Learning Stuff

Maturity is doing the right thing even if it's what your mother tells you to do.

Homeopathy is about energy. Electricity is energy you can't see and not easy to understand- you don't need to measure it, its still there.

When things go wrong we learn much more than when they go smoothly (I'm thinking of moving the sheep at Stroud here!)

4C at 2 am is very cold
7C at 7 am is quite warm
10 C at 10 pm is cold!

Walk behind the bull in the field- then you don't spoil his view.

A cow calving- if no further on after an hour or 2 might need some help.

When immunising lambs need to draw up 2 mls of vaccine very quickly.

Ordinary pegs are rubbish at putting up a tent in a stony field ( we had to use a crowbar to get a hole in the ground, which wasn't the same shape as our pegs)

A tent that normally takes 20 mins to put up  can take hours in a stony field.

Rock pegs seem to be worth while ( in a stony, windy field).

We like the look of a caravan with bunk beds.....

Not cooking tea daily is really lovely for us as a family.

Stones used as a path mulch either need a membrane under or tending frequently. Digging up deep roots through a path is a pain.

Polytunnels are fab, and lovely for gardening in windy weather.

A hillside is good for walking up and down for fitness, but might need knee replacements after 20 years.

Washing up in a sink is lovely. So is running hot water.
But washing up without either means I use a lot less water.

Laundrettes are expensive.

Fresh veggies are lovely, as is home made bread.

Independant food shops can be so hard to find, and local and/or organic vegetables are even harder to find.

The first step in a forest garden is establishing windbreaks, and 10 years is good for getting them established.

For DH to learn forestry we'll have to WWOOF in winter somewhere.

Compost loos and tree bogs are great.We've been 6 different places, none the same and each has advantages and disadvantages!

Sheep are daft animals.

We like cows.

I work better with a siesta.

DH really enjoys hard physical work.

I'm good at getting mucky.

Its quiet when the rain stops.

Our children are more fun with other people to talk to.

Our wood stove is lovely.

We still have no time for hobbies or reading, but the internet still happens.