Daydream thread continues.....

Davesnave

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

flip you two busy today....

I should have been doing the new hen house base, but I never tackle more precise work when it's windy, so I let myself off that.

The stream 'garden' is not really priority, but I decided to do it now because we shall be putting a new fence in there shortly and the trees were blocking the sight lines for that.

There's a flatter bit at the bottom of the slope, then the fence, and then another very steep bank of 2- 3m before the stream. We want to set the new fence back a bit, leaving some space before the drop to the stream. Into that space, we want to put stuff like ferns, shade loving shrubs and a few woodland flowers. It should look informal and be fairly low maintenance.

We haven't a lot of places here for shade loving plants until more trees grow.

choille

Well CTC - shouldn't brag but we've been the driest place in Britain this Summer. But you wouldn't know it yesterday, nor the Spring we had when it rained & rained & rained.

Beautiful moon out there tonight, but BBbbbbrrrrrrrrr it's gone cold.

alfie_1

Its a blue moon tomorow

COOLTRIKERCHICK

alfie_1 wrote: »

Its a blue moon tomorow

Flip I just had flash backs about blue moons:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

They were the 'in' drink many moons ago. in a time that now feels it wasnt me:D

As you see, cant sleep again..

Choille its about time it was the driest place up with you, its normally you that gets all the carp weather...

Agree about it feeling cold, noticed it late this afternoon in work.

I feel such a numpty:cool: after being with hubby for nearly 20 years, its only tonight i found out he doesnt like batter:rotfl:we had some chips from the chippy and there were those little crunchy bits of batter, ( super yummy) and when i offered him the last one, then i found out:rotfl:

A week today we will hopefully have our pigs:T depending on what is at the market, and the prices things go for..

CGG

Davesnave wrote: »

Welcome....:)


My idea of 'frugal' and my DW's concept of the same thing remain some distance apart! Someone may have to compromise.

The second main consideration is income; where's it to come from? Here, we're not all smallholders, but those who are rely on something beyond the smallholding to pay the bills.

My rather basic knowledge of East Anglia suggests that there are smallholdings there, often left over from the hey-day of market gardening, and some of those are in the cheaper price bracket. What's the attraction of Wales over the Fen country? Just curious.

On the frugal score, we both sing from the same hymn sheet.

Have been married for 18 years, I'm stay at home Mum, and he, a self-employed builder. Majority of our clothes are out of Charity Shops and we live a simple existence. I haven't had a foreign holiday for over 20 years. Maybe I'm dull? But they don't entice me. I've lost friends in the past who bleat all the time they have no money for their electricity bill, and the next are excitedly phoning to tell me all about yet another holiday they've just booked - knowing it'll probably be in two years time, when the holiday has been long gone and forgotten that it may just have been paid off. :cool:

Striving to keep up with the Jones's has never been on our Agenda.

On the note of small holdings in this area - well, alas, so many have now had their land sold off for development, and those that are left are holding their value and are sold at a premium, many to horsey folk.

We are mortgage and debt free - and want to find something that still keeps us so.

This said, am I still a welcome newbie on this thread?

lostinrates

Of course you are welcome CGG.


Re property prices and small holdings, well, Wales has its fair share of horses too, (and acre plots are too small for most horse owners, over an acre though and up to five or so it gets very silly money) and at least when i was near welsh borders they also had a similar gripe abput the english pushing up prices. I am guessing thats an eaier relationship now in most areas. But, i would factor in the cost of losing regular customers in you area and the risk it might take a while to build up a client base elsewhere.

Having skills like building is most definitley in your favour. You can realistically lopok at properties that would cost orhers a bomb. Our wreck is/was such a place, but we have to pay the bomb. People forget i think how much general maintenance small holdings need. I can bash rails in to fencing and slop paint or preservative about. But other jobs loom that we have neither skill (both of us) strength (me) or time (dh) to do.

Tbh, the east of the country will appeal to most of atm, as the west, always wetter, is distinctly squlchy this summer, and for those of us with large grazing animals ( like horses!) this weather poses all sorts of problems. Both practical and eventually financial.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Hi CGG

I am born and bred in wales, and over the years I have seen loads of 'foreigners' come into wales, some are great, some have a cocky attitude, and treat us as though we are thick:mad: its these people that give incomers a bad reputation...

Sadly it is true locals are getting totally fed up with people selling up where they live, and buying houses/smallholdings here and pushing the prices up so locals cant afford them.

Dont know if you can remember there was a big whoooohaaa in the 80's? where there was a group calling themselves myrion glyndwr ( I think) burning english people's holiday homes etc..

But I should imagine the Scotish or parts of England have the same problem.


Welsh Villages are VERY close knit... so do your homework, before you sell up lock stock and barrel, maybe rent a house in the area, and actually live there first, rather than have aweekend break as a tourist etc, to get a proper feel of it, Listen to your son's thoughts too, as I say it will be doubly hard for him.

On The work front, it is dire.... and I personally think it is going to get worse before it gets better. So how will you pay your bills?

I have allways romantasied about 'living off the land' but in reality it is well and truely a no- go

Flip Just read the post back:eek: I am trying to be realistic.

Wales is a beautifull place has its rough spots like anywhere else..and I am so glad i managed to find my little smallholding close to here we live...

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Just to give you the heads up, had an email from ebay its free listing

from the 1st to the 9th of september....

I might manage to get on or two items listed in that time:rotfl:

Its a pitty they dont do something like this for business sellers:o I have 2 accounts a private and a business one..

we have a blue sky this morning, and the sun is out:j:beer::T

Davesnave

You're very welcome CGG, but I'm glad CTC has written the main considerations re Wales first, to which I would just add the language issue, which isn't so much of one where she & rhiwfield are, but can make a real difference to your experience in some areas (and affects just about all state schooling.) I'm not saying that's wrong either; far from it.;)

Don't forget that if you're a stay at home Mum, you might be able to buy an agriculturally-tied smallholding based on your land -based business. In other words, you don't have to both be working on the land to meet the conditions. Quite a few people round here do that, but then quite a few people here don't even bother to meet the conditions at all!:rotfl:

rhiwfield

CTC, will give you a wave this morning, off to drop some stuff in Carmarthen before a preview of Andrew & Bethan's lots. Desperately short of stock

Cold last night, had a small fire in the woodburner, seasoned apple wood, lovely!

Got to say we've always been made to feel welcome here. As for language a lot of English speakers locally make the choice to have their children educated in welsh medium schools. If I were living in a west wales village and had small children, I think the family should learn Welsh to fit in.

Eon lost my feed in tariff readings (luckily had copies of the emails) so late payment means dipping into reserves to pay for the stocks of wood and oil. No great problem as heads above water, just a tad annoying. Will be buying some seed today, broad beans and a bulb of garlic, got virtually everything else. And plan to plant early potatoes in the spring after a year fallow

Bad news is that DW's artificial knee seems to have part failed. She cant drive and she's hobbling around. Not good.