Rain! Rain! Rain!

So far this week very little has happened owing to the dreadful weather. When will it stop raining?

The weather has put a stop to the pigsty renovation and no progress has been made as everywhere is sodden.

We are still waiting to hear from the local council and get their opinion about building a new house. We have made progress with the water though, with the tanks, pumps and pipes being ordered. The electrician has been in touch but unfortunately we still wait for e'on.

It is lovely to see the hedges and trees beginning to bud, we will soon be able to see which trees in the orchard are still alive and hopefully find out what variety of fruit they are.

After this winter we decided that we ought to have a 4x4 vehicle in case we get snowed up. We have managed to get a second hand Land Rover Discovery. We will keep our main car as well for transporting the parents around and plan to sell my car. Geoff has just finished fitting the dog guard, I wonder how long it will take Patch and Poppy to work out a way through. Last weekend Geoff went round our current garden to make it 'dog proof', as they had been escaping into the field behind us, Patch was not amused and most put out as he had loved running down the garden through the fence to freedom. After a day he had managed to find another way out. 'Foiled Again', back to the drawing board!!

Pigs!

They say things have to get worse before they get better. At the moment the building which will be the pigsty has one end missing as the builder has been busy working on it. Once he got started and cleared all the rubbish from around it he discovered the end wall was falling down and needed re-building. Once the building is completed it will be ideal for the pigs.

The gas board have got back to us and we know where the high pressure gas main is. We are also making progress with the water situation and received the quote. The next problem will be digging a trench for the new pipework from the source whilst there are sheep in the field so some strategic planning ahead of us.

Action!!

Having thought we weren't getting anywhere today has been pretty busy. The architect has been in touch and informed us that he has made a preliminary enquiry to the Council, we should have some idea on their views by the middle of April.



The water consultant has been in touch requiring some measurements before he completes his quotation. Another job which Geoff sorted.



A maintenance contractor met Geoff and Alistair to look at one of the buildings which needs some restoration work. He will make a start tomorrow, so at long last progress.

The Waiting Game

Surprise surprise, the electric board have responded. They will quote within the next fourteen days. Not much else has happened over the last few days. Currently we are on a waiting game. The water expert should be sending us a quote, the gas board are going to come out and mark where the high pressure gas pipe is (we cannot start digging trenches for the water pipes until we know where the pipe is) and the architect is supposed to be sounding out the local planners to find out if they would be in favour of us demolishing the house and rebuilding a new one. We are also waiting for the weather to improve so that we can start doing some maintenance to the farm buildings. Geoff has a lot of doors and gates to repair.


Last Thursday the final sheep to lamb had twins. Lambing has been very drawn out as we began at the end of January and we were beginning to think we would never finish.


Millie has been and had her second inoculation today. She is growing fast and putting on weight.
The breeder has given us another puppy to replace Tess. We are very apprehensive but have brought her home and the vet has checked her over. She is much smaller than her sister and needs to put on some weight. Although they are sisters they are arguing a bit so need watching so that they can bond again.

The electrician has been and surveyed the electrics in the farm buildings and the house. As we suspected everything will have to be rewired as the wiring is in a poor way. The supply goes straight into the house and then through to the farm. If we can go ahead and build a new house then the electricity will have to be cut off before the old one is knocked down. Geoff has contacted e-on asking them to come and alter the connection. It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to respond.

Firefly is looking really well and putting on weight. She seems to appear every time Geoff walks into the yard. He is becoming very fond of her.

Seeing is Believing

We have posted some photos of the interior of the house as we feel one has to see it to believe it.
The most modern acquisition is the central heating and even that is poor. The radiator in the kitchen is halfway up the wall. The oil fired boiler is in the kitchen and when one opens the front door you are greeted with the smell of oil. It is highly unlikely that anything else was done since the house was built. When we first looked around the place there were rosettes all over the walls. The previous owners were very successful with their horses. There are spots of blutac on the walls where the rosettes have been taken down. Enjoy the rest of the photos. Look out for the pipe across a doorway, the damp wall and ceiling on the landing and finally admire the wonderful wallpaper!!!

Miracle dog!

Great news this afternoon. Millie has been back to the vets for a check up. They are amazed with her progress, she is putting on weight and growing. The vet was so delighted with her that they took her off to show all the other members of staff. We now have to go through the next dose of worming and she needs to go back in just over a week for her next inoculation and to be chipped.

Not much has been happening at Redlands the last couple of days. Alistair's sheep have learnt how to get across the cattle grid and into the main yard. He has put an electric fence up to stop them so hopefully they will stay in the right area.

The orchard was full of dead trees and there is about three which are still alive. Not sure whether they are apple, plum or pear trees. Alistair has worked really hard and cleared a lot of the dead wood out. The previous owner kept horses and we have discovered that when they died they buried them in the orchard and erected a little plaque with the name of the horse and dates on them.

Progress!

A much better day today. Millie is eating well now and gradually going back onto her proper diet. She is full of life and mischief. She has found a way to knock the bin over and pull the contents out. The Jack Russell's are becoming more tolerant to her and Patch is beginning to play with her on occasions.

This afternoon Geoff had a meeting with the water consultant and knows what we need to ensure the water is safe. All very positive for us as he says we can have a water purification plant and be self sufficient for water.

At long last we have got hold of the electrician who will be coming on Monday to have a look. Finally we feel as if some progress is being made.

Sad Day

Unfortunately Tess was very ill this morning and sadly we have lost her. The parvo-virus test was negative so the vets think it could have been corona virus which is a derivative of the SARS virus. We know the vets tried their best for her and they were upset that they couldn't make her better too.
At least Millie is doing well. She is eating now, putting on weight and full off mischief. Back to the vets on Friday to just check that she continues to progress well.

The architect arrived with the amended plans today. All the alterations we asked for have been done, the next hurdle will be if the council allow us to pull down the existing house and build a new one.

Geoff has finally got hold of the water consultant and will be having a meeting with him tomorrow to explore the options of using the existing well as there is no mains water supply available. We did make enquiries with the water board and were quoted £37,000 as the nearest mains was a little way off. Hopefully we can be self sufficient.

Alistair has had a frustrating day as his pick up truck went in for repair and the courtesy vehicle did not materialise. They maintained that he couldn't have one because he is under 21. After several heated phone calls he finally got some joy and a vehicle arrived this evening.

Good News and Bad News!

The good news is we have got Millie home. She is remarkable and it is so hard to believe that she has been so poorly. She is full of mischief and wants to play and getting terribly spoilt at the moment as we never thought she would pull through. As the day progresses her appetite is improving. The bad news is that Tess is two days behind where Millie was and very poorly and still at the Vet's. We are hoping that tomorrow will bring more positive news. Millie is really missing her, our two Jack Russell terriers are very unsure of her and keeping away from her.



This morning began with a sharp frost which was followed by a beautiful sunny day. This meant conditions were ideal for us to check the bees and see how well they have survived this winter. Last Autumn we had six colonies. Four of them very strong. Unfortunately the winter has taken its toll and we have lost two colonies. One other colony looks quite weak also. The rest are looking good. We put the queen excluders in and checked they had got food. They will be moved to Redlands later in the year and be housed in the Orchard. We don't want to move them yet as there is a field of rape planted in the field behind us so we are hoping for some good rape honey.



Alistair has taken some sheep to Redlands today. It is great to see animals in the fields again. So far we have pigs and sheep over there. Once the water is sorted out then he will take some cattle over. He has four lovely heifers which he is hoping to show. Yesterday he attempted to begin halter training them. This wasn't as easy as he thought it would be, trying to get close to their heads and put an halter on was quite challenging. Eventually he succeeded with one of them but no chance of getting it to walk alongside him. I suspect this will take several months of hard work and dedication.

What a week!

It is hard to believe that one can become so quickly attached to ones pets. The last two days have been full of anguish as both pups ended up being kept at the vets with a drip. The vet suspects they have canine parvo-virus which they must have been incubating before we brought them home. They are both beginning to improve and we are hoping to bring them home tomorrow if they do not relapse overnight. We know there will be a few weeks of TLC to get them in good condition yet and we are hoping they will make a full recovery.

Not been our week as a lorry reversed into Alistair's pick up truck whilst it was stationary. On the surface there doesn't look a lot of damage but the bonnet has been buckled, the bumper damaged and a light broken. The driver has admitted liability so Alistair will be able to make an insurance claim.

Geoff has been doing some measuring up to replace some of the gates and doors. We hope we can start to do more now that the nights are beginning to draw out and the weather is improving.

Poor Millie

Since the architect came we have had a good look at the plans, scribbled on them and decided which design is likely to be the most suitable for us. Naturally we have chosen the largest plan which means it will be the most expensive to build. Hopefully the architect can cut down some of the room sizes to cut the expense down a bit.


Geoff is trying to get the water consultant and the electrician so that we can check that the electric around the farm is safe to use. There are wires everywhere so we want to make sure it is safe to use electrical equipment. We have been told that the well at the front of the house is a holding tank from the main water supply at the edge of the field. More things to work round.


Since our last post one of the pupies, Millie, has become very unwell. We have had to leave her at the vets where they are keeping her to put a drip onto her as she is becoming very dehydrated. We are very worried about her and hoping she will recover. Tess is okay at the moment but missing her sister already so suspect we are in for a noisy night.

One Man and His Dog!!

The puppies are settling in well and becoming very inquisitive. They have found a way to lift the lid in the recycling bin and managed to pull an empty box out. They have had great fun playing and chewing it to bits. Eventually the puppies will be housed in a barn at the farm as they will be working dogs. We are hoping to get them trained to work with the sheep and probably begin to breed collie puppies ourselves. You never know One man and his dog here we come!!


The previous owner of Redlands had cats running around everywhere. They have been sent to new homes all except one which couldn't be caught. It is strange because it has taken a real liking to Geoff. Every time he enters the yard it appears. We were told that it would never go into the house but I suspect this will change when we eventually get there. No idea whether it is male or female but have just learnt that it is called Firefly.



The architect has been to see us this evening, leaving us with a lot to think about. The existing house is going to need so much doing to it that it may be more economical to rebuild. He has brought several plans for us to mull over and decide what we want to do. Decisions, decisions, decisions!!