Got the bottle
While renovating our property, we have dug up a lot of ‘treasure’, junk and rubbish. Mentioned in my previous article were the hand pumps , but probably the most fragile and delicate has been antique bottles. I think it is the age of the bottles, and that they were not mass produced by mechanised...
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Well, well, well…….
We knew it existed, and were told when we were buying the house where it was, but due to overgrowth we hadn’t unearthed the well that once supplied the house with water. Until now. In the former scullery (marketed on the estate agent’s brochure as a utility room! lol) was the pump connected to...
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Given the Chop
From an old photograph, the boundary along our stream was not maintained for around 45 years. What was once a hedge has grown to become a line of trees....
Happy New Year! But not for some?
A New Year, is always exciting. Planning ahead, thinking of what to do and do differently. Unfortunately, Mr Fox will not see another New Year. This is my resolution, and I am sure not popular with a lot of people. After taking another chicken on Christmas Day, this fox’s days are numbered. The Christmas...
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An Excuse for a Kiss!
Seeing mistletoe in the shops at Christmas reminded me of some mistletoe I grew a few years ago. When I moved from my previous house, the mistletoe had sprouted on an apple tree I had seeded. However, I was not there long enough to see it grow any bigger than a few leaves. With...
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Squash & Pumpkin harvest in!
We’ve picked the squash and pumpkins and put them all away in the store. We had our first frost last night. Even though I had picked them all and brought them up to the house, they needed washing. Today was cold, but warm, so this morning I washed them all and this afternoon put...
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Checking out the Christmas Trees
Not sure if I have said before, but we have planted up a corner in one of the fields with Christmas trees! 100 were planted 5 years ago, followed by another 100 then another 100. So in theory we should have 300 Christmas trees growing away! Hmmm if only. Unfortunately, I bit off more...
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Mincemeat prepared for Christmas!
Going back a few hundred years, mincemeat included meat seasoned with spices. Overtime it has evolved into a seasonal blend of dried and fresh fruit with mixed spices, sugar and fat. The fat is warmed and coats all the ingredients preventing the fruit from fermenting. This year my challenge was to try and make...
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Autumn walnuts ripe for the picking
As we move toward the end of October, the weather has been quite beautiful over the last couple of days. When I checked the walnuts a week ago, they showed no signs of emerging from their green shiny casing. Cracking up This week there had been a transformation, the husks had all split and...
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Grapes to Raisins
I had a load of beautiful seedless grapes this year. The vines have produced a bumper crop. I thought I would have a go at making raisins. I did a trial batch of one tray, but then decided to fill the drier. The big surprise was the number of grapes it takes to produce...
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