Lambing

Lambing has kicked off with impeccable timing this year a couple of days into some lovely warm weather that is set to continue.  It is such a pleasure to be able to let nature take its course with the ewes choosing their spot in the grass and allowing the newborns to be warmed by the spring sun.  A few days prior, the rivers were in spate and cold and wet nights would have endangered the lambs but this weather is perfect.  

The onset of spring also means good grass for the ewes which means rich milk and faster growing lambs.  

We have had a single on Thursday last week and two more singles yesterday and today so fingers crossed for some twins.

Roast lamb for Easter is unrealistic but could be possible in early may!

Coypu

Late last year Al was horrified to discover a serious amount of damage done to the canal bank near one of the sluice gates. Coypu had dug into the bank and made the outer edge collapse into the lower canal (around 4m below).  Water was running through the holes in the remaining bank and the whole lot looked like collapse was imminent.  

We set about immediate remedial work and reinforced the bank with stakes, concrete slabs and lots of earth.  

But what to do about our constant coypu infestation? Leaving them to it would just mean further damage and while checking the rest of the banks we found further serious holes and evidence if their work.

Al had previously tried putting out traps on the banks and lying in wait, shotgun in hand but nothing really worked so some Internet research was called for.  

We found out that trapping these animals in humane traps rather than poisoning or shooting was the best way and that they are less wary of traps placed on rafts at water level than on the bank side.  So we decided to give it a try and place a trap on some posts at water level using our rebuilt bank as a good support.

Success was almost immediate and 5 were caught within a week.  The method seems to work best with a maize cob hanging from a wire above the plate that sets off the trap.  Apart from a couple of water fowl and the odd rat, it had been large coypu most mornings since we put the trap in.

Once caught, a .22 shot to the head quickly and humanely despatches them.

 Al is now contemplating coypu pâté and stew which the locals claim used to be a delicacy but surprisingly no-one seems too keen on resurrecting the dish. Perhaps Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall could give us a recipe?

Reroof

At the end of the mill on the eastern end is a two storey extension.  On the ground floor is a piggery which is accessed from the garden while the upper threshing room is just beyond the mill room up a few steps and it was previously used to refine and weigh out the flour.  

Our intention is to convert this room into a lounge, kids playroom and occasional 

spare bedroom.  Firstly the leaky and rotten roof needed changing.

The weather forecast a few weeks back looked good so on the Monday morning, we started removing tiles and the very rotten tongue and groove that was sitting on the joists. Al had a few scary moments and felt more comfortable once he could rope himself to some strong beams.

As the week progressed we checked removed and replaced around 10 of the joists which were rotten.  Thankfully only those that were wet from the leaking tiles were really rotten.  We also cut into a beam and cross braced it in order to be able to fit a wood burning stove in the future snug.  We gave everything two coats of wood preserver.

By Thursday we managed to finish the waterproof membrane and batten along the beams and across the joists on which the new canal tiles will be placed.  We were relieved to get a waterproof layer onto the roof before any wet weather came in and we could get the tiles completed at a more leisurely pace now it was at least watertight. 

We had decided to use the traditional hand made canal tiles of this area  (aparently the tiles are made by shaping the clay over the thigh of a virgin!) to improve the look of the extension but we wanted to futureproof the roof so we used modern hooked under tiles with reclaimed cover tiles to keep the originality.  Furthermore we used steel hooks to keep the cover tiles from moving.

The tiling was started 10 days ago and it was not a speedy job, the tiles themselves needed lifting onto the scaffold one by one and then up onto the roof.   

Starting at one edge of the roof, we installed the tiles row by row going up and down the roof.  The edge tiles needed to be mortared on to hold them securely in place and where the roof arrives at the main house roof at the top, the masonry of the top of the house wall needed to be chopped out and the final tile slipping underneath and mortered in place.  

We finished yesterday morning with a big sigh of relief just before a huge rain storm!

Terra cotta floor: about time......

After renovating the mill room 18 months ago, we did the majority of the flooring with reclaimed terra cotta tiles but had stopped short of finishing the room and had been living with some wooden boards temporarily covering the soil and sand underneath. The hall, cloakroom, bathroom and kitchen were also waiting to be tiled.

Bee took the kids back to see Great Granny for a week so Al stayed back to try to progress with the task.  

The first section was laying the tiles on a bed of damp sand and lime.  The tiles are soaked for 24 hours before laying on the mix and then tapped in with a mallet. This is the traditional method used in this area for centuries. 

Then the hallway was done by gluing the tiles with modern high performance tile glue and a space was left for a built in door mat.

The glueing method is a little quicker but still very slow as each tile is irregular and needs to be measured, cleaned and laid in batches by width.  

The bathroom is nearing completion and once the kitchen is finished, we will grout the while lot with a fine sand and lime mortar and then apply several layers of warm linseed oil and terebenthine.  Big job but it already transforms the place.

Coriander and chick peas

Some self-seeded coriander in the polytunnel inconveniently sprung up in the walkway over the winter but has now gone to seed, dried and is ready for picking.

Our coriander supply for curries for the year is now safely harvested!

We tried growing chick peas for the first time this year. After sowing them late due to the wet soil the plants did really well so we are about to pick some to eat as fresh peas and dry the rest to store for the winter.

The plants are attractive but we have read a warning about the leaves giving off malic acid and the pods concealing a small but nasty barb so harvesting them should be interesting - especially since each pod only contains 1-3 peas. We could be here a while.......

Sunflowers

This year our main veg patch was planted with only 3 crops  - sunflowers and maize and fodder beet for the pigs. Since it was underwater three times last year we couldn't risk our veg getting another dunking. The sunflowers are destined for the chickens once the heads have dried.If you look carefully you can see Scarlett hiding before she selected a bouquet for the kitchen table.....

Our new veg patch (the "airstrip" as it's now called) is alongside the main veg patch but on a ridge so we are hoping less prone to flooding.

The beans are on support canes on the left, a swathe of butternuts and pumpkins down the middle (keeping the weeds down as they sprawl across the whole airstrip!), tomatoes, carrots, French beans, chickpeas then potatoes down the right. Looks like a jungle but we know where everything is.....

"I'll just go a weed a row in the airstrip" is now a half-day task as the rows are so long!

The polytunnel is rammed this time of year - tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, chilis, gherkins and cucumbers. 

When it hits 50 degrees it's time to evacuate and leave the horrible spiders that weave webs between the plants in peace!

Natural swimming

Work continues on the swimming lake, Al has been all over collecting plants to transplant into the planting areas ; lily pads, yellow iris, bull rushes and water mint mostly but he is looking for more.   

All these are good for oxygenating and purifying the water to reduce the growth of algae and they were freebies from neighboring wetland and ponds.  

We also built a pontoon near the garden gate so it it easier to jump in and out without slithering around in the muddy banks.  

Despite the temperature not getting above 23 degrees, Al has been swimming regularly when it is really hot but not all the family are yet convinced!