Nothing like your scale of outdoor activities remote, but before and since "Storm Amy" sent me indoors, been treating fencing posts and panels around the house. Fair bit to do down the driveway and the garden between me and a couple of neighbouring properties. Now I'm not some pre-historic anti-social sceptic (honest ), but I can't be arsed with all this water based stuff that's being pushed on environmental grounds - used it ages ago and not worth a toss in my humble opinion. Trouble is, solvent based preservative/stains are seen as "the enemy" and are getting more difficult and expensive to find. Blackfriars Gold Star Red Cedar has always been my choice, but it's doubled in price this past few years to the extent that my usual source has stopped stocking it. Got a great contact down in Dorset who sent me 10 x 5 litre cans at merchant price - that's less than half normal retail. I've used 4 of them and nearly finished - another 1 should do it. 5 left for next time which should be in about 3 to 4 years - if I'm still around and the "Grim Reaper" hasn't got me...........
Ronseal Fence Life +, five year life, lying bastards, more like five months if you're lucky. The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
The big boys like Ronseal and Cuprinol are pushing second class water based products on the back of a "green wave". The increasing influence of tree huggers on everyday life is starting to bug me. I'm not a "drill, drill, drill" follower of Trump by any means, but there has to be a realistic raincheck called on the likes of Greta Thunberg and her fawning followers. They say products like solvent based Blackfriars Gold Star is not environmently friendly - well my fence doesn't thinks so and loves it.
My diesel Honda Civic would do 80mpg on a good run. 70+ was the norm all year round. If I get over 60 on my self charging Toyota C-HR hybrid that is good. Surely that means modern diesel engines with low emissions are: - 1. Leeching the planet of fossil fuels more slowly than petrol and hybrid engines. 2. Not polluting the planet as quickly as petrol/hybrid engines. More green/woke policies forced on us without fully considering the facts.
Hybrids have to be the worst of all worlds. In ICE mode you're carrying a battery and electric motors. In electric mode you're carrying a chunk of ICE.
A lot of this 'green stuff' is for show, to allow people to feel smug and to allow suppliers to make money. Is using solvent based preservatives and doubling the life of your fence better or worse than cutting down trees to replace your fence in half the time? We've got similar issues with weed killer and rat poison. Suff you used to buy 'over the counter', you now have to be licenced for.
A few weeks ago, a mate in our fishing club gave me venison cubes and a haunch of venison. He's off stalking at the moment. A similar time ago, a new neighbour in one of the barn conversions next to our small holding was doing work in his garden. He was buying manure and transporting it in his car. I asked if he wanted more. He said yes, lots. Got him to put a tarp down and tipped a tonne or so over the fence for him with the tractor. By the time I got from the other side of our field with the second bucket he was waiting with a bottle of wine. It comes from a friend's vineyard. So, the venison is in the oven and the wine is breathing. Dinner for free.
No MoTs on tractors. Bonkers that you can drive 4 tonne of tractor with 8 tonnes on the back with no idea if the brakes work. Or lights, or indicators, or anything else for that matter.
I've posted a bit of stuff on here over the last year or so about being a part time farmer. I also posted a link recently about daughter and her partner's farm move. They have their own Facebook page for business purposes, but since their move, they've started posting on what it's like being first generation farmers, and what life is like trying to run a farm when just starting out for real. If anyone is interested and uses Facebook, follow L&D Farming through the link below. Proud dad. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561843946439
