BLOG 11 🏡August 2016🏠

🏡What ! How can it be August, its’ been 3 months since last blog, been so busy here, lots of garden clearing still happening !   Having a long break here this month so been working hard in the garden including many trips to the ‘recycling tip’ !  Thought we should ‘bag’ everything instead of piles of garden rubbish again !

The area by the ‘outside toilet’ to be cleared & made into a patio and ‘chicken area’ hopefully !

The local friendly farmer came by with his tractor to pull out horrible tree roots after a lot of digging !

New fence to be added sometime.

Marking out size for border & shingle…. small wall & concrete all chipped away.

Outside toilet swept out, bit smelly !! So much stuff in there ! Thought of using it as a chicken house but maybe not !

Looking a lot clearer across the garden. Nice views 🌲🌳🌿

New windows will be next BIG  job, on order so hopefully September time, before the winter !  Will they make the house warmer, should do !

To next blog….. ( not so long next time !) X

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BLOG 12 🏡October 2016🏠

🏡Windows put in this month, the black windows looked ok but not double glazed & needed painting so new windows a great improvement, test will be when winter comes!

 Windows before:-

After :-

Side view:-

Back view:-

Ordered a new bigger oak house sign to replace worn sign on front corner of house so that will be an improvement too, it’s pitch black at night as no street lights & hard to find which house is which! 🏡 Until next blog…..

BLOG 13 🏡November 2016🏠

🏡  Recently bought a chicken coop, it’s lovely, so cute! After reading lots of information on right sort of coop to buy decided on a complete plastic version, easier to clean !  Took a while to take apart to fit in the car, got there in the end!  Just need to decide where to place it in the garden.   Looking forward to this project, with lots of chicken books on the shelf,  hoping to re-home ex-caged chickens giving them their rightful freedom.🐔🐣🐓🐥

🏡Thatcher has been booked, hopefully February time.  Quite alot of thatch is dropping off including moss, think birds have something to do with it too but does need replacing, will be a good improvement. Looking a bit thin & tired ! 🏡

So come February time,  suppose weather permitting, scaffold will go up just at the back & sides as front section of thatch not being replaced, also lead flash in between the two roofs will be ‘stepped’ as it’s flat at the moment. As lead tucks under thatch it needs to be sorted at same time. No more drips indoors onto the carpets !

🏡Until next blog…..🏡

BLOG 14🏡November 12th 2016

🏡  A YEAR AGO TODAY completion happened on our Cottage, if you haven’t already, have a read from Blog 1 and see what we’ve got up to over that year ! 🏡( really a year, where’s that gone!)

November 2015

September 2017

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BLOG 23 🏡 Chickens are here🐔🐔 21st July 2017

 

🐔🐔 Chickens now in the family (Egg laying family members only) !!🐔 Pouring with rain we visited Manor Farm, only 15 mins away,  luckily for us & them they were indoors. He had quite a few, different ages, we picked 4 aged 12 weeks, trying to catch them was fun, oh no not by us but the expert farmer ! Should hopefully start laying in around 6 weeks 🐔, so looking forward to first egg, who’s gonna have that, me ?!  Abbie held the box tight on the car journey home, little tweets coming out of the box, but they were fine, got home & straight into coop & run, not sure to come out at first but lovin’ it now 🐔. 

Abbie has spent many hours in with them, even in the pouring rain under a cover, feeding from her hand, stroking them, handling them, they’re used to her already ! 🐔

Their first morning was the perfect picture & they climbed up there themselves ! 

Introducing Gwen….

Introducing Nessa……

Introducing Pam & Dawn…….

Where did those names come from…name the TV Show ?! 🐥

Oh dear Smudge, have to keep away ! Toby is playing up too, fingers crossed they calm down eventually ! 🐔

Brilliant photos taken by Abbie sitting in with them x 🐔🐔🐔

Next move is to corner off the garden with fencing, put the coop & run behind it so the dogs realise they cannot reach the chickens & let the chickens have a good run around.  So while they’re young they seem fine but planning soon to expand the area….🐔 and that will be another job sorted ! 🐔

August…..Expanded the area for them, have lots to explore now ! 

                  🐔Just chillin’ out ! 🐔

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BLOG 25 🏡October 2017🌼

🏡 Well the weather hasn’t improved for the Month of October…oh well suppose Winter is coming ! The only excitement having weather like this is visiting Lyme Regis when storms are approaching, quite spectacular !  The dogs love it and we all come back with sandy feet !  

Looking at the ‘wobbly floor’ bedroom, (must change that name as the floor is fine now!) have taken down the bin liners which were stuck over the holes catching the rain from the thin thatch, now sealed up so no draughts, also fixed this in landing ceiling, that had same problem but all sealed and no leaks !  We can paint over the plasterboard when we decorate. Looks very neat work by Andy ! I stood and helped if he needed it !  So this room looking much better, needing decorating, carpet, wardrobe….now thats going to be fun chosing a wardrobe as walls are not straight and beams in the way ! So think only one part of the bedroom suitable to get decent size wardrobe in, so on the look out at the Antiques shops. 

The doorway to this bedroom is very low, ok for me being bit shorter but you have to duck to avoid hitting your head if taller, so the plan is to cut out above the door frame and put in a bigger door.  Andy cut away the plaster and discovered a very dry messy mixture of dirt, a dry cob mix used to build this wall. 

It covered everything, it was so dusty, looking around for a new size door, thought of a downstairs door between kitchen and boiler cupboard which is never used and yes it fits width ways and door frame cut to size height ways, may need a new door frame to hang door onto as original frame, part of beam used before makes the door hang funny angle and will not be moving the beam !

Thinking of sending the chickens back….they still have not laid any eggs !! Only joking but what is going on….they are about 25 weeks old now and things should have happened ! Fingers crossed for VERY soon !  We wonder if they were younger than the 12 weeks when we first saw them at the Farm.  More wood added to their run today to eventually add a waterproof cover over the top to protect them in the winter, should be better for them.  They were trying to shade from ‘Storm Brian’ so putting a cover on will keep them dry.

Enjoying breakfast 🐔🐓🐔🐓

Hoping next blog will include eggs !!                        🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔

UPDATE….🍳First egg laid on 5 Nov 2017 …..at last !! 🐓👍🐓🍳

BLOG 30 🏡March 2018💐

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SO what can be said about the 1st day of March ! ❄⛄ VERY heavy snow blizzards hit the UK with huge snowdrifts, hitting our area where normally it NEVER snows (not for last 5/6 years!) ⛄❄

Views from the house….here it comes !

Lyme Regis….. (photo on News) If only the Christmas tree was still standing, that would look so pretty.

The chickens seem ok with the snow, their drinking water freezing over so checking it regularly. Decided to cover the coop with a sleeping bag, an old blanket & waterproof cover & this was hopefully helping to keep them warm 🐓🐔

How much the weather can change in less than a week !! We were walking on beach at Burton Bradstock last weekend, just along from West Bay in brilliant sunshine ! 🌞 Think this snow is here to stay for a while, but hopefully not ! 🐓⛄❄🐔❄⛄🐓

BLOG 31🏡 April 2018

🏡 Decorating time ! Once we start it’s ok but it’s the starting that’s hard ! But we did start on the bedroom, deciding to match in the colours from the curtains including a feature wall colour. After clearing the room, made a start using Dove Grey, Taupe and Classic Red…..but would the Red look right and we were happy with it, but it took 3 coats to look right ! Finished off with Camel colour carpet & oak colour furniture matching the walls. Good job !

Next bedroom using Dove Grey, Victorian Lace & Princess again using colours in curtains. Also happy with this feature wall colour Princess. Having white furniture in this room, make a decision on having same colour carpet in all the bedrooms or different colours ?

Very different bedside tables, cute ! 📚

Moving on to next bedroom, lots of paint left, maybe use in other rooms ?

🐔New plastic roof going on for the chicks to hopefully help keep them dry. 🐔🐓

Cleared out Summer House, what a mess made by mice deciding to pull apart the sun lounger & use the foam for nesting !! Also eaten the grass seed & box, the bird food & box, they were lovin’ life in there !

And now a big TREAT of fish & chips at the seaside ! #lymeRegis #TheCobb 🌊🏖

BLOG 32🏡May 2018

🏡 Thinking about the colours for next bedroom, this bedroom is bigger and all the walls have artex so guess this will be fun ! Also will be a challenge as it has a very high ceiling with black beams, they will be painted to blend in, (if we can reach !),

not one wall is straight up & down so choosing colours is fun !

This end of the room has different levels and a “lovely stained” ceiling from the original leak through the thatch.

Would still like a feature wall which will have to be a lime based clay paint as it is the original part of the house before the extension, the other two bedrooms are part of the extension so traditional paint was used. Trying “Riding Hood” as colour choice for this wall. A project still to start, weather has been so good so been in garden so will be taking a while I reckon. Did start in September so all about it in Blog 37.

It’s the chicks ‘brooding’ time, started with Dawn, Pam soon joined her ! When we eventually gather the eggs they are so lovely and warm 🐔🐓🐔this ‘brooding’ could happen for days or weeks I’ve just read, I hope all four of the chicks are not going to be broody all together, not sure where they’d all fit !

🐔Nessa and Gwen….you next ? 🐔

🐔Help needed to drink 😉🐔

Managed to collect the eggs when Dawn moved out the Coop ! 🐔🐓🐔

Lovely Lyme Regis 🏖🌞🐾

Lovely Seaton Beach…..chill out time, sitting on a blanket with a Latte with just the sound of the sea, Wonderful x 🌊🌞🏖🐕🐾

BLOG 33🏡 June 2018 1 Year Living in Devon

🏡 Starting this blog with a picture of a visitor we had recently in the garden !! Also a small shrew arrived in the house, played at hiding very well but managed to get it to run into a box & put outside !

Views across to Axminster on our doggie walk 🌾🌻🌳🌲

What’s going on here ? ! Still brooding I reckon ! Only 2 eggs being laid at the moment so have a reasonable amount of eggs to cope with 🐓🐔🐓

🍓First strawberries & add some clotted cream, delicious ! 🍓🍓

Early morning in Lyme Regis, very quiet, started running this week, so a good idea to give it a try along the beach front with Katherine 🏃🏃

Went to visit Beer Quarry Caves, now me & caves do not get on but would wait & see when I get there to see if I go in, on their website description it says ‘no crawling involved’!!

Entrance to the caves….oh dear !

Great, a gate to escape back through if need to….!

Well, pleased to say it was very spacious inside so made it out again after the hour Tour which was informative! Still would not want to get lost in there, so when you buy your entrance tickets they also give you little red plastic squares so on entering the caves you hand your tickets in & on exit you hand in red squares & they make sure that same number been handed over, so no chance of hiding in there for the night ! Interesting but simple idea, think it’s all to do with people sometimes wandering off !! (Health & Safety).

My treat for being brave was a ‘Cream Tea’ after ! 🍰🍰 Nice to chill out for the day🍹

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