[Backinwellies]

Hi  all my old AS friends.      Great to be back..... 

Looking forward to catching up on your exploits.  Life here hit a few boulders . ,  ,  ,  ,  .. and been a few changes  ..... and maybe more to come but more of that another time.

Hope all are well and thriving (both 2 and 4 legged beasts!)

 

[Rosemary]

Welcome back! We're fine here at Dalmore; winding down to retirement, now. No livestock other than a friend's sheep plus our two ponies, six hens with names, the dugs and cats.
Lots of work in the garden which is beginning to cease to be an embarassment.

[Backinwellies]

Thanks Rosemary

Also winding down here.
Over the last 2 years I've ruptured my achillies ( 1 month in plaster, 2 months in boot and many months of physio... now 90% better) and OH has been through chemo and radio therapy.... now stable and feeling very well.

We had to sell our Shetland cows this time last year     ....but upside was they were bought by a friend, and they now graze National trust land on the Gower where I can visit when I like.... and they are pregnant to a red and white Shetland

Cut down on sheep and didn't tup last year ..... tup currently in with 17 ewes this year ... so will be lambs next spring .     Goats cut back to 6 (maybe 4 if 2 more go this pm)

We are reluctantly intending to put smallholding on market next year .... 

[chrismahon]

Hi BIW and welcome back. Can't remember when you left us but it sounds like you have 'been through the mill'. It's always going to be a difficult decision when to sell up- one that we will have to face sooner than later. I think the point is reached when the property gets close to losing value due to lack of maintenance because you just can't do it and can't afford to pay someone to do it. We can buy some time here and have someone cut the fields quite cheaply, but old places will always require a lot of work which will be never ending. The previous owner had people round to cut, weed and clean just before each viewing, so at a glance it looked OK. Fortunately for her it sold quite quickly.

[doganjo]

You are all depressing me! 

I retired from accountancy 20 years ago, but 'keep my hand in' by doing friends books and also help run a couple of charities
I turned 80 last December.  I downsized four years ago to a bungalow with half an acre, a cat, 2 dogs, 4 hens, 6 quail. 
Over time I've lost the cat, and the quail, and replaced two of the French 'too posh to push' wyandottes with a  couple of rescue caged hens, none with names, but at least the rescues don't fly away from  me.

I take life at a slower but still active pace and enjoy it as much as before.

I'm luckier than many with what I have and where I live.

"Always look on the bright si-ide of life ta da ta da ta da de da de da"

[Womble]

 


Wait, so you'll be back out of wellies again?  Is it possible to change a username?

[Fleecewife]

Hello and welcome back BiW  .  It's been a bit quiet here recently, I think many of us have had a few hurdles to jump.  Mine gave me a cardiac pacemaker on the way, so we too have cut back - sheep are lawnmowers, no breeding, hens were taken by fox in the day and not replaced, geese look after themselves, veggies definitely don't look after themselves so they are trimmed a bit too.
Sorry to hear you've been having hard times and hope things run more smoothly now 

[SallyintNorth]

Wait, so you'll be back out of wellies again?  Is it possible to change a username?

You can change a username yes (although I forget whether you need to ask Dan to do it for you).  I always planned to change mine when I moved to Cornwall, but never got around to it, plus everyone knows me as SitN, several posts refer to me thus, and in the end, a username is a handle more than it's a description.  So I've left mine as it was, even though it now makes little sense! 

It's been a bit quiet here recently, I think many of us have had a few hurdles to jump.  Mine gave me a cardiac pacemaker on the way, so we too have cut back

Yup, hurdles here too.  I've been increasingly needed to help with my (incredibly ancient) parents, who are in the Midlands, to the extent that I am more or less part time at Trelay at the moment.  I've said I will not be living in my caravan in the lambing field for the duration next year, and can't guarantee to be on site at all, so the community is considering whether or not to put the tups out next weekend, or to give the ewes a year off.

I've put the ponies in "retirement" livery a few miles away, so that I can be sure that their basic needs are being reliably met when I am away for extended periods, and I'm not taking my fellow community members too much for granted.

Thankfully, the community is thriving, lots of energetic and enthusiastic younger (than me) folk taking things on and improving things. The current project is planting hedgerows and trees with a grant from Forest for Cornwall.  This phase will give us shelter from at least two directions in every grazing area, plus a few "in field" trees in one or two of the larger fields.    

[Backinwellies]

Wait, so you'll be back out of wellies again?  Is it possible to change a username?

Hoping to find somewhere with a field to keep me in wellies!! 

[Shropshirelass]

Nice to have you back, it's sad to hear of a lot of people winding down when I'm currently a the other end of the scale trying to build things up after taking over the family farm & because my parents didn't farm their half & rented it out it really means I'm starting from scratch which is hard but good in a way, alongside working full time - Currently I'm running approx 20 hens, 20 geese, 15 ducks, 12 quail & 28 sheep (I was only doing the poultry & waterfowl & 5 sheep a year & a half ago...)

[Penninehillbilly]

Bit late to this one, but my plan was to wind down with the goats, just keep a couple of milkers, nearly empty barn for winter. I have 'some 'normal' sheep, and some Easycare X sheep, so not much shearing.
BUT due to Bluetongue, couldn't use the billy I wanted, he's in a zone, so had to buy one locally. then tup was getting out, bored with his girls who didn't want him any more, then 2 lambs needed to come in, then a wether who turned out to be a tup had to come in. so barn full again, so much for an easy winter! Then of course this weather the sheep need feeding more. 2 hens, 4 geese.
I'm 70, husband is nearly 80, not sure how much longer we can keep going.   Vaguely talking about selling and moving down the valley somewhere, but it will break me to leave here.
ON the plus side, keeping animals gets me out of bed in the mornings, and I'm sure that is keeping arthritis at bay, can be bad first thing, it would be sooo easy to just give in and stay in bed, but eases off, by the time i'm out to feed up. just heard about a friends friend who was so happy to retire in 2021, now can hardly walk because of arthritis. So those who are downsizing, keep moving gang 

[sabrina]

Life for me has become different. Managed to get my 93 year old mother moved from Wishaw to Banff last October. Now my days are mostley caring for her. Still have 3 sheep, 3 ponies, 2 dogs and 4 rescue cats but no pigs which I do miss. I no longer do any showing of the ponies, can't run and get out of breath. Do still grow some veg but only ona very small scale. I have taken up knitting again and this helps pass the time in the evenings rather than the TV which is all repeats anyway. My OH is into wine making these days. He did make some nice apple wine 2 years ago and now trying his hand at red wine which so far taste horrible. Life goes on just at a much slower pace. the mind would like to do more but the body not so able.