This is a really beautiful time of year in the woods, and I’m in the process of clearing fallen timber and storing it to dry. Here’s the entrance into the woodland, which opens into a great clearing, in which is growing one of the few Rowan trees we have....
Last night Mr Truesdale, from along the road, brought round his extensive collection of locally historic documents, and we learned much. It will take a visit to the public records office in Belfast to unearth the detail we need, but now we do know what we are looking...
We do like visitors, and it was great to see John and Elaine from the Turnip House, who very kindly brought us housewarming (and headwarming) hats. If you are coming to the area, make sure you visit their tea house – the cake is fabulous. They make knitwear and...
Thresh seed, and to fanning, September doth cry,get plough to the field, and be sowing of rye;To harrow the ridges, ere ye strike, is one piece of husbandry Suffolk doth like.Sow timely thy white wheat, sow rye in the dust,let seed have his longing, let soil have her...
So…after a bit of research, it looks like we have identified at least some of the people in this picture. We had the photograph looked at by Jayne Shrimpton, a dress historian and picture specialist, who confirmed that the picture was probably taken between...
By the sound of it this house has had its share of chimney fires. Whether you’re burning solid fuel or wood, there is likely to be abuild up of tar and soot in the flue, so now is a good time of year to get your chimneys swept before fires are in frequent...
After an interesting conversation with Michael Rooney this morning, I started to investigate using Griffith’s valuation, and sure enough, there’s the cottage, in plot 38, back in 1863, looking remarkably similar in shape to the way it does today. Even the...
Well that was a busy old day. We made our appearance in the County Down Outlook on Wednesday, asking for more information about the house, and specifically, the range cooker. Gary, nephew of the previous owner came to visit us yesterday, and we learned a lot about the...
Hooray! Having been egg bound since her arrival, and with a sore leg to boot, poor old Hoppi was looking very sorry for herself. Hence she has been holed up in a box in the kitchen, to escape bullying by the other hens and to give her a chance to unblock. Whether it...
Today was a real milestone, as we went off to collect the freshly milled Douglas Fir floor from Ballytrim Sawmills. All our timber has come from Clarke Cunningham, and we were happily surprised to find that he’d done half as much again as we’d asked for,...
After only a short time I am starting to appreciate the work that is needed to not only manage but to learn the ways to get the most out of a wood fired range. The Doric wasn’t strictly designed to burn wood – rather it is a solid fuel stove, but we have...
After 3 months pretty much solid work, we are finally about to spend our first night in the cottage. It already looks like we’ve been here forever though..The range, bless it, worked a treat, and we’ve had our first meal cooked on it too. About...
