We are in our new Homestead
We are finally here - we are finally up in Orkney. After a very long drive and a weeks educational holiday on our island, we are here in our Homestead. We have been in our homestead for a week or so, and already it feels like home. The packing boxes are being emptied at an amazing rate, thanks to Dee who has been a real trooper at unpacking and finding homes for our possessions The few boxes that remain on the bedroom floor are labelled as “Stuff” - the type of stuff that every home has but has no particular home!
We love our place, we love the thickness of the walls and the narrowness and lowness of the doors. Every door you pass through has a quirk, either it is a head walloper or you need to pass sideways on!
We love our place, we love the thickness of the walls and the narrowness and lowness of the doors. Every door you pass through has a quirk, either it is a head walloper or you need to pass sideways on!
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We have a few little jobs to before Christmas, I need to get up on the roof of the front porch and leadline it as there is a bit of a leek. Nothing major and does not affect the main house, but it would be good to start using the porch as a real room of the house. As we are currently sleeping on the floor, the other thing I need to do, is to make a four poster bed for us out of agricultural fence posts and scrap wood, I am sure it will be fab.
The land here is bigger and better than our initial viewings led us to believe, we have great plans for the homestead. The 2.5 acres of land is more like 3.5, and most of the boundary fencing is in place, just need to fence off one side of field 4 (the biggest chunk).
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Long term aim is to produce the majority of our own food, we are thinking of chickens and ducks for eggs and meat, a couple of pigs for pork, a small colony of rabbits mostly for dog food and their pelts for crafts, and a couple of sheep. The sheep will be more pets than livestock, we want them for their wool, and Dee has already named them Izzy and Beth! And we will also be breeding mice for Dipus the cornsnake.
Fruit and veg wise, we are not so lucky, the climate here on the island is dominated by Njord, the god of wind. Even on a calm day where the gales are not 40 - 60 mph, the wind constantly blows at 20 mph, these winds play havoc on anything growing a foot off of the ground. If we can’t grow up, then maybe we should grow down with root veg being the way to go - but then the islands rabbit population are likely to enjoy most! A wind proof polytunnel may be the way forward!
Fruit and veg wise, we are not so lucky, the climate here on the island is dominated by Njord, the god of wind. Even on a calm day where the gales are not 40 - 60 mph, the wind constantly blows at 20 mph, these winds play havoc on anything growing a foot off of the ground. If we can’t grow up, then maybe we should grow down with root veg being the way to go - but then the islands rabbit population are likely to enjoy most! A wind proof polytunnel may be the way forward!
