Today was a bit of a win day, a great morning and afternoon hiking about a site not too far from home, with crazy weather that is a bit damp and humid, then there’s a gap in the clouds and it’s suddenly 30C and baking hot. So worked up a sweat.
Hopefully enough sun to enliven the Squash I planted out earlier this week; last night I finally planted some carrots and leeks in the hope there’s enough summer left to get some of those. Get me. I wasn’t sure where to put them, so scattered the carrots around a few different plots in the garden. No doubt the rabbits will eat them all before too long, I could get some chicken wire off my landlord now he’s back from his holiday. I know he is back because as I unloaded my truck, he drove past at high speed on a quad bike yelling “HI SARAAAAAH”
I was up until 11 last night questioning Dan, who lives here now but is moving out at the weekend, about what is required in order to keep a small flock of sheep. Dan’s a farmer by trade and is moving in with his girlfriend in Fife so they can keep some cows, or something. Apparently, you can keep 3 or 4 sheep per acre, so if I got 6 acres in two fields, I could grow my own hay and keep 10 ewes, or a bit more and get a couple of rams, but you have to get new rams in every couple of years. If I wanted to be in the uplands, it’d be more like 1 sheep per acre. Dan even suggested I get some Hill Radnor, as endagered breed are more practical to keep in a small hobby flock. Ah, the dreams I have.. this will probably never happen.
So that was an education. The other win of the day is that, because Dan’s moving out, I need a bit more furniture – most urgently a sofa. I had a quick look in the charity furniture shops when I was in the City earlier this week, but it wasn’t very promising, so when I stopped in Market Town to pick up cat litter from the Pets & Guns shop, I popped into ‘”Hazel’s” Antiques and Bric-a-brac’ to have a look. The quotes are Hazel’s, she evidently spells her name “Hazel”. I assume she’s the slightly unhinged Irish woman overseeing the vast warehouse piled high with an inifinte amount of rubbish. Brilliant! I love these shops. Tempted by an extremely tatty chaise lounge, but across the yard was another warehouse stacked high with sofas, the first one I saw by the door was an Ikea 3-seater sofa bed for £150. I think it’s one that retails for £600 new. Win.
