Simple living in the country - back to basics

Cheery_Daff

Thank you 😊 Chickens are all nicely tucked in 😊  

I certainly feel like I've done too much work 😂 I've been trying to channel my inner land girl (whilst listening to Pick of the Pops 1979) 😂😂 They were often fighting with recalcitrant machinery from what I've read 😂

Tell you what though - I'm glad I've ended up with it for the weekend. I mean, I would have put my head down and done it in a day if I'd had to, technically I think I've only spent about 5 or 6 hours actually using the machine, plus probably another one tomorrow, but I might not have moved again for a few weeks afterwards 😮 Hard to know how long these things will take though when you've never used them before - I was expecting it to be quite a lot less physical - more like pushing a lawnmower than a small tank😂😂

beanielou

Cheery!!!
I think you have done way too much.

themadvix

Gosh, I hope you slept well Cheery after all that. And don’t be pushing yourself to finish today - I’m sure hand scything takes it out of you a lot less!

Cheery_Daff

I did indeed sleep very well! And hand scything does take it out of me less, although overall it's probably the same, just spread out over a longer period of time 😂

greenbee

Sheep make good lawnmowers. And might even be less work!

MovingForwards

A couple of goats or sheep would be good and ewe could branch into homemade butter / cheese.

You have done too much and hopefully a fun day of r&r is on the cards.

Karmacat

Goats!  I've been watching Matt Baker's stuff on Channel 4, and his mum's pygmy goats are adorable  

EssexHebridean

It does sound like the machine has been effective, at least, so that’s good. I suspect you have a few achey days ahead mind you! 

Hope you have a lovely day day (without too much more beast-wielding!) 

Cheery_Daff

Good grief, you lot have seen how much time and money I spend on chickens and you want me to be responsible for sheep and goats as well?? I'd need to take out a second mortgage!! 😮😮😂😂

No more animals here until I've retired. Not having other people's animals here without a reliable and cheerful farmer (which we have with the cows, but would NOT have with the nearest couple of sheep owners). Nobody any further away is going to transport sheep over here on the enticement of a field of less than an acre of 2 year old dry flattened grass with no water supply, no secure walls, and a dangerous derelict barn.

If someone turns up on my doorstep offering sheep, their own electric fence, their own water supply, to not put them in until after the seeds have dropped in July and remove them again in April, and will check on them every day, then maybe I'll say yes. 

For now, the ferocious beast has done enough of a job that will make it easier to scythe by hand come the end of the summer, so that's the plan. Machine is back in the garage waiting for geezer to collect it tomorrow while I'm at work. I noticed a small piece of metal seems to be missing off one side (if indeed it was there in the first place) but there's nowt I can do about that now so I'm going to pretend I haven't noticed 🙄.

Cheerful day today 😊 Friend came round this morning and we shifted a load of the cut grass to mulch the fruit bushes. Then lunch in the pub with some other friends, and a walk down one of the old railway trails. then band practice, then a final hour of mowing, and now I'm going to flake out in front of the Happy Wheel 😁

Karmacat

Cheery_Daff said:

Good grief, you lot have seen how much time and money I spend on chickens and you want me to be responsible for sheep and goats as well?? I'd need to take out a second mortgage!! 😮😮😂😂

No more animals here until I've retired. Not having other people's animals here without a reliable and cheerful farmer (which we have with the cows, but would NOT have with the nearest couple of sheep owners). Nobody any further away is going to transport sheep over here on the enticement of a field of less than an acre of 2 year old dry flattened grass with no water supply, no secure walls, and a dangerous derelict barn.

If someone turns up on my doorstep offering sheep, their own electric fence, their own water supply, to not put them in until after the seeds have dropped in July and remove them again in April, and will check on them every day, then maybe I'll say yes. 

Oh yeah, there are some issues there, aren't there 😮😮😂😂  fair enough!  The actual day you had sounds brilliant!