Lovely Delivery

Usually on the farm our deliveries consist of tons of pig feed, bags and bags of Layers Pellets, wood and worms and obscure tractor parts that LH just can't live without. Yesterday, however I got MY sort of delivery.

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Of course, here on the farm I grow my own lavender but with the chickens devouring the first crop last year, and then the wet winter and cold spring, this years crop is way behind where it should be.

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Think of where lavender grows best, in the dry, sunny fields of Provence, and you realise I just can't match it here at the moment. So, I took a decision to buy in some more from the supplier I used to use to stock my shop in Cumbria, and yesterday it arrived.

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I knew what the postman was going to get out of his van the minute the door slid back, the whole van smelt of lovely lavender - gorgeous.

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As well as my basic Organic Lavendula Angustifolia (English Lavender), I had ordered a mix of Lavender and Chamomile. The smell of both is divine, I took a full Kilo bag of the mix upstairs last night and just sat it, (still sealed in it's bag) in the bedroom and we slept like babies.

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To this base I will be adding my own different varieties as soon as they reach perfection. I have six different types that I'm trialing this year. So it will be fun to play with the mixing.

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Sometimes you just know when you're in the right business!

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Sue xx

Getting there.......

As it was.......

Getting somewhere is very good for the soul. Slowly, bit by bit, we are taming this place, only in sections, but each little corner that we tidy makes for a little bit less work. In this case, less weeding in the polytunnel as the evil weeds have been making their way in under the edges, and less strimming to do on the outside each week to keep the weeds and grass down around the polytunnel.

...and as it is now.

Two each of Redcurrants, Blackcurrants and Whitecurrants.

Before..... ...and after.

This second side will be planted out on Friday (weather permitting) with our Sweetcorn plants, all nice sturdy little plants, currently residing in the polytunnel. Out of the 159 seeds we planted we have about 140 plants, so not too bad.

But today I am continuing in 'Goking' my wardrobe, although I did get started yesterday, I then got slightly sidetracked, and after giving my workroom a thorough overhaul ended up filling Rosebud cones for the Farmers Market on Sunday!

Sue xx

Good food........

Take our home grown goodies....

Good food is what most of us are aiming for, and when you have the pleasure of growing it yourself it makes it all the more enjoyable.

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Recently, as listed in my sidebar, I read the book Jamie at Home, by Jamie Oliver and enjoyed it SO much I got myself the Dvd set of the television series. It's lovely to watch, relaxing and inspiring, all the things the book is and more.

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One recipe that stood out for me was the Courgette Carbonara, and with my Courgette plants giving us at least 4 fruits a day I had to find a way of making different things with them.

...add a few tasty shop bought ones.....(yes, I do sometimes make my own garlic bread but not this time) I can honestly say that this recipe is brilliant, tasty, quick and so simple to do. Get all your ingredients to hand before you start and then just go with the flow. Eaten with lovely Mozerella Garlic Bread it is a filling and satisfying meal, topped off with a glass of white wine and a dish of strawberries, meringue and cream it is a feast fit for a smallholder.

....and you have a wonderful supper!

(This picture courtesy of Jamie Oliver)

The recipe leaves you with at least two egg whites, so it would be a crime not to make meringues to go with your pudding. Mine are this colour because I used Vanilla Sugar.....yummy!!

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We tried this out for the first time last week and have already eaten it three times!! It's THAT good.

If you give a go, let me know what you think.

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Now I'm off to 'Gok' my wardrobe. Last weeks 'victim' had 5oo items of clothing that she rarely wore and Gok got her down to 24. Now I don't think for a moment I can be that radical, but I'm gonna give it a go.

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They say ('they' being the experts I assume), that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time, so do I really need so much stuff, I think not. What I sort out will be off to the car boot sale next week, the money made being used to buy myself just a couple of new items, what doesn't sell first time out will be going to the charity shop to benefit someone else. It's a win win situation.

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I'm loving all this de-cluttering by the way, everytime we do a car boot sale we come home with a lot less stuff, and when I see the space around the house I feel lighter in both mood and mind. I think I am the sort of person who needs to travel this road lightly. And if our new plans for the future pan out, I think it's a good job!!

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Sue xx

We are full........

As usual I've planted SO much. I get carried away and it's not until things things get growing or I step back for a minute that I discover that everything is full.....full of life and promise. Full of good food, goodness and good times.

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We have had a good weekend, with lots done and lots achieved. We've took the first tentative steps to securing our future on our very own bit of land and we've worked hard on the farm, oh and in between all that we've had some good family time, quality time spent together, sometimes a bit of fun makes the work seem all the more bearable.

The polytunnel is full to bursting.

The strawberry tub is full and flowering.

The wigwam is full of the promisie of Runner Beans to come. Lovely study, climbing plants that are romping away in the sunshine. The furthest raised bed is full of Kale and Broccoli.

The tyres are full - this one of carrots.

The chimney is full - of flowers.

The sink is full of Comfrey.

The bucket is full - of Chives.

The farm is full - full of the sound of contented animals going about their business, pigs arguing with each other, chickens foraging for food and the little Lavender Pekins exploring their new home.

Life is full - and good. Enjoy!

Sue xx

The easiest animals to look after on the farm.....

The easiest animals to look after on the farm.....are the worms. Since we put them in, all I've had to do is cover the bed up when it rained (we haven't made it a proper cover yet) so they didn't drown, and uncover it slightly when it got so very hot yesterday, so they didn't overheat.

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Now that is my kind of farming!!

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Today we have been busy on our de-cluttering drive, selling lots of our unwanted items at the local car boot sale. We made quite a bit of lovely money and lots of space in the spare room....can't be bad!!

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Now I'm off to re-locate the Lavender Pekin Bantams to their new domain in the old chicken enclosure, they are quickly outgrowing the Eglu and need more space.

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By the way, Caldwell, the cockerel, crowed for the first time this morning......I was SO proud!! Maybe I won't be as proud if he starts getting louder and earlier.

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Sue xx

Awards.......

I've won another award!! I must be doing something right to have all these lovely fellow Bloggers reading my Blog and giving me awards, or is that you just like the mad ramblings of a middle-aged city girl stuck in the country....Haha!!

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This one is from the delightfully named Ro Magnolia, who has a Blog with THE best name ever Soft Winds and Roses Thank you Ro.

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Seemingly I have to pass this to ten other Bloggers with Blogs that I love, now how can I narrow it down, I love SO many. The best I can do is that if you have left a comment on here in the last week consider yourself awarded!!

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I have to tell you ten things I love.......easy, peasy.......

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I LOVE -

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1. My Lovely Hubby......Alan. There you all know his name at last!! I love the time we spend together, especially our days out and our little holidays, when it is quality time and we are both not so tired.

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2. My sons, Simon and Jason,.......two lads that have made this Mum very proud.

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3. My Mum and Dad, always there for me just when I need them, and just two lovely people in their own right. They have lots of friends and busy lives and yet they still farm-sit for us on a regular basis so we can have a break.

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4. All my other family and friends, especially my cricket/photography mad, brother, Graham.

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5. All my lovely pets and animals. Usually exasperating, but always loyal and there for me.

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6. My gorgeous girls, (chickens) for giving me eggs and entertainment in return for vast quantities of layers pellets and non-stop mucking out duties. (Just keep your greedy beaks off my veggies girls!!) I especially love my little Lavender babies, who are wild scatty little things at the moment!

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7. Planting veggies and watching the wonder of nature before my very eyes.

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8. Long, bubbly lavender scented baths at the end of the day. The best bit of the day is when I finally get clean of all the chicken muck and pig snot (see I told you there were disadvantages to this lifestyle). I must point out that I usually do this before I make tea for LH and myself.

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9. The marvelous world of Blogging, what did I do before it. Lots of lovely people, usually on the same wavelength, that go out of their way to support each other and offer words of encouragement, sympathy and a shoulder to cry on in times of need. Some wonderful people who have given advice and wise words from their experiences and helped us in this new life no end. Sometimes you are so close to your own problems you can't see a way out, and a few words from a fellow Blogger can work wonders!!

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10. Life - It's a wonderful gift, we should all take a step back and list the things we love, and show in words and deeds just how much we care for life and each other.

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We are having a tidying and selling weekend, with a Craft Fair for me in the morning and a car boot sale on Sunday to help clear our clutter.

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Hope your weekend is good, enjoy this glorious weather while it lasts.

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Sue xx

Comparisons

June 2009

This time last year we had lifted our first crop of new potatoes, looking at the potato plants growing away in the ground, I think we will wait a couple of weeks before we try lifting any of this years babies. The beauty of keeping this Blog/Online Diary is that I can go back and do comparisons, and check our progress from year to year. Seemingly by the end of June we had also lifted the first of our Beetroot, it looks like we planted a different type last year as in the photos they are long and slender, this year we have the little round variety. I spy also in the photo a couple of Spring Onions, well those we do have, and I will be picking some for tea tonight.

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June 2009

I must remember to keep adding to the sidebar as we start to eat each of the crops that come to maturity. It's a nice feeling to be going out and choosing our food for tea from the polytunnel and Kitchen Garden.

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I hope your crops are growing well, whether you have an allotment, garden or just a couple of pots, there's something SO satisfying about growing, (and eating) your own.

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Sue xx