On the last day of 2017, our wonderful neighbours Graham, Julie, Paddy, Liam and Lindsay from across the valley came over with a long bale of straw and two Highland cattle steers for us. Back in October we had discussed taking on the 6-month old calf Knorr and his 18-month old half brother Dodger. Over the weeks that followed we had prepared the barn for their [...]
October was a very busy month getting ready for the arrival of 20 rescued hens, followed by visits from family and the felling of the old beech trees in front of the stables and rotten sycamore in front of what would become our log store. One of the stables was converted into a hen house, using chicken wire and concrete blocks to prevent unwanted guests with [...]
Our second month at the smallholding, a slightly soggy August with a sprinkling of long sunny days on the decking, seems to have flown by with 3 sets of visitors and a trip back to Hertfordshire for a family wedding. Having guests so soon after taking on the property was at first a daunting prospect with the house partially undecorated, outbuildings full of discarded furniture and [...]
Long before we came to live at our smallholding there was talk about scything as a method of cutting back the years of overgrown vegetation. Whenever the subject was raised it was met with fear and warnings of how dangerous it was. When we arrived at the smallholding we tried petrol strimmers on the mix of nettles, brambles, rushes, reeds and bracken with limited success. We [...]
The end of July sees the end of our first month at Graig and we have broken ourselves with physical chores (bruised and sore from head to toe) but not made a dent in the work. Many of the smallholding books we had read before the move hinted at how overwhelming the work can be and to plan small tasks that could be easily completed along [...]
We arrived at our new home about 7.30pm on Thursday 29th June after a clear run A10, M25 and M4. It had been a busy day at the end of a hectic week of packing and attempts to untangle ourselves from our 9 to 5 Hertfordshire lifestyle. Our four dogs had been crammed into our newly acquired SUV along with camping beds, camping chairs, duvets, some [...]
Hello World! Welcome to Graig, a Smallholding in West Wales
