THE VERY TRUSTING WELSH FOLK - May 2014

Will has a new toy. . .  a John Deere lawnmower - not one of those sit-on-jobbies (as much as he would have liked one, our money wouldn't stretch that far), a petrol powered one. He bought it and a strimmer from a local shop. There was a problem with spare parts for the strimmer. The shop told Will that he needn't pay for anything until the issue with the spare parts was sorted.

That was months ago. Since then, the mower has mowed several small lawn areas, a path across the big field up to our picnic bench and the whole of the smaller field, many times. 

It has also developed a damaged wheel! The culprit - a small roll of barbed wire hiding in the long grass curled up waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting John Deere lawnmower!

And we still haven't paid for it.

We bought a LOAD of fencing and gates from another place. We (ie Will & Richard) have nearly finished building one fence and tried hanging one of the gates.  

We still have a number of gates to put in place and several more fences to build. Despite us telling the supplier that it will take us months to complete this work, they won't take payment for it until the work is done in case we wish to return any unused pieces or wish to buy more. 

So, we have 2 machines to pay for PLUS a whole load of wood, and the lovely local trusting Welsh folk are in no hurry for payment!

In addition to this, we decided that we needed some tools, machines and eldest son to help with the outside work. 

So we hired a digger ...

a rotavator . . .

and a hole borer for putting in gate posts.

The son came free, but the tools, machines, etc. were to be paid for. No payment was required beforehand and the bill eventually appeared some weeks later. Despite having used a good amount of diesel, the rotavator fan-belt breaking, and  the caterpillar track becoming dislodged, the only cost was for the hire - nothing for damages or for diesel.

We needed a post basher to help get posts solidly into the ground. So we borrowed one from a neighbour, who subsequently realised he needed it for his fencing, so rather than ask for it back, he borrowed one from the farmer. The farmer then discovered some damaged fencing bordering on to us and needed a post basher to repair it, so he borrowed the neighbour's basher from us!

It's not hard to cope with the pace and style of life here.

Next blog - The Summer Solstice

INTERRUPTION - May 2014

I am just interrupting my stories with a couple of photos showing you how wonderful the bluebells have been this month on the hillsides along 'our' lane . . .

Next blog ... The very trusting Welsh folk

GARDEN PESTS . . . AGAIN! - May 2014

Well, we have done well with the sheep recently - they haven't been into the garden for several weeks now - even months maybe. The goats have gone back up the mountain to spend summer there. So the plants and flowers are starting to thrive!

. . . Or so we thought . . .

Every morning I get up to find my newly potted plants scattered around having been pulled up by the roots.

The work of goats? . . . No! 

Sheep? . . .No! . . . 

Birds? . . . No! 

Slugs? . . . No!

It's the work of squirrels which can be found foraging endlessly around the garden looking for bulbs to eat. I guess they have been uprooting my plants in search of bulbs. 

  

 

 

So the only plants which are left alone by the sheep & goats - bulb plants, are now being attacked by squirrels. 

So I have started collecting old barbecue grids or any other suitable object as a deterrent. Doesn't do much for appearance though! 

 

 

I have rejected the idea of using squirrel traps, but then yesterday I made a really sad discovery - my prize poppy which had been growing unexpectedly well, and was due to bloom in the next week or two, had lost its head. Some time later I discovered the head a few metres away. Clearly the work of those pesky squirrels having mistaken it for a nut?

 

They even appear to have tried framing my Welsh rugby supporter gnome!! 

Each morning I find him face down as if he's had a night on the town following a Wales-England rugby match. The squirrels are clearly hoping that he is the prime suspect, having destroyed the plants during a drunken binge. 

 

They push him to the ground in an attempt to reach the window bird feeder which is supposed to be inaccessible to squirrels, 5ft high on a wide pane of glass. Pah - no deterrent - they manage it easily & leave their muddy footprints up the glass. 

We have filled an old CD rack with fat balls - for the birds but our uninvited visitors help themselves and run off with whole fat balls. 

Maybe squirrel traps aren't such a bad idea after all!  

But as disastrous as it all sounds, to put things into perspective, our neighbours lost 9 of their chickens to the fox last night. and earlier in the year it deprived the farmer of 21 of his lambs. Now there's an unwelcome visitor if ever there was one which we haven't had the privilege of meeting . . . YET!

P.S. Guess who was back in the garden this morning? . . .

Where's that fox when you need him?

Next blog ... The very trusting Welsh folk

DON'T GO THINKING . . . - April 2014

Don't go thinking that sheep are the only residents of this mountain who like to play 'What's the time Mr Wolf?'


Will took the neighbour's dog for a walk.

They weren't alone . . 

 Who . . . me?

Next blog ...

TREE FELLING - March 2014

Most people around here seem to have log burners, and we are no exception. Logs play a very important part in our lives. They are our main source of heating throughout the winter months - well almost all year round really - and it means less spent on gas & electricity. 

If we can get free firewood, all the better. The recent storms have resulted in trees down for miles around. We haven't lived here long enough to know the etiquette around taking logs for ourselves from fallen trees. We see lots of people at roadsides taking chainsaws to massive uprooted oaks and at such times, we wonder - is it free to take? Is it their tree? Is it on their land? Have they permission to take that tree for logs? Are they council workers? Can we do the same? As tempted as we are, we daren't for fear of stealing or trespassing. 

Wood is so valuable to people that it is almost currency. Selling 'services' in exchange for firewood is commonplace and as a result of us helping out the local farmer with his cattle last winter, he has allowed us free access to several fallen trees on his land.

Once the land had dried a little, we went to attack a couple of the fallen trees. Although these trees are not very far away - just across a couple of fields from our house, they are up a deceptively steep incline - well, steep for the unfit!!

Once cut, we spent two whole days, carrying, dragging, throwing and rolling logs and branches down the hill to our place. I have never been so physically exhausted in my life! 

We were a great source of curiosity to the sheep. As we worked, two rams started to circle us.

But they didn't become REALLY interested until I started to fill old sheep-feed bags with twigs. Along with the rest of the sheep in the field, they put Pavlov's dogs to shame. They have clearly become conditioned to the rustle of plastic bags (as this is what the farmer feeds them from). 

However quietly I tried to fill the bags, more and more drooling sheep appeared from nowhere.


As I carried the filled bags down the hill, I felt like the Pied Piper. The sheep however clearly had other plans . . . to play 'What time is it Mr Wolf?' with me. While my back was turned I could hear the footsteps of hungry sheep approaching, but when I turned to look all I could see was a flock of sheep acting indifferently. 

Continuing with the job in hand, I could hear those footsteps getting closer. On turning around, the sheep had turned into statues.

Once again, back turned, I could hear them breathing, but when I looked, again, they feigned uninterest!
.

Fortunately, they never did catch Mr Wolf!



There were only two in the whole field that showed no interest at all in me  . . .

. . . clearly not yet conditioned to the rustle of bags.

And the wood? 

With the help of Lumberjack Chellie, it all finished up exactly where it should . . . 

Next blog - Don't go thinking ...

THE VERY BEST THING ABOUT BEING HERE ... EVER - March 2014

You want to know the VERY best thing about living here? 


 In my previous life 'AOB' stood for 'Any Other Business'.




In my new life, 'AOB' means 'Area of Outstanding Beauty'!!

 Need I say more?

Next blog - Tree felling

THE STORMS - Feb 2014

Nothing else to write about so this time I can talk about the storms, but the chances are that the rest of you have better storm stories than us!

Throughout the last few months I have been contacted by many of you kindly asking how we are coping with the floods/rain/winds/storms which have been forecast for or suffered by Wales.

We are well used to high winds/gales here blowing scarily across the peninsula and hurtling around the mountains, and up until last week, things stayed pretty much the same. No flooding or damage nearby, and the worst for us has been . . .

the Beast getting stuck in the mud and being towed out by the farmer with his tractor.

Otherwise, although we have had more than the usual amount of rain, our land is relatively dry. 

This is the deepest our stream became

Another stream running down the side of our path and our bog have remained dry

This is the most water we had in the lane

Further afield we have had fairly rough seas

which have unfortunately eroded away some of the coast line

But there has been a good selection of shells washed up on the local beach

Then came the violent storms of last week. We were hit by very scary hurricane force winds. Trees creaked and groaned all around us. Too dangerous to venture outside, we decided to light the log burner and stay inside, with power cuts threatening as the lights flashed off several times and the TV switched itself off with a pop.

Locally, thousands have had many days without electricity and the weather has left a trail of destruction in its wake with power lines and huge ancient trees scattered sadly around. But so far we have been lucky and come off quite lightly.

We were hoping for a few free logs around our property, but on inspection once the winds had died down we soon found that the most we had were a few twigs suitable for kindling.

The worst impact of the storm on us, was that the rubbish and recycling bins disappeared, with the contents last seen heading towards outer space. So Sandra Bullock if you see an empty Lynx shower gel bottle in real 3D hurtling towards you, you'd best watch out - it could be moving at hurricane force speed!

Next blog? I haven't a clue!