Daydream thread continues.....

rozeepozee

Well done. Rum. I was about to order some fruit bushes until OH pointed out that without some sort of fruit cage, we'd merely be providing a wonderful selection for the birds and the squirrels, so it looks like some preparation is needed before that sort of growing takes place. The problem is, when is there the time for this? I'm beginning to think that no serious smallholding is going to take place before our three small children start school.

Speaking of squirrels, the squirrel trap, after a few false starts in which we caught a blackbird and a robin, has done its job many times over. How many squirrels have to be dispatched before they get the message that they're persona non grata?

lostinrates

Well Rozzee,how many are you talking aout? Fwiw we kept our cherry crop for us not the birds just with cd mobiles at the last place and here we have a small patch of about eight currents, a few gooseberries and some raspberry canes and we net with just somE netting, and use the guardian eyes scarer and CDs. The birds get some, we get enough. Slugs got most of the strawbs last year thoug.

RAS

lostinrates wrote: »

dh has graciously said we will get the baby a pony and keep it here for her. I am thinking dartmoor.....not do small a to give me back ache, and...as my inlaws are half pint sized she might never out grow it, rofl.

Since you have the skills, you could get a youngster from the autumn sales after the drift next year? Prices were better than last year but still very reasonable this autumn.

RAS

rozeepozee wrote: »

Well done. Rum. I was about to order some fruit bushes until OH pointed out that without some sort of fruit cage, we'd merely be providing a wonderful selection for the birds and the squirrels, so it looks like some preparation is needed before that sort of growing takes place. The problem is, when is there the time for this? I'm beginning to think that no serious smallholding is going to take place before our three small children start school.

rozee.

It is still worth planting; you may not lose the fruit anyway; you can always just throw a net over the ripening bushes (old net curtains look naff but work well IME) and even if that does not work your bushes will be well established by the time the children get to school.

I would be more worried about the patter of slightly larger feet and the impact of half a dozen little hands.

rhiwfield

rozeepozee wrote: »

Well done. Rum. I was about to order some fruit bushes until OH pointed out that without some sort of fruit cage, we'd merely be providing a wonderful selection for the birds and the squirrels, so it looks like some preparation is needed before that sort of growing takes place. The problem is, when is there the time for this? I'm beginning to think that no serious smallholding is going to take place before our three small children start school.

Speaking of squirrels, the squirrel trap, after a few false starts in which we caught a blackbird and a robin, has done its job many times over. How many squirrels have to be dispatched before they get the message that they're persona non grata?

Just thinking that squirrels could be a useful food source and wild farmed a bit like the old rabbit warrens.

Its easy to net soft fruit while it ripens, a fruit cage is not essential and netting is quite cheap to protect against blackbirds.

lostinrates

RAS wrote: »

Since you have the skills, you could a youngster from the autumn sales after the drift next year? Prices were better than last year but still very reasonable this autum.

Yes, and there is no rush. The human creature is not three months old yet :rotfl:

That said....

Not sure what will happen with the in laws. This in law has aoplied to what at best might be described as a rural uni, and they are not really rural sort of people....they are cosmopolitan but not terribly ...self starting iykwim. E.g. None of my in laws have ever got round to learning to drive. The idea of being miserable in a outpost sort of uni with a long transport reliant trek to any interviews makes dh and I worry for his sibling in many ways. Of course, we wish we could get that far away ourselves....

But I know the part of the world in question only on a map really and by reputation. I hope we are wrong. It would be lovely for dh to have both his siblings back in Europe and near Europe, and lovely for us to have a related small child in our lives (a greedy admission).

Que sera sera.......:D

lostinrates

Potentially a dry weekend day.....what to do with it I wonder? I think the road side strip strimming will win, it looks a mess. Shame the lawn mower is not back, I could have done the grass that grows over hard standing too. Then there is raking out the standing nettles in the wildflower bed ready for some over sowing, more poppies I think this year, and hollyhocks.

That's potentially doable. On the other day we need to empty the room under where the roof has leaked and pray not everything is ruined by mould. I might even try and start that tomorrow alone.....my back is several kinds of hell so not sure will see.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Rozee what are you using as bait in the squirrel traps?

the little s&ds should be flipping sleeping the winter away, but they are still running riots in my roof:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Pig auction tomorrow down in carmarthen, might go and see what is being sold at this time of the year, and prices etc.

was hoping that the fencing guy would have got back to us and got the fencing done by now, so will have to leave another message.

Itismehonest

Squirrels (well, the grey ones) haven't been hibernating for years, CTC.
Be careful if they're in your roof. Not only do they sound as if there's an elephant with hob nail boots up there but they can wreak havoc if they decide to start nibbling on wires :eek:

We watched a bat swooping around in the glow of an outside light the other evening. I think it was probably one from the church (the light was on up there) that had been disturbed. Most of the properties around here have bats but they are normally quiet at this time of year, too.

Rummer

rozeepozee wrote: »

Well done. Rum. I was about to order some fruit bushes until OH pointed out that without some sort of fruit cage, we'd merely be providing a wonderful selection for the birds and the squirrels, so it looks like some preparation is needed before that sort of growing takes place. The problem is, when is there the time for this? I'm beginning to think that no serious smallholding is going to take place before our three small children start school.

Fruit bushes are a great way to start as they are fairly self sufficient. We have never had to have a fruit cage as we have oodles of cats so no birds ever come into our garden