of pecking around this morning, so still some hope, but that batch of Welsummers (from a well-known breeder) haven't turned out to be so great. The other 3 are better layers and the one with the slightly gammy leg is best of all. The hens have greens every day, alfie. They give me 'looks' if I forget!

Davesnave

RAS wrote: »

Windmills are still on my mind though.

I bet you knew someone would do this!:rotfl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEhS9Y9HYjU

choille

That's the water back on - why if it was so straight forward wasn't it done before now? Probably coz there's so much else stacking up I suppose.
Spent a while playing in the burn up near the road trying to build a dam & divert the burn at a fork that's flooding a ruin I may get around to doing up in a hundred years time or so!

I slipped down a hole in the burn & breeched my wellies...........
Remembering days as a kid playing in burns - great fun - absolutely chucking it down so time for lunch.

RAS really sorry to hear about your arm - that's a shame, hopefully you'll get movement & pain free soon.
The bee thing sounds brilliant - really worthwhile thing to do. There is no virus here that I know of, so peaople are asked to get local bees - not to bring them in. Watched a guy inseminating queen with super 'clean bee' semen as that (Clean bees) cleans up the debris from the hive & there fore the insect that causes the virus - That's the general belief/idea - fascinating. Think it was on Springwatch
We have a client who has kept bees for a while now & does the local markets with her honey, so in the future I will have a good source of local bee knowledge & possible bees, bee stuff.
Bought a loom off her ages ago that is living in the shed dusty.

Can't believe that we have water back on albeit a cold tap.
We don't have water butts as I have the burn at the door & anything left upright - wheel barrow etc , fills with water for dry times.

Winged_one

Thanks all, I am bummed but resigned to the work part of it. And it does mean I can start to unwind some of the stresses (I realised how bad I was when I felt like I'd been hit by a truck Monday morning after a full night's sleep - OH had arrived home Sunday morning after a month away and I could start to share some burdens again!).

It was the county council threatening water shortages here. We have had quite a dry spring, and only really got rain in early May and again this week. My butt is full again, having emptied again since early May. And the poor plot crops are way behind because they got so little water. I've been trying to avoid using tap water though on purpose - one evening I did as everything was really suffering, but generally I'm using a few other tricks like the water from condenser dryer (when that gets its rare use), or the cold water while waiting for hot to come through the pipes for washing up, and that is helping - oh, and the upside down sandpit had gathered about 4 watering cans worth too, which I used before putting the new sandpit in place for DD.

It sounds liek everyone is making good progress. I hope the poorly chooks all get sorted soon. I am watching those dicsussions with interest to be able to talk knowledgeably when MIL gets hers (due next week, I think).

Meanwhile I am looking out the window at glorious sunshine but have another couple of hours to finish here before I can escape. But I have started to list the sewing projects that are most urgent (i.e. easiest and I have the materials!) and will get started tonight on finishing off the 3 crayon rolls I've had cut out for a while (since last December!). And then move on to a few more projects....

RAS

choille wrote: »

The bee thing sounds brilliant - really worthwhile thing to do. There is no virus here that I know of, so peaople are asked to get local bees - not to bring them in. Watched a guy inseminating queen with super 'clean bee' semen as that (Clean bees) cleans up the debris from the hive & there fore the insect that causes the virus - That's the general belief/idea - fascinating. Think it was on Springwatch
We have a client who has kept bees for a while now & does the local markets with her honey, so in the future I will have a good source of local bee knowledge & possible bees, bee stuff.
Bought a loom off her ages ago that is living in the shed dusty.

choille

I am a beginner with bees, although getting better at the basics. Last week was a bit of a challenge; when we got to the class a hive had recently swarmed. A bit embaressing for the group who were supposed to have ensured that there were no queen cells the previous week (queens lead a swarm when the replacement cells are capped 8 days after laying so the cells were there a week previously).

So instead of learning it was serious bee-keeping done by newbies under supervision, to prevent the whole colony dissappearing in casts (mini-swarms) as new queens hatched. Thats when being confident in your approach helps. Knocking bees into the hive is a bit scary in one sense but has to be done to check for queen cells. Think we found a dozen in all.

One of my friends still keeps a few hives (East coast). Varroa has got up there. Not sure if it has made its way over to you. If it has not, then certainly keep to local bees as the more we learn the more problems it seems to be related to. There are also a few original black bee colonies in the Islands and Highland areas. A bit feistier than the hybrids but they seem to have greater immunity to disease.

choille

I don't think varroa is here yet. I have got banking bees which are quite rare - so I've been told.

There are so many bees about this year that I think someone must have hives locally but not sure if they are wild ones or not - that's how much I know.
Goodness this up & down weather is tiring & quite cold at turns - very wet showers.

RAS

choille wrote: »

I don't think varroa is here yet. I have got banking bees which are quite rare - so I've been told.

There are so many bees about this year that I think someone must have hives locally but not sure if they are wild ones or not - that's how much I know.

I cannot even find a reference to banking bees!

Here is the BBCT identification guide http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/bumblebees_id.htm

You have a few rare ones up you way.