That's good to hear. And a nice way to start the week, having some good luck. Hopefully your luck will hold and the weather will not get too bad.

*lucky hug*

*big hug* So how is your start of the week?

Cold and wet so far, but I'm enjoying being outdoors again. I do miss being indoors and typing on a proper keyboard instead of my tablet, but I love it outside. Even if my my hands are all frozen. :-)

It's just a light day today, I'm sorting some of the animals, checking in on my mum now and then, and then doing some more work on the next greenhouse. Just finishing of the foundation work then starting to build the framework, then onto fitting the glass.

I still think it is amazing that you are building the greenhouses yourselves. So what exactly are you going to grow in them?

It worked out so much cheaper for us to do it this way. We got it all as raw materials (with the exception of the frames for the glass, but they still need us to assemble them). One of my brothers works on cutting the glass and assembling the frames and then bring them over when he has done a batch. The framework for the greenhouse and foundation are all made by us, and then the glass is fitted once everything else is completed.

For the moment we are building them ready for next Winter, where we will use them to grow regular crops indoors, to try to protect them from the weather and to boost the output during the Winter months. Since we are trying to see how feasible it is to run the farm without needing to slaughter animals, we need all the crops we can get all year round. If it turns out not to work, then we will go back to keeping more livestock for slaughter.

During the summer we will be using them to grow fruit and vegetables that are not well suited for English weather. My eldest brother and my father are the experts with the crops, they usually decide what to grow, as they have a lot more experience doing it and knowing what is more likely to be profitable. I for the most part do a lot of small maintenance jobs, help out with looking after the crops, and take care of the animals. With the exception of the small maintenance jobs, the others are all done along side my brothers and my dad, as it's hard work sorting the crops and keeping the animals (the animals can take up a lot of the day).

It sure sounds like a hard adn very busy job. But growing your own vegetables and fruits sounds awesome. Really fresh and good quality. It is surely better than a lot of the stuff you can get at the supermarkets. I could never do that. Somehow plants tend to die when I am trying to care for them, I am a gardening noob :D

We are constructing them during Winter as Summer is a very busy time, and there is more free time in the Winter to spend building them. Having lots of fresh meat, fruit and vegetables is really great. I never really noticed it until I went off to college and university. I was in a city and had to get used to the fruit and vegetables there. Sadly a lot of what they sell in cities is definitely not fresh, even if they claim it is. The way people are in big cities was also relevantly new to me. A city is definitely not somewhere I would want to live, I am quite happy in my nice little village. :-)

Much of the crops we grow are very hardy, so generally they will do okay. Luckily we have not had a bad year for some time, and that was due to severe flooding that killed of the crops, and a few animals. Because I was originally going into a career as a historian, I never really took the time to learn too much about growing crops, especially as my dad and brothers already have it all under control. So when I had to leave that career path, I went to work on the farm, which was not too different from helping out while I was growing up. But I preferred to have a bit more freedom and so I work alone a lot with the animals and doing repairs. We all do them of course, but I am the main one doing the small repairs and feeding and monitoring the animal. This leaves my brothers and dad more time for other jobs, and also so they have more time to spend with their families, as they all have wives and kids at home. I help out with a lot of other tasks as well, as it's a big farm and there is always lots to do.

Don't worry about not being great at growing things, you will soon get the hang of it. And it's very nice eating some fruit or vegetables you have grown yourself. It can actually be very therapeutic growing things.

I have to admit I like the small city I am living in now and I would not want to go back to the really really small village I grew up in. I do not like big cities but a small one can be quite nice because of shopping posibilites, the public transport system and stuff. But I also live an the edge of the small city, next to some forest and a small river :D
Regarding the fruit and vegetables I think you are really lucky. I try to get a lot of stuff labeled as "Bio" since that means it was produced locally and without all this chemical stuff and these fruits and vegetables taste much better than the normal ones. And it seems like more people are thinking like me since the offerings of such Bio products is growing since there are more and more people who are willing to pay extra for something like this :-)

I tried caring for flowers but that was no good. Now I am trying to grow some kitchen herbs :D The first to tries failed but since there is this saying that all good things come in three (don't know how this exactly is translated to English) perhaps the next try will turn out fine :D

Good morning *wave* Here it is raining, luckily it started just after I arrived at work :D So now I am hoping that it will stop before going home this evening ;-)

I have always lived in a nice quiet farming community (except for when I was a student), so I am used to small villages and rural live. There are some nice woods, national parks, lakes, rivers, meadows, mountains, the place is just wonderful. I had such fun growing up with all the place to explore.

Many people are trying to eat more natural foods now. I think as people try more natural foods, they are tasting the difference and are willing to pay a little bit more. They are also tired of all the additives, salt, sugar, and all the other stuff getting added to food, even when it's not even needed. It's shocking how many chemicals are added to food these days. It's also nice that local farmers and growers are benefiting, as previously it was seen as too expensive, but people are starting to see the time and effort put into it and are choosing quality locally grown produce, rather than just some corporation using third world labour and importing the food from another country.

We have that saying over here, but it also applies to bad things coming in threes as well, sadly. Flowers can be hard to grow, it all depends on how much sunlight and how much water. Some need direct sunlight, others need shade. Some need lots of water, others need very little. My partner is wonderful at growing flowers, especially in the garden during the warmer months. But keep trying if it's something you enjoy, the good thing about the internet is there is a wealth of information that could help you pick the right flowers for your region and give you some good tips on how to grow them.

Good morning! *stands next to Moon and waves*

I hope the weather will be a bit warmer for you by the weekend, but I guess if it's cold then people will love a nice warm slice of pizza. :-)

Cold and raining here too. Don't have to go out till later so hopefully it will have stopped by then.

My ideal is to live in a small village (or in the countryside) but close to a large city. I love the countryside and the quiet but I also love the convenience and life of a city. It's nice to be able to go somewhere where there are theatres and concerts, decent shops and nice restaurants. I miss all that where we are now because there is bugger all nearby.
Morning.
I definitely prefer when it's warmer but we don't usually do too badly in the cold. Plus we have a nice hot fire to keep us warm so it's not too bad for us.

While the village I grew up was not a farming community it was really small (3000 people) and all around were woods and streams and a big river and fields. For growing up it was really great. But now I like this small city since I admit that while I can drive I do not like it much and in the small village I grew up in you needed a car for everything. So now I am quite enjoying that I do not need a car here :-)

I agree about the theatres etc, but it's not usually too long a drive to the nearest one. The good thing about England is there are plenty of theatres, big and small. I live in a quite rural area, lots farms, small villages, and a few small towns, which is perfect as the towns generally have some good shops and are not too far away.

It must be very nice on a cold day, having the smell of fresh cooking and a nice warm fire. And yet again you make me crave some home made pizza. :-)

Nothing much goes on around here. It's about an hour and a half to two hour drive to the nearest proper city. It woukd just be nice to have somewhere with decent shops and a bit of culture to go to.

On a very cold day the fire doesn't do much good, but it's certainly better than standing outside on a stall. It's the smell of the garlic bread that always gets me.. it smells gorgeous (and tastes amazing)