Caz counts it down

cazmanian_minx

Well, the CCs are all 0% and will, I hope, be replaced by a mortgage before the deals expire - it's currently unmortgagable because the ground underneath it isn't decrofted. I've done the paperwork, I just need to get the maps done to go with it and send it into the Crofting Commission. I have an absolute right to decroft the house and garden site, so no danger of them turning it down, but it might bounce back if the maps aren't good enough!

Yes, eBay business completely shut now and I need to try and find someone to buy the rest of the stock off me.

After an escaped lamb yesterday morning (little git climbed up the woodpile and jumped over the fence onto the drive!) Mr Minx did an emergency fencing job around the vegetable patch and they're now in that field with the three older ewes - hopefully they'll all join up into a single flock and if one gets out in future, I can let the three bucket-trained ones out to go and get it, rather than having to seek help from a neighbour with a collie! (Lamb was returned over his lap on a quad bike looking...sheepish!)

Today Mr Minx and I are half-dead, but we have 138 bales of our own hay in the shed, which is enough to feed all the livestock over winter even before we bale the third field out on the point later this week, so it looks like I'll have some to sell as well, as long as my bargain basement baler continues to co-operate :D:D

Verbatim

Oh well done on the baling. Was the weather forecast finally correct for you! It must be a worry when it isn't accurate and you can't get it in as planned, several times over.
Off to see if there's any more on househoarder.
V

milasavesmoney

I so love the smell of newly cut hay!! Here, where I live, it's alfalfa and it smells fabulous when it's cut!
When my DH and I drive by alfalfa fields he usually tells me stories of lying in bed at night with open windows, cool breezes and the smell of the alfalfa fields while growing up on his father's farm.

JustAboutThere

I've just looked at your blog - the new 'tenants' are so cute!

brizzledfw

Sorry been MIA..but looks as if youre keeping busy Caz All sounding great in fact. Well done

cazmanian_minx

Morning all

Verbatim wrote: »

Oh well done on the baling. Was the weather forecast finally correct for you! It must be a worry when it isn't accurate and you can't get it in as planned, several times over.
Off to see if there's any more on househoarder.
V

There wasn't then, but there is now

milasavesmoney wrote: »

I so love the smell of newly cut hay!! Here, where I live, it's alfalfa and it smells fabulous when it's cut!
When my DH and I drive by alfalfa fields he usually tells me stories of lying in bed at night with open windows, cool breezes and the smell of the alfalfa fields while growing up on his father's farm.

I used to feed my two alfalfa, but it turns out the pony is intolerant to it and it gives him a sore stomach

JustAboutThere wrote: »

I've just looked at your blog - the new 'tenants' are so cute!

They are, although less cute a week ago when one climbed up the pile of tree trunks in the top field, hopped over the fence onto the drive and legged it! They're not bucket-trained, so after a couple of fruitless attempts at sneaking up on her, I had to go and ask a neighbour to come out with his dog. She was eventually recaptured and driven home draped over a quad bike seat!

We baled the point field on Friday and got a whopping 305 bales off it I've bartered 80 with a neighbour in exchange for her help in getting them all into the barn (we finished baling at 5pm and stacked the last one at 10.30pm) and horse and sheep sitting while we're away next month - this is a good deal on both sides, because she'd be paying £3 a bale if she bought in and I'd be paying £15 a day for someone to check the animals.

Working out the economics of it:

Baler £450
Haybob £250
Baler twine £25
Tractor and driver to cut, turn and bale £150 (yes, I'm aware this is extraordinarily cheap)

Total £875 divided by 443 bales = £1.98 a bale.

If you take the equipment costs out of it, which I'm inclined to do because the baler and haybob will last me years, then the tractor and twine costs worked out at 39.5p a bale. Hopefully I can sell 100-150 to recoup those costs and put a bit towards the next bit of equipment needed - I'm off to look at a Massey Ferguson 35 tractor on Monday, which I've been told by several people has been rebuilt by one of the best guys in the area for doing them and is a fair price. If we buy it then all I need is a small disc mower and we can make the hay ourselves next year.

Yesterday was my birthday and my mother gave me an extraordinarily generous cheque, completely unexpectedly (usually it's £30), with instructions to spend at least £200 of it on spoiling myself rather than paying workmen. It couldn't have come at a better time, because I've had to throw out two long-sleeved tops recently due to too many holes in them. Since the dog woke me up at about 3am and I couldn't get back to sleep, I've been shopping - 1 top, 3 pairs of knickers and some flip-flops in the Fat Face sale (£27.50), 1 top from Boden (£13.50 to pay after using the £10 voucher they sent me) and 2 tops from H&M (£15.98). No idea what I'm going to do with the rest, but it's a nice conundrum to have

Verbatim

Spends on hols?
Did you see/hear about people getting some money back from your holiday company that went down, even though they hadn't paid by credit card? I forget the term used but it was on Radio 4 last week. I think it might have applied to debit cards.

cazmanian_minx

Verbatim wrote: »

Spends on hols?
Did you see/hear about people getting some money back from your holiday company that went down, even though they hadn't paid by credit card? I forget the term used but it was on Radio 4 last week. I think it might have applied to debit cards.

Oooh, I forgot to say!! NatWest put the whole lot back in my account last week :D:D:D:D:D

gallygirl

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

Well, the CCs are all 0% and will, I hope, be replaced by a mortgage before the deals expire - it's currently unmortgagable because the ground underneath it isn't decrofted. I've done the paperwork, I just need to get the maps done to go with it and send it into the Crofting Commission. I have an absolute right to decroft the house and garden site, so no danger of them turning it down, but it might bounce back if the maps aren't good enough!

Yes, eBay business completely shut now and I need to try and find someone to buy the rest of the stock off me.

After an escaped lamb yesterday morning (little git climbed up the woodpile and jumped over the fence onto the drive!) Mr Minx did an emergency fencing job around the vegetable patch and they're now in that field with the three older ewes - hopefully they'll all join up into a single flock and if one gets out in future, I can let the three bucket-trained ones out to go and get it, rather than having to seek help from a neighbour with a collie! (Lamb was returned over his lap on a quad bike looking...sheepish!)

Your neighbour's collie can drive a quad bike? Crikey, I was lucky if my collie could put one paw in front of the other without falling over .

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

Oooh, I forgot to say!! NatWest put the whole lot back in my account last week :D:D:D:D:D

Fantastic :T:T:T

cazmanian_minx

She's a very talented dog

I've bitten the bullet (okay, I'm trying to avoid doing any work) and put all the old bead shop stock up for sale on local selling groups - £13,150-worth on hand, retail value about £30k, asking for offers around £10k and offering support and supplier details to the purchaser. Reasonable? I hope so.

I've discovered a completely unexpected talent - I can use a drop spindle! The only other time I've tried spinning was on a wheel and I couldn't get the hang of it for the life of me, but when I had my first try at drop spinning yesterday, it seemed much, much easier and according to the lovely people who were answering all my idiot questions as I went through the process of preparing my fleece, this is pretty blooming good for a first go.



I'm going to need a lot more than that to knit hats with though