Years ago, when the self-sufficiency bug hit me and my wife we moved a lot in that direction, but somewhere along the line she lost the motivation and energy to do it. Her career basically consumed her. But we had plans to rear a couple of goats at the time. My niece and her husband have 7 acres in total in North Cornwall. They could raise cows on that, but I was able to explain the pros and cons at the outset, and advised against it unless they wanted to turn their home into a small farm, which they didn't. They also read up about it and realised what a bloody commitment cows are. So they do goats, pigs, chickens, ducks and geese. And bees! And they grow scrub and trees on unused land. The pigs and goats are occasionally allowed to wander in amongst that lot. Oh, and they have about two dozen boxes of raised beds and surrounding net fences against wabbets which I helped erect, and a big green house, which I didn't. She tends the house and animals, and he helps, and works from home. They never have any money.
It is my favourite meat too. I have a half decent garden so could section it off and rotate them a little. The hens wouldn’t be too happy though if they couldn’t roam as they pleased.
Oh TSS- I want bees too but that’s off the agenda at the moment too. I have a veg patch but the last couple of years it’s been a bit hit and miss due to my time travelling.
My cousin says that he has a time machine in his home. But only if he buys Jaffa Cakes. Yes, the biscuit that isn't. It's because if he sits down with a coffee and a couple of Jaffa Cakes, and then goes back to the packet, he finds that they are all gone. He's figured that there isn't a Jaffa Cake thief about because he's even had the pack in front of him and they all disappear. Curious.
Ok, I'm now going to push the nerdy envelope on here. Let's see if it actually exists on a football forum. This is a conversation published today from Saturday night in Boca Chica, Texas. It involved a nerdy Youtuber, Tim Dodd "The Everyday Astronaut", who I subscribe to, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and CEO and Chief Engineer at SpaceX. Tim used to be a professional photographer, but became consumed with enthusiasm the first time went to a rocket launch to take photos. So in a few short years he has educated himself in rocketry, and his timing has been impeccable. Anyway, it's a great chat for nerds, but just look at that Starship. It looks like something out of classic 1950's Sci-Fi films. It's 186ft tall and will be the top section of a rocket that will be taller and more powerful than the old Saturn V moon rocket. Enjoy, nerds:
I've been asked by my brother-in-law if he can put one or two of his hives down at the end of my garden - I'm allergic to bee stings so gardening will be like Russian roulette for me. I know I like an adrenaline rush, but preferably not from a syringe so probably ought to politely turn his request down
Probably for the best. Wifey keeps bees and we had a hive in our small garden for a while. It was ok to start with but when she got a new swarm we started getting stung. She still does it but now they're kept down the road in a field. Fascinating pastime/business though.
My B in L kept his hives on his Dad's allotment, however the old boy is giving it up due to having a couple of new hips fitted next month, which will just remind him how shot his knees are once his hips work properly again so the allotment has to go. A friend in NZ has bee hives, and he planted loads of manuka on a 50 acre plot he bought a few years ago so his honey is worth proper money which more than covers his costs. This in turn finances his micro-brewery. I have recently applied for a licence to trap signal crayfish from a local river, so I might get some benefit from invertebrates yet, plus I'm not allergic to them.
I met Russell Howard at Bournemouth Station this morning . A very nice approachable guy happy to chat.
I'm going see how catches are. I know a guy who would be interested in relatively small numbers (400 to 500) and he'd want them once a month so would give me time to catch enough for me too. I like 'em cooked really quickly in butter with a bit of chilli, bit of garlic and some crusty bread It's just an excuse really to spend a bit of time down by a river, plus the equipment is cheap and the licence is free.
How long do you have to leave them in clean fresh water (or irrigate them, if that’s what it is called) before eating them, or is that not an issue from the river?
I have an old fishtank with a glass cover. If I fill it with fresh water (de-chlorinated) and leave them for 24 hours, it should be long enough for them to purge. Then I can just treat them like squat lobsters and eat the tails. Heads and shells for stock I guess.
My stepdaughter is spending a year in New Zealand and is working as a tour guide on the Hobbiton film set in Waikato, North Island. She seems to have scrubbed up well!
