just a wee note to say that Fintry Development Trust is holding its FRESh event this weekend which is well worth a visit if you're in the area

A different sort of egg-watch

Generally the British are fairly weather fixated - usually, as people say, because we get so much of it. Chez nous we've always been obsessed, partly because we work in the wind industry, partly because we use the sun to heat and power this house and least importantly 'cos I've always fancied being a meterologist. Anyway right here right now its only 4degC, sleeting and with winds over 40mph....and its May for goodness sake! The piccies are of the oystercatcher which has laid 3 eggs on the stones just outside the preschool nursery in the village. Its causing a bit of mayhem as the eggs are just next to the front door so people are having to use an alternative entrance. Its a great learning experience for the children who report on progress and get a chance to see 'nature in action'. Even amongst the slate the eggs are nicely camouflaged. I believe the eggs will hatch in about 3 more weeks so shall post any progress.

It has rained since Sunday.

A bit of an update although I haven't taken any new photos recently. I'm sure the many many rainy days we've just had have limited such creativity. Actually we had sunshine at 5am this morning, a glorious start to the day, it held such promise!

Inspiration and 'eggsaperation'

We've had a great Easter holiday trip to Cornwall and return home with lots of inspiration from the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan as well as having well-earned time out and larks as a family. As the weather warms up we can get on with some garden creation of our own....always remembering how long it actually takes to create these things. Our growing season is quite a few weeks behind the SW of England so the only thing I've put in the ground so far are fruit bushes. The main thing for us this year is to create the framework of our gardens, particularly the fruit and veg areas but also the entrance which still looks like a derelict farm and the little jungle which currently sits between the house and the office. In that area of overgrown shrubbery lurks a vast ground elder mess. The area is surrounded by buildings or hard landscaping so I'm hoping we can contain it and maybe even eradicate it (over a few years!). With lighter evenings and better weather we're in that optimistic phase of Spring gardening. And we've had our first flurry of rhubarb crumble making from the patch. wonderful Victorian rhubarb forcing pots at Heligan

Fabrics and finishes

Voyage Chantal in Mulberry was chosen for the only curtains in the house........

Signs of Spring

We're not the world's greatest twitchers but there has been so much bird activity this week its easy to get excited about the onset of Spring. Early in the week and early one morning we were just heading out when we happened to see a sparrowhawk nab a blackbird for its brekky, the sparrowhawk was totally unphased by our presence nearby but eventually flew off with its prey. The geese are still around in great numbers and we have a lot of pink foots as well as greylags and some canada geese. Their wingbeat when taking off or landing is quite something, its an amazing and powerful sound. The other great sound I've heard and love is that of the curlew, I think its the male's mating call which so distinctive but it really is building in volume and is definitely a sound I associate with Spring. I'm not sure what the collective word for curlews is but i reckon a 'cacophony of curlews' is a good group name. We've also seen oystercatchers this week. On some days it really does seem like Spring, on others it seems like we're full on in the middle of winter and we've had snow, hail, sleat, storms, ice and anything else you could mention. Great scenery though!

Spring Lambs & Other Creatures

The first phase of 5 raised beds took a bigger step forward this weekend with the final joinery and positions completed. Then followed the task of filling then wheeling lots (around 20 me thinks to fill the smallest bed) of barrows of well matured horse muck up the slope - Steve kept using the phrase 'the green gym' to keep me/us going! We popped a couple of hens into the first bed who worked diligently to create a finer till, the rest of the hens soon joined them in a frenzy to grab a few worms from the thousands wriggling in the muck. Later this week I'll be planting 3 blackcurrant bushes (Ben Lomond variety), 3 redcurrants (Jonkheer van Tets), 3 red gooseberrys (Red Dessert) and 3 green goosegogs ( Careless) in that particular bed. We'll also be putting a rabbit/hen proof wire around the perimeter to protect the crops. Next weekend will see a few more wheel barrows of muck shifting to fill the next beds

Eureka - the snow arrived

We finally got some snow this week and although it has melted a little after a couple of days there is still enough to play in.

Wooly Guests

We're providing a temporary home to a neighbour's Texel ewes to escape the worst of the winter before/while lambing; its very exciting having them here - the children are expecting lambs to appear daily, all being well the first should arrive in a few weeks. The texel breed is well regarded and originates from Texel island off the north coast of the Netherlands. They have very strong features and quite large faces, they look tough. Its great having them here - all the fun of watching them with none of the responsibility of looking after them!

Raised Beds Under Construction

A mixed bag of weather this weekend but we have made progress on the veggie garden. On Friday (in sunshine) the ground was levelled and cleared of its rubble and general debris and then on Saturday the general preparation of the timbers for the edge of the beds was done. We are using the joists from the demolished house to create the frames; most of these are 5.5-6metres in length which works a treat for the space we have available for the raised beds. The joists themselves are 10inches in depth which is fine for the beds and once they were de-nailed have been placed approximately in position while we 'fine tune' the layout. The first phase should create 5 rectangular beds of approx 1.5m by 5.5m.
We've got lots of well rotted horse muck to fill the beds with - a job for another weekend!

Frosty Days

Its sunny and (relatively) mild today but we've had some great frosts, clear skies and low temps recently. When it sunny and dry its so nice to wrap up and get out for some fresh air. Its pretty good coming back to a warm house too! This time last year we were in the caravan and I now look at it and feel like crying, it was quite hard at times but you just soldier on. This weekend we're going to move the caravan out of the way into one of the barns and then in the Spring we'll make a good effort to sell it. The second caravan will be free to anyone who wants to collect it. Now that we're back to the normal routines after the wonderful frenzy of Christmas, Hogmanay and school holiday fun I'm very keen to get at least one of the veggie beds in place. We are just about to finish the last of our potato crop from last season and the prospect of becoming really productive with our own food this year is very exciting. In the house we're also just finishing the last of the elderflower cordial we created last summer and we had the last of the frozen rhubarb in a fool at New Year. This weekend I'm going to cover a few of the emerging rhubarb crowns so we can force some early pickings.

Proof of the pudding...

It's December, and time I blogged again. The last seven months of occupancy have been intense at ECF, not only with moving in but also just catching up with 'normal' family and work life. Despite the festive season being just round the corner, we at least feel we're getting there!

Catching up with our crops

Its a funny thing - as with conversations with friends when you haven't written your blog for ages you just don't know where to start..."what have you been up to?"..."ooh not much really, y'know just the usual".

We're back!!

Hello from us! The blog is being reborn....with this photo which was taken in July.
We're online in the house which has taken countless agonies with BT and we're looking forward to catching up with progress and news from our part of the world.

Food production underway

The fruit is forming on this Golden Spire apple. We could really do with some rain as we've had around 7 weeks of significantly dry weather which is mighty unusual. I'm not expecting too many apples this year as the stock is only a year old and I'll need to learn the best way of pruning apple trees to ensure good healthy growth. In the border between the hen enclosure and the stone wall we've planted peas and broccolli amongst the cottage garden flowers and greenery.

One year since moving here

It was one year ago this week that we moved from our old house, a Victorian sandstone place, into the caravan here. As we turned the key in the lock it started raining but we laughed as we set out on this journey of housebuilding. I know there are a few people reading this who are just commencing on that journey so I just want to say its so worth it, although unquestionably hard work, and to keep plugging away as you will get there. One year on and we're unpacking our worldly goods which have mainly been stored in one of the outbuildings here. Thankfully no damage has come to them after 12months+ of storage.

Building Control Certificate

Fine days

Last week our good buddies from Norfolk came for a holiday. As always it was lovely to catch up with them and it was also fun to have the house busy with the noise, mess and activities of two families. This marks one of those transitions between this place being a home rather than a house. Other self-builders have commented on the time it takes to settle in after designing, planning and constructing a house. Tamzin and her family bought us a beautiful handcrafted box for collecting apples from the orchard in years to come and some herbs for the garden. The herbs are being planted in the beds we've created between the top of the stone wall and the hen enclosure until we have formed our raised beds. The trailer in the picture above is full of plants ready to be put into the bed.