Daydream thread continues.....

rozeepozee

On my treasure hunt of the sheds last week, well I discovered that old Tommy didn't throw anything out. Anything of value in the house has been taken - it was as good as empty when we bought it. but the sheds have been more or less left.

One's full of beehives, another's full of old plastic pots, another's full of old tools.... Some have been screwed shut and we can't see what's inside. There won't be anything of "value", I'm sure - to the casual observer

The greenhouse is very old, wooden but is essentially intact and there's a coldframe at the end of it. Their both totally overgrown but I've started clearing the ground in there. The soil looks very healthy. I don't know if I'm qualified to say that though :rotfl:

Davesnave

rozeepozee wrote: »

The greenhouse is very old, wooden but is essentially intact and there's a coldframe at the end of it. Their both totally overgrown but I've started clearing the ground in there. The soil looks very healthy. I don't know if I'm qualified to say that though :rotfl:

Remember, we used the polytunnel here that looked like it was going to fall down or blow away, and although it did partially collapse & need repair in Winter 2010/11, it's still there now!

It'll be going soon though.....

Lotus-eater

rozeepozee wrote: »

On my treasure hunt of the sheds last week, well I discovered that old Tommy didn't throw anything out. Anything of value in the house has been taken - it was as good as empty when we bought it. but the sheds have been more or less left.

One's full of beehives, another's full of old plastic pots, another's full of old tools.... Some have been screwed shut and we can't see what's inside. There won't be anything of "value", I'm sure - to the casual observer

The greenhouse is very old, wooden but is essentially intact and there's a coldframe at the end of it. Their both totally overgrown but I've started clearing the ground in there. The soil looks very healthy. I don't know if I'm qualified to say that though :rotfl:

Sounds like there could well be "value" to me

Just a slight warning about the greenhouse, while wooden GH's last many years and can be repaired quite easily, just be a bit careful with that glass, I've seen GH accident results with horticultural glass and it's not pretty.

But if it's good enough to be used, you could have a nice find there

lostinrates

Well, this morning we found a fox hole, in the bank on the other side of the ditch from the hedgeline we cleared over winter. We have created a lovely south facing bank for a fox, far too close to home for my liking i am afraid. If its game to take a goose, then it will be up for a house full of chickens. Also, on investigation the new hole by lake cake i found last week is not a huge rat but a rabbit i think! Phew. You can all laugh at me mistaking a rabbit hole for a rat one now.:). And we have hares which i think are making forms near the veg garden. The hares can stay, the rabbits lpong term chances are not good. (supper, sadly, seems the best solution for beautiful but dangerous hole forming rabbits) and the foxes will be stong.y encouraged to leave at every opportunity, but will not be successful in any appeal for amnesty. Just too much of a risk with my poultry i am afraid.

lostinrates

Oh, and in other news, a friend of the family contacted us yesterday about students looking for work experience over the summer. They include architects and artists. One of the artists wants to be a trompe l'Oeil specialist, and we would love lots of that sort of thing, so i am really hopefull that works out. The archetect could look at tye coach house, the stables, the dairy building and the other outbuildings. The practical students would be most useful though.

Feeding them will be fine - better get some veg started!- but housing them might be a problem. I would happily move out of our room and down stairs with the dogs in return for help....which gives us sleeping provision for three people, or two couples and a single. I don't know if any have tents, but seems rough to get free labour frm people then have them sleep in tents.....

I am really excited about this. Its very easy to get disheartened when stuff is foung wrong and keeping up with stuff is hard. I am saying in my mind it might all come to nothing, but it would be so good if it did come to something, even just some basic labouring, with afternoons and weekends off to sight see in the west country....i would be so grateful!

Lotus-eater

Some of them might even prefer tents in the summer, I would. As long as there was a place for a campfire, adequate toilet facilities and a shower in the morning.

alfie_1

morning all....and another glorious day !!

im being dead lazy ! im still in my bolisha red fluffy dressing gown, trundling round...hehe. i have to cross the road to feed mabel and thought id succesfully "nipped" across unseen [judging by car engine sounds !] i had but on my return encountered a group of SILENT lycra clad cyclists !! not sure who was more shocked ...them or me....

my little pekin must have been sitting somewhere cos she is now no more. theres a plump of feathers in the garden !!! boo hoo....

hope your sale goes well CTC.

lostinrates

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Some of them might even prefer tents in the summer, I would. As long as there was a place for a campfire, adequate toilet facilities and a shower in the morning.

Well, we have a loo, in the house, might be two by then, plus, with fox would strongly encourage the hedge urinal for chaps.

We do not have a shower. . We have a horrid bath.

rozeepozee

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Sounds like there could well be "value" to me

Just a slight warning about the greenhouse, while wooden GH's last many years and can be repaired quite easily, just be a bit careful with that glass, I've seen GH accident results with horticultural glass and it's not pretty.

But if it's good enough to be used, you could have a nice find there

I was wondering about the glass with the children about too. Don't quite know what to do though.

Been up looking at the boundaries again today. Top Field's boundary is lovely well establshed thick hedges that the farmer who's been letting the field (in exchange for looking after it) trims and the other bit that the neighbours trim as otherwise, it obscures their views to Cardigan Bay. No action required there.

The rear boundary and the front Northside boundaries are made up of banked soil (presumably with slate foundations - not sure of the technical term) and very established trees and various shrubs. If we could fill in the gaps, I'm sure we'd be saving ourselves £500 plus in stock fencing/labour. Does anyone have any advice on how we would go about doing this? Which shrubs or plants to use? They would have to be planted on top of the living wall/banked soil, so It's not like we can just dig a big hole and pop a line of shrubs in.... We are lacking in "How To...?"

Do they have WOOFers here? They were all over Aus when we lived there. Free labour sounds wonderful. I'm not sure we've ever going to be big enough for anything like that, but we would certainly be able to accommodate them. We'll also have four empty rooms where showers should be as I'm almost certain we won't be able to fit out 4 bathrooms for some time!

Sorry about your pekin, Alf. It's not been a good week for the fowl...

Itismehonest

Sorry to hear about the pekin, alfie.

Seems like a good plan, LIR. Can't you set up a temporary sleeping barn in one of your buildings? It wouldn't cost too much to set up a shower somewhere - as long as it's close to a water supply.

We have safety glass in our greenhouse. It pays to play safe & makes life a fraction less worrying when strimming near the thing

Rozee - This page may help if you have the type of hedge I'm thinking of....... although it's Devon & not Wales. Maybe there's one devoted to Welsh hedgebanks?