Two Have Become Three.... Somehow!

This morning Jon and I talked about how today it is three years since we arrived at our little patch of paradise. We've achieved so much in that small amount of time but we've also enjoyed becoming part of the community, making the life we had dreamed for ourselves, even before the boys were born, and just loving our life. We still have more to do and more plans but let's see what happened this year.

We have managed to make our Airbnb rooms work - I say rooms as this morning I received the FIRST booking for the new room which is soooooo very exciting, our boys have grown up learning their Welsh and this week Harry has started senior school and Alfie is in his last year at primary.

If you can stick with this fairly long post I'd appreciate you sharing this part of our journey. It
is also a record for me so.... snce we moved here, as with most people I follow, share with etc, change is a massive thing - sometimes by choice and at others times by necessity. We have reached plan A B and C and may even now be on X Y or Z! I look at it as things evolving....

In no particular order but I'll start with what I think are the biggest changes - the outbuildings along with other structures in the garden.

Thanks to friends we now have a fab greenhouse. They weren't able to use it so we jumped at the chance as I've wanted one for soooo long - we decided the best and only place to site it was at the far end of the main veg patch.

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It took a few days in total to get a base put in, actually put the thing together, source and fit the glass, have raised beds built and a lovely bench added. This year it is housing some, hopefully, successful sweet potatoes, cucumber plant and some not so good tomato plants.

I have plans for it over winter, something I haven't really concentrated on before (all advice welcome) but, of course, I also have plans for it into next Spring, always have a plan!

We acquired from the same friends a summer house; it looked more like a beech hut so it had a re-paint and a re-fit and is now the Snug to be used by guests, visitors and us! 

The work Jon has undertaken on the second Airbnb room has been fab. It has been a fairly long process, finalising the layout along with time and finances required, and then I get to dress them for the expected guests after that!

I just love how the outside looks now. Jon built a lovely planter to divide the rooms, too.

It is now listed on Airbnb along with the first room and we hope for our first booking soon!

Inside the house we had visitors after the snow which arrived at the beginning of March.



We loved being able to take care of a couple of orphan lambs from our neighbours flock. Happy to report they are both well grown and healthy now; it was a fantastic experience for the boys to be a part of.

In July we finally managed to re-cover the polyhouse which was damaged by the storms the previous September. Because I wasn't able to use the polyhouse in the way I would have wished due to the weather, sowing and growing was started a little late but you just have to go with it and make the best - this may have had a detrimental effect on things but there is always net year!

We visited the Spring Festival at Builth Wells for the first time this year. We enjoyed the journey there and had a great day.

We had snow in December, too.



In sowing and growing harvests have been fairly good. From my early spuds I managed to get over 15lbs which I was really pleased with - maincrop yet to come...

These round courgettes will definitely be on my list for sowing next year. Love them.



Tomatoes have been a dis-aaaster dharling. Enough said,

....but the gherkins have been fab; however, note to self just one plant next year.




I don't tend to grow flowers but these came on a treat this year! Love it.



We, unfortunately, had our first animal attack but happily now have ten new Leghorn Ladies who are settling in very nicely and giving us a goodly amount of white eggs each day.

Well, as usual I could go on and on, maybe that's why my followers have fallen off.... I hope you enjoyed a little snap shot of some of the things we've got up to during our third year on our little homestead and maybe you'll take a look at some of my other posts. 

And my aim is still the same....


                                           

Bye for now.

Lou.xx