the daydream fund challenge thread

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Davesnave:grouphug::kisses3:
Your have done sooooooooooooooo much , maybe you have hit that wall, things allways take alot longer than we think...

Take time out for yourselves, and sit back and reflect on what you have actually done... you have some great pictures to show your progress so far...

Maybe slowing down or even taking a step or two backwards will take your personal pressure off you to get all the things done, and maybe you can start injoying your land, rather than it being a constant battle...

Maybe the situation with the chickens etc has made you feel [EMAIL="'s@d"]'s@d[/EMAIL] it all' we all get like that from time to time, me more than anyone.... but you will get to such a low point with everything, that you do start bouncing back...

Over the last few weeks, your posts etc have made me realise... i aam not getting any younger too, so maybe i should be a bit more realistic with this daydream thing i got:rotfl:

Have you got a volunteer centre near you? they are popping up everywhere, you could ask them you are looking for volunteers to do certain work for you...

The volunteer centre by us is a community based group, which promotes volunteering in the area.. and people go in and they either want certain help etc, or you can go in and see who needs what help, and see which one you want to do..

I will see if i can get some links for you.

Its not for everyone, but i have noticed its the older people which use it, and volunteer most of the time, but it does bring people/communities together

right better go i want to go and water my beans before the sun comes round onto the garden

chin up Davesnave.. why dont you take a day out, and go and visit some local gardens etc.... or to some local nurseries/garden centres... Your loved your time out at the Eden project, you never know it might give you a bit more food for thought, and bring back the old Davesnave;)

Just wish we lived closer, we could come and help, or make mayhem which ever way you look at it:p:rotfl:

rhiwfield

Davesnave, one of the heartwarming things you see is one when people pull together to make an insurmountable task viable.

Just adding to CTC's post one or two other thoughts:

• Ask Transition Totnes for help at an open work day or two with you providing food/drink at a wind up BBQ
• Volunteers from your DD's uni in exchange for bed and board (put up a tent if need be)
• Wwoofers?

Its amazing what two people can achieve, you and your OH have proved that. But its incredible what a troop of people can achieve and the fillip to morale shouldnt be underestimated.

Davesnave

Don't you worry, CTC, the current chicken problem is not dragging us down, though it's bloody maddening! Last night, I wrote a stonking email to the twonkers who sold us the birds, quoting the Sale Of Goods Act, and almost the Riot Act too!:rotfl: I'll send you a copy later, if you like.:D
Edit: I've sent it anyway, to your work email!
The important thing is that one of the two surviving chickens, which seemed at death's door last night, actually came out of the coop at 6am looking normal, made straight for the feed bowl and hasn't stopped foraging around since! :j It's eye seems to be OK too, when we thought it might go blind on one side. While it may not be out of the woods yet, it looks to have a fighting chance now.

So, we are sitting here, planning what to do about these chooks. We aren't sure if they will remain infective carriers of whatever it is -Mycoplasma being extremely likely - so we might need to build them a separate run. We certainly aren't selling them, giving them away or eating them for Xmas! They are such lovely birds, devoted to each other, and very stoic throughout this whole sorry episode.

As to the rest of the stuff, we love selling plants to people, but we also look forward to having our own 'proper' garden; something nursery owners often find difficult to achieve without staff. We also think we can grow more for ourselves and save money that way too. And there's the chooks......:) Besides, we have the sales area, and once the builders have gone and the dust settles, who knows?

Looks like we might see the hay baled today. OK I haven't brush cut the henless orchard yet, but everything else on the land looks good, so that's one thing almost under control! :rotfl:

lostinrates

davesnave, all your chooks have unfeathered legs , right? they don't need it short. Maybe the healthy ones can range on the hay field after its been baled? They love that, nice exposed fresh ground.


Congrats on the trooper chook. She'll probably have won your heart for ever (small coop in the ''garden''?)


Can you start on a perimetre of what would be your garden post building? I think its the most frustrating part tbh, not being abloe to get on with stuff within capability because of future plans and access, but your value of plants etc must dwarf mine, plus your greater experience must leave you panting to put them in somewhere ''permanant''.

ctc, where davesnave's land is a lot to cope with if you are trying yourself, it often can work as a local ''in'' to get swaps and returned favours, a small addition to retirement income if you can cope with people in your space.

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

davesnave, all your chooks have unfeathered legs , right? they don't need it short. Maybe the healthy ones can range on the hay field after its been baled? They love that, nice exposed fresh ground.
Err, not sure about that. Might try it with a few. Foxes still about in daytime here, though we've not seen them.... so far. The hens in the orchard are now getting pretty blase about the brushcutter, so follow me at a safe distance. At first they'd make a bee line for the far end!

Congrats on the trooper chook. She'll probably have won your heart for ever (small coop in the ''garden''?)
Maybe we'll put the survivors with a couple of innoculated hybrids in a new pen away from t'others.

Can you start on a perimetre of what would be your garden post building? I think its the most frustrating part tbh, not being abloe to get on with stuff within capability because of future plans and access, but your value of plants etc must dwarf mine, plus your greater experience must leave you panting to put them in somewhere ''permanant''.
Yes, you 'get' what I'm talking about, being in the same boat. That's what the removal of the overgrown hedge was all about in the winter, to get somewhere started. However, behind there it was 3' high in nettles, thistles and couch, so it's having a fallow summer. That bit is flat. Elsewhere, we need the digger back for more levelling, pulling stuff out etc, but too much of that and it all gets chaotic!

ctc, where davesnave's land is a lot to cope with if you are trying yourself, it often can work as a local ''in'' to get swaps and returned favours, a small addition to retirement income if you can cope with people in your space.

I can cope with Pete.

lostinrates

Davesnave, Pete might have some electric sheep netting you could borrow, shame you're so far or ypou could have mine for a couple of months. with somewhere for shade, water and food you can ''lead'' them out in the morning and into the pen and open it in the evening and follow them back in. Electirc netting used to keep foxes at bay for me, but its a bit of a faff for permanant solution. Ours just take their chances. Thankfully dog retrianing is goingwell, last two weekends I've had big dog off the lead and free ranging with me and the chooks. dog scent really is a great fox deterrant IMO.

choille

dave - Chickens get really stressed when moved & if there is any underlying probs then if they're stressed it comes out - if that makes sense.

Really hot & muggy again today - heavy going.

Straw bale building is a good thing & very insulated & also fire proof - I had a really good book that I lent to someone & then never got it back! Isn't that the way.

rhiwfield

As you know we have 2 solar arrays as part of our efforts to be increasing self reliant and as a defence against inflation and higher energy costs:

1. 1.67kWp linked to Diehl inverter, 30 degrees W, slope 25 degrees, installed 10/3/2011
2. 2.16kWp linked to 4 x Soladin inverters, 60 degrees E, slope 25 dgrees, installed 2/7/2011 (unusual configuration due to local shading issues)

We were expecting 1450 kWh and 1650 kWh (unshaded) respectively BUT we had a large copse due E on higher ground close to house which we knew would adversely impact, as would a chimney on the larger array.

In practice the results for Y1 were:

• 1.67 kWp array: 1325 kWh
• 2.16 kWp array: 1515 kWh

So 91% of prediction, but there were some mitigating factors:

• All panels were snow covered for at least 14 days during the winter
• Major grid surge prevented 2 days production
• Soladin inverter tests cost c 2 days production on main array
• Recall of Soladin inverters cost 30 days production on main array
• July/August/September 2010 were very poor months locally for sunshine.

Given all this we expect “normal” output to be at least 2900 kWh pa, giving a current yield of 9.21% on cost, and currently worth c£1474 pa made up from FITs £1256, export £45 and estimated energy saved £174. Energy saved is higher than EST estimates but we have 2 people at home during day and we use power according to power being generated. As a result our overall grid import is now at 2850kWh pa for a large house with 3 adults in occupation. The split arrays mean we have a longer period of usable production but our peak generation is less.


On other threads there are heated discussion on whether Solar PV is worthwhile, how much energy you save, the return is insufficient, too much, too subsidised etc. Lets leave those discussions on those threads please. Purpose of this post is for those of you planning home power generation to observe another person's actual experience.


As you will have gathered, shading can have a major impact on production, though technology is improving to compensate. My (relied upon) PV generation estimates came from PVGIS. You are able to customise the horizon on PVGIS by using a simple notepad file, which will allow you to reflect local shading issues. If you are unsure how to do this please pm me.


You may also note that we have sub optimal roof orientation. If we were lucky enough to have an unshaded south facing roof and a 3.83kWp array at 25 degree slope, we would probably generate c3,400 kWh pa. Given falling installation costs yields of 12% might be achievable for such a system.

lostinrates

rhiwfield wrote: »

As you know we have 2 solar arrays as part of our efforts to be increasing self reliant and as a defence against inflation and higher energy costs:

1. 1.67kWp linked to Diehl inverter, 30 degrees W, slope 25 degrees, installed 10/3/2011
2. 2.16kWp linked to 4 x Soladin inverters, 60 degrees E, slope 25 dgrees, installed 2/7/2011 (unusual configuration due to local shading issues)

We were expecting 1450 kWh and 1650 kWh (unshaded) respectively BUT we had a large copse due E on higher ground close to house which we knew would adversely impact, as would a chimney on the larger array.

In practice the results for Y1 were:

• 1.67 kWp array: 1325 kWh
• 2.16 kWp array: 1515 kWh

So 91% of prediction, but there were some mitigating factors:

• All panels were snow covered for at least 14 days during the winter
• Major grid surge prevented 2 days production
• Soladin inverter tests cost c 2 days production on main array
• Recall of Soladin inverters cost 30 days production on main array
• July/August/September 2010 were very poor months locally for sunshine.

Given all this we expect “normal” output to be at least 2900 kWh pa, giving a current yield of 9.21% on cost, and currently worth c£1474 pa made up from FITs £1256, export £45 and estimated energy saved £174. Energy saved is higher than EST estimates but we have 2 people at home during day and we use power according to power being generated. As a result our overall grid import is now at 2850kWp pa for a large house with 3 adults in occupation. The split arrays mean we have a longer period of usable production but our peak generation is less.


On other threads there are heated discussion on whether Solar PV is worthwhile, how much energy you save, the return is insufficient, too much, too subsidised etc. Lets leave those discussions on those threads please. Purpose of this post is for those of you planning home power generation to observe another person's actual experience.


As you will have gathered, shading can have a major impact on production, though technology is improving to compensate. My (relied upon) PV generation estimates came from PVGIS. You are able to customise the horizon on PVGIS by using a simple notepad file, which will allow you to reflect local shading issues. If you are unsure how to do this please pm me.


You may also note that we have sub optimal roof orientation. If we were lucky enough to have an unshaded south facing roof and a 3.83kWp array at 25 degree slope, we would probably generate c3,400 kWh pa. Given falling installation costs yields of 12% might be achievable for such a system.

that is incredibly useful stuff. I'm off to tell someone else.

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

Davesnave, Electirc netting used to keep foxes at bay for me, but its a bit of a faff for permanant solution. Ours just take their chances. Thankfully dog retrianing is goingwell, last two weekends I've had big dog off the lead and free ranging with me and the chooks. dog scent really is a great fox deterrant IMO.

choille wrote: »

dave - Chickens get really stressed when moved & if there is any underlying probs then if they're stressed it comes out - if that makes sense.

It's our intention to free range them on the lower field when we get some fencing connections set up from the barn. We have a mains power unit. (One of those 'later on' jobs! )

That makes perfect sense choille, but these folks who are now trying to wash their hands of us don't 'get' that there could be something lurking in their flock which will reveal itself again in similar circumstances. They've had a vet look over their place and think he is able to give them a clean bill of health just by doing that.

As a matter of interest, our chicken-keeping friend, who accompanied DW, said she thought some young birds there looked dodgy in the eye region. Me, I went shopping that day.:( I'm more use as a hunter-gatherer! :rotfl:

Great to see a good payback for you, rhiwfield. After all, you are one of the pioneers in that area.:)

Right, the baler man cometh.......:eek: