Daydream thread continues.....

rhiwfield

Yes, we did have some sun today :j
And its forecast for the next 2 days as well

When GDs were here the other day the youngest remarked to DW "youve even stamped the lion on your eggs!". Makes us realise what reliable layers the chooks normally are and how much the GDs like collecting from the nestboxes.

Well, normally we're the last to get a Christmas tree, today DW/DS1 watched as it was cut down from a local smallholding and its now up ready for decorating

What it will be like come Christmas day........:cool:

Verity, no swollen ankles yet?

lostinrates

Davesnave wrote: »

"Two legs good, four legs harder & expensive!"

Terrible misquote, but it sums up my thoughts about owning land over an acre or so. I used to say something similar to CTC, then look what I bought! :rotfl:

If you think about it, an acre or just over is enough for one person to garden and run some chickens, perhaps in an orchard, like we do. It's even enough to have a couple of pigs. Beyond that, you get into managing grassland and competing on price with the equine buyers.

.....Unless the additional land is a bit pants, that is. A rough, scrubby wood isn't so demanding and it could pay for itself in firewood. Plenty of those sort of places in Wales, but not so many around these parts.

Thanks to Google Maps & Streetview, I'm able to travel back to some properties we didn't buy to see what the people who purchased made of them. Here's one just over the border in Mid Wales, near Berriew. It was a pretty farmhouse with attached barn with PP for incorporation + 10 acres of mainly steep land. It also had a ready-made, award-winning garden. Obvious which it is:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Berriew&hl=en&ll=52.618879,-3.254963&spn=0.002534,0.005922&hnear=Berriew,+Powys,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&t=h&z=18


Here, the people who bought it have dug out the hillside behind the farm and made an in-out driveway by putting a road through the field and out between neighbouring houses. (Bet that made them popular! :rotfl:) That's exactly what we'd envisaged, but they've gone one better and built a road to the top of the land too, using the spoil. Never dreamed of that - thought it was too steep.

It was a lovely spot, and at £325K the price was good, but it was out of our chosen area. We thought it a tough decision, but suddenly there was none to be made, as our buyer pulled out.

Actually, if you go for those native ponies, the rough land nobody wants becomes your biggest asset....less risk of laminitis, easier to provide the right sort of diet. Great ponie grazing is rough woodland. I have even seen quarries become excellenT pony places....much more 'enrichment' than boring old fields.

alfie_1

rhiwfield wrote: »

Yes, we did have some sun today :j
And its forecast for the next 2 days as well

When GDs were here the other day the youngest remarked to DW "youve even stamped the lion on your eggs!". Makes us realise what reliable layers the chooks normally are and how much the GDs like collecting from the nestboxes.

Well, normally we're the last to get a Christmas tree, today DW/DS1 watched as it was cut down from a local smallholding and its now up ready for decorating

What it will be like come Christmas day........:cool:

Verity, no swollen ankles yet?

can i ask [or have i missed something ] why you are having an early [extra?] crimble ....:cool: :rotfl:

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Davesnave wrote: »

.....Unless the additional land is a bit pants, that is. A rough, scrubby wood isn't so demanding and it could pay for itself in firewood. Plenty of those sort of places in Wales, but not so many around these parts. .

thats what we bought:D:rotfl: with the added public footpath and the remains of a overgrown delapidated battery hen shed ( very long)

you could allways rent out the land if it gets too much, and have just enough for you to potter around..

Davesnave speaks alot of sense about the amount of land. In reality for us we went for the cheapest that we could reach, as in all honesty we could no way afford a property that would be totally ideal for us..

Yes our 'ranch' as loads of downfalls, BUT it does have good points... Eventually I will ( hopefully) get the inside of the house the way I allway dreamed off ( basic and rustic)

Davesnave

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Eventually I will ( hopefully) get the inside of the house the way I allway dreamed off ( basic and rustic)

Can I interest you in a rough wood conservatory that has guttering inside?:eek: :rotfl:Definitely rustic, and hopefully coming down next year....

It's been a great 'buffer zone' though.

rhiwfield

alfie_1 wrote: »

can i ask [or have i missed something ] why you are having an early [extra?] crimble ....:cool: :rotfl:

Its the only chance the UK based family can get together, with the added bonus of DS1 being in the UK this week before flying back out to NZ again next week.

Christmas time , misteltoe and wine.........

Loads of good points to your land CTC

RAS

Itismehonest wrote: »

Very often the people who are taken to court by the RSPCA have just got too old or incapable to keep their much loved animals up to expected standards. I'm definitely not saying that you would be like that because I think you'd admit the situation to yourself early enough &, if possible, get the animals rehomed but many people don't or find that there's nowhere that can take them at the time it becomes necessary.

This isn't just about us...... it's a thread for people who want/intend to live the life & they also need to think about it. As Alex said it struck a chord with her. If we are to be fair to those who still daydream they have to know the downs as well as the ups of the lifestyle.

A small farmer I knew got into that situation; wife was getting a little bit senile and hubby got pneumonia and ended up in hospital. I suspect he thought the missus was tending their few livestock. Instead of rallying the rest of the villagers round to help them out, the LL (townie) called the RSPCA in very quickly.

The farmer was banned from keeping livestock and had to vacate the farm, which very much suited the LL who wanted to redevelop and sell the house. It did not go down very well with the rest of the village who could not easily see what was happening the livestock fields at the time.

I concur with IMH, I know I would make extra effort for livestock but I have been really shocked at how hard it has been to do stuff when I have had MSK problems over the last three years. It is only recently that I have had 4 limbs that all work at the same time and I still cannot reach the lightpull in the bathroom with one arm. At various times I have not been able to reach the ground, not been able to reach up, only had limited capacity to grip, had very limited capacity to lift etc. If I had been responsible for growing my own food, I would have starved several times over.

I know that several people here have very good relationships with their livestock but I would have been nervous that my physical limitations could place myself or others at risk if an animal behaved unexpectedly.

lostinrates

RAS wrote: »

I know that several people here have very good relationships with their livestock but I would have been nervous that my physical limitations could place myself or others at risk if an animal behaved unexpectedly.

thing is there is always that risk. Of course it's to be taken more seriously when we are infirm.

There is always always always a risk with large animals. My grandfather's pet bull killed some one, having been a poppet for years, and stoke mandeville is filled with able riders whose horses behaved unpredictably.

Most big training yards have signs now saying 'horses are unpredictable animals, remain alert' and I am afraid that is very most often the case. However well we know them, however well we are......they are unpredictable and we are only in control as much as we can be.

On the que sera sera front I would say...I am insured, I do things 'properly' and well, I have been as risk adverse as I can reasonably be. One day...it's won't be enough. For me.....or for anyone. International riders get kicks that kill them. To be truely risk blind would be selfish in the extreme.....but it's a bit like the stat that we became more likely to crash when we had seatbelts......because we felt safer than we really are.

alfie_1

Dont grumble that roses have thorns....

Be thankful that thorns have roses....

alfie_1

if i had worried about the possibilities of not being able to look after/cope with my animals it would have taken away 40 years of sheer enjoyment of all the animals i have had over that time.
i have the inteligence to know what i can cope with now.
if i was knocked down by a bus tomorow there are people that would know to sort out the animals. i would prob be giving instructions whilst under the knife...:o

as LIR said....anybody can have an accident/illness . the most proffesional can be put out of action..... ITS LIFE.

live for today and let tomorow come when its ready.