Well, we have now been here full-time for just over 2 years. What a lot we have done. Its hard to pick out the best bits but here goes.
We have put in velux windows and re-mortared the rear of our small cottage. Having first gutted and re-mortared the inside walls and cutting a hole in the ceiling to enable us to install a staircase. A labour of love and an awful lot of grubby work. Both of us attacked the steps but the majority of the back wall was a 1 man job. Paul stepped up to the plate. Its just not easy to do together as one is always underneath being showered with mortar.
We have almost finished that ruin you saw in our last post. Now a useable outside space that can be enjoyed throughout the summer. Still work to do, but what a difference.
We have introduced so many new animals. Cats, sheep, goats, ducks and chickens. This has obviously meant creating 4 bird houses and enclosures. 6 sheep/goat shelters and 6 enclosures to enable us to rotate every 3-6 weeks to stop the spread of parasites and give grass a rest to provide lush pasture regularly for the sheep.
We’ve redesigned our veg patch after I completed and passed a permaculture design certificate course (PDC). We have a 4 year plan. Covid 19 set us back a little as we could not travel for materials, but Paul has done an amazing job of creating the structures included in my design. I’ll do a new blog all about the design in the next week or two.
We cannot believe the yield we have using just half of our veg plot. The other half will be tackled next year. We will then be able to add a strawberry bed, root veg, more perennials, alliums and medicinal plants.
Courgette, runner been, Turks turban, borlotti beans, rhubarb and a gorgeous smokey green squash whose name escapes me.
4 types of chilli, jalapeño, little bomb, lanterna gialla, habanero. With a few more still not fruiting. We have oodles of tomatoes and even melon, water melon, aubergine and okra.
We have already frozen bucket loads of peas, broad beans and runner beans, with more runner beans to come. We have pickled red cabbage, made a courgette relish, courgette soups and even a courgette tea loaf. It’s courgette fries this week me thinks as I’ve just spotted a load more that need picking.
Paul has a few wines on the go, grape vine, elderflower and runner bean, grape. We are already drinking his home made nettle beer, elderflower champagne and elderflower cordial on a daily basis, and his cider press is in the making.
We will be making cider and cider vinegar in October. With a wet winter our apple trees are showing a good crop. So can we beat our 80 litre high.
Well, that’s it for now, there are other highlights but that’s for another blog.
Jill and Paul
France Has Mud Too 