Autumn sunshine
Evacuated tube solar collector Someone told me last week that they wouldn’t have solar water heating because ‘It doesn’t work in Northern Ireland’. Funny that, I said, because every time the sun comes out it heats our water to 40 degrees, at...Pass it on
Something that many of the readers of this blog, and of the blogs that I follow have in common is that we are to some degree, trying to derive a living from the land – usually fairly small bits of it too. Agriculture has grown from humble roots to the massive...Today’s property offering
This is today’s offering, and one that tempts me to become the founder member of ‘Occupy Ballyroney’. It’s an empty four(ish) bedroom farmhouse, that also used to double as the village shop. It’s been empty for some years now, and someone...
Another empty cottage
The countryside around us is full of empty cottages and farmsteads, some of which have had modern bungalows built next to them, but many of which (like this one), simply lie empty. This one is up beyond us, totally hidden from view in the fields, and has no...Days like this are worth waiting for
We may have had the wettest winter for 100 years but days like this are worth waiting for. Perfectly frosty and clear, no noise except for the hens helping me to muck out the stables, and the smell of woodsmoke. It doesn’t get a lot better than that. Suddenly...Want to join in?
If you fancy rolling up your sleeves and coming to be part of a new smallholding, then we want to hear from you. We’re going to register as Wwoof hosts, but if anyone wants to come and spend time under the usual Wwoof agreement, ie – we house and feed you...Falling off the woody wagon
I feel like a smoker who is trying to give up and who has fallen off the wagon. Although our range isn’t really suited to wood, and is 50+ years old, a few alterations and it has burned pretty well, with one slight snag – the quantities that it consumes....Poll
It is on this day every year that I remember Poll, my most excellent horse friend of many years. I’ll tell Lyra about him.
Get a taste of the Good Life
All you need to enjoy a break from the connected world is here. The house truck features a unique upcycled pallet wood interior, well equipped kitchen, wood powered shower, and of course, an outside compost loo with a view. Harriet even has her own decking area where you can sit and admire the view, and is powered by solar electricity.