Journeys

Life, death, growth, change we've had everything thrown at us in the last three years since we got married, maybe this is just how life is but I am sure we have had a rougher ride than most at our age.  

Because of the rollercoster ride we decided early on that life was too short to pass up opportunities, hence why we bought our patch of mud.  We are not millionaires, we do not have massive amounts of savings and we have not yet made a killing in investment property.  I did have some shares tucked away and we are both lucky that we work for an organisation that pays well, although of course it demands a lot in return. 

This is why I do not feel guilty when I write about our adventures on the land.  This is our time.  I know how fortunate we are but we have made sacrifices and we have experienced loss, in fact we are still going through a very tough time with Woodys dad who is struggling with life and the effects of treatment to cure his blood disorder, as I write this things do not look good.

Woodys dad, David on the digger spring 2015
before the transplant that we thought would fix him 

Woody and I both love being outdoors and felt a calling to own something wild and in need of work.  We looked at beautiful hundred year old wrecks of houses with land, in wild Welsh places that were far removed from any transport links or "civilisation".  But without the possibility of me getting local, well paid work (while Woody worked away) it was unsustainable.  These big dreams are all very well if you have a large amount of capital to start with but I sold my last property without a profit and we have been renting ever since so we were back to square one.

 One of many house hunting trips in Pembrokeshire with Woody and David in 2013.

We have had our mud patch 18 months now and have just completed on the purchase of our first little house not far from the land.  One day we might get lucky again and upgrade to a more rural smallholding but all the work we are undertaking on our 8little acres is a great place to start.

The journey so far has allowed us to gain experience and confidence, try out all our knowledge about land management that we had never been able to put into practice before.  It has been a hell of a journey so far combined with everything else going on.  The land has led us to new friends, new possibilities and although it is sometimes unimaginably depressing when the sideways rain is lashing at you it gives you something to carry on going for, something we can make better and fix when we cannot fix the ones we love.

Woodys mum & dad, Shirley and David, July 2013

Someone once said that some people's fate is tied to the land, as some are tied to the sea or skies with the adventures they undertake.  Our fate may be tied to our land and I think it is firmly a part of "us", it will remain here long after we are gone and if we do a good enough job it will keep telling our story.

Fingers crossed for a happy ending.

Middlemarchmadness!!!!!

It's full steam ahead in our household as the house purchase is coming to its exciting conclusion in time for the Easter weekend.  We have much to do, a house to clean a garden to tidy, the removals are booked and we somehow need to fit the contents of a big house into a smaller house! 

While we waited for the purchase to unfold the fair weather over the last week has given us the break we have been waiting for for the last four months, a week of dry, high pressure weather, chilly with a keen breeze, perfect for drying the land out.  Woody managed to harrow the 2.5ac of untouched summer paddocks last weekend although it proved too wet to tackle the old meadow that the horses have occupied all winter.

The horses and ponies are still on hay and haylage, the 2 horses are are looking well coming out of a long and horrible winter, Easter has been hunting and hacking with the odd competition so is fit for the coming show season.  Frank and I are finally forming a bond and he is turning into a lovely chap to have around and is a very promising ride.

A fun day out with the Farmers Bloodhounds, chasing a human quarry!

The ponies however have some unwelcome visitors; lice and worms, a legacy from their poor start in life.  Frosty and Tan were treated as soon as they arrived last March and joined a program with the other horses.  I can only think that their thick coats and weakened immune system harbored a few remaining nasties that took hold over the winter.  So this weekend all four will be getting wormed with a fairly strong wormer and a treatment of lice/fly killer and repellent.

We are working under a bit of a time pressure at the moment as Woody will start his new job in May and we have to try and get the Lime and Calcium treatment into the land as soon as possible but for that we need a dry day just before some light showers so that the products get washed in rather than washed or blown away, it's the usual juggling act!  You can read my post from May 2015 Soil Analysis for more details.

The horses have wreaked the meadow over the winter, it is scuffed up and poached, however considering there was very little grass, mainly moss, bracken and brambles, it has opened up the soil and "cultivated" it ready for sowing something more suitable for grazing.

Moss..

Woody should be able to harrow the meadow soon to rake up the remaining moss and aerate the soil.  Lime, Calcium, seed, rolling and rest should see the meadow come back for late summer, and give grazing for next winter.  For the moment it is SPRING and we will be out there enjoying it!

(until we have to think about plumbing, plastering, new windows, carpets....)

Spring at last!!!  Jetfire Narssisi planted last October.