Sam Russell's Blog, page 4
July 3, 2017
A little Sunday morning peace — Lots of Pots
Early on a Sunday morning. Allotment peace. Sparrows chirp I can hear a skylark The purple flowered beans have tiny, curled up baby beans on them. Smaller than my little fingernail. There is a stiff breeze-( What a weird expression! Where does it come from?) – it rustles the trees and hedges and helps it […]
via A little Sunday morning peace… — Lots of Pots
June 30, 2017
Rustic Guest Anne Bennett Brosnan – Girl in Wellies
[image error]I’ve followed Anne’s blog for a while now. She writes witty, evocative and often moving posts about her experiences as a Cork city girl who’d never met a cow until she married a North Kerry dairy farmer.
I had a job picking a favourite to share with you here, so do go and read more of Anne’s posts over at Girl in Wellies. In the meantime here’s a taster …
It’s a date
We should check this one out, he writes, on a restaurant review in last Saturday’s paper. ‘It’s a date’ I write and ‘look at this’, I go on, circling a home exchange advertorial that suggests that we could up sticks for a couple of weeks and swap our farm house for a Manhattan penthouse. We get cocktails, you get milkshakes and oh so much more besides. And here, Mr and Mrs New Yorker, if you could milk the cows; that would be great.
I leave a sandwich, he eats it.
He leaves a pile of washing; guess what, I wash it.
‘Don’t forget’, I write on a post-it, ‘to ring your man about the concrete’. ‘I won’t forget’ he writes back. ‘Good’ says I.
He records our favourite programme, I watch it.
He texts at bedtime to see how the kids have settled to sleep. They miss Dad I write and then think again and erase it, text instead ‘good, they’re all sound’.
And then the rains stops and the cows go out. They can, at long last, spend time outdoors during the day. And as he fences around the house to leave the cows out, we arrive, en famille, to ‘help him’ fence, we fill in the gaps between the scraps of newspaper, texts and sandwiches. The Spring or the intense calving period is coming to an end. We’ll be there to walk the cows out with Dad. To bring them in for milking, to let them out. In our wellies, chatting to fill in the Springtime gaps. Spring takes him away, the cows out in the fields brings him back. That most certainly is a date.
You can find Anne on Twitter and Facebook if you’d like to follow her there.
June 23, 2017
My June in Pictures
In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explode and every sunset is different.
John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent
A pictorial diary of my month, what a beauty it’s been.
Wild roses with heart shaped petals.
Champagne cream tea at a friend’s birthday party.
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Take That’s very own Wonderland.
The North Sea pretending to be the Mediterranean.
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Pond dipping with the overgrown puppy.
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The Summer Solstice.
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Our barn home taking shape.
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Writing romance with this view.
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My cup overfloweth
June 14, 2017
Plain barny – Grand designs, less than inspiring vision
In hindsight, maybe I should have learnt how to read a plan before we started building.
We went window hunting last week. The Farmer and I scaled the east on a mission to source our glazing. I’ve seen Grand Designs (and Building The Dream and The House That 100k built… Restoration Home, Big House, Little House… I could go on. I fear I do.) so I know that windows take an age plus a month to construct and I’m not intending to get caught out by that little build-stopping trick. Clever ol’ me.
Next job, measure the windows for a quote (I need to shave 70% off that dashed Crittall dream).
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Taking careful account of the changes I’ve made (I’m holding my hands up to that) and the lintels/steels/trickle vents that the structural engineer and building control seem to think are essential, I set to work with my scale-converting ruler. (We’re four weeks into the build and I’ve only now discovered that scale-converting rulers exist. What joy!)
Or maybe not…
I’ve seen Grand Designs (did I say that already?) so my wonderful plans include all the modern essentials – patio doors and wide open vistas, Juliette balconies, en-suite wet rooms, open plan living and corner windows on (almost) every angle. (Those windows are giving the builders a headache. I’m told that ideally, every angle should be 90°. They aren’t in our tilting old barn. So the builders are jacking and propping, bracing and levering… or something like that. I tend to tune out when they start with the technical stuff.)
I’ve got my ruler.
But this can’t be right.
Our architect has drawn patio doors opening off of the master suite (Grand Designs talk for ‘biggest bedroom’). Building control notated these glorious doors as a ‘means of escape’ and demanded a Juliette balcony.
The structural engineer wanted mahusive steel beams (to span the open-plan living) and mahusive lintels (to span the expansive glazing).
With the girding beneath and above it, my bedroom wall appears to have shrunk to a measly 1600mm (that’s 5 little feet in English).
My patio doors are hobbit height.
Not exactly the grandly-designed, awe-inspiring vista I was envisioning.
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Oh well. I can see out of them. The Farmer may have to limbo.
June 4, 2017
Rustic Guest Neil Quinlan ~ Free-Range
[image error]Neil farms in Cheshire, rearing dairy heifers, and returned to the industry after a break from farming (you can read more about that on his blog – Quinlan and Cows. Or find him over at twitter @neilquinlan)
I’m sharing a post he wrote earlier in the year which I first enjoyed when I read it on Haynet.
I hope you enjoy it too. Free-range milk in your tea?
Free-Range
The free-range debate still seems to be rumbling on over on twitter….
I fall into the category of free-range farmer I suppose. Our heifers “went out” in April 2016 and we still had some out in January of this year! We were feeding silage outside as the grass doesn’t grow at this time of year. It was also frosty, but the cows were happy. [image error]How do I know this?
Well if they weren’t happy they would be stood at the gate mooing their heads off!
So free range milk. A value added product in the age of a volatile market. Great I thought. That was until I watched Friday Night Feast on Channel 4 who were promoting the product.
The connotations and insinuations that were made on the programme were very misleading. Housed cows are unhealthy and unhappy was the impression I was given. Not taking anything away from Jimmy Doherty as I think he has done a great job promoting British agriculture on the whole.
I take umbrage with this because, if done correctly, housed cows have been some of the happiest I’ve seen. Also due to the grass growing season of the UK “free range” cows will have to be housed for a portion of the year. So saying cows are unhappy when housed is damaging to the free range brand and the industry as a whole.
It’s not the system that defines the health and wellbeing of animals. It’s the person managing it. Same applies to organic.
So as a free range farmer what authority do I have to speak about housed systems? I visited America last year. I have to say I was concerned about what I would see on arrival at the farms I was visiting but my fears were unfounded.
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This was typical of the farms I visited and the cows were happy, contented and in peak health!
Here is our winter housing. A light airy barn in which we get very few health problems Again if these animals weren’t happy they’d literally shout about it! They are cleaned out twice a day and get fresh straw every day and as much silage as they can eat! What’s not to like!?
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So my point is not to persuade you away from free-range. Far from it. I want people to have a choice. I just want it to be an informed choice.
In the UK we produce quality, antibiotic and growth promoter free, sustainable and traceable products. So if you see the red tractor on something you pick up in the supermarket you know this is the case as that farm has been inspected.
Anyway. Back to the day job.
June 2, 2017
Kindle Countdown Deal!
The romantic saga from start to finish – read it all for just 99p!
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Go on, treat yourself to a weekend of romance!
offer ends June 9th
May 26, 2017
Building the dream ~ solid foundations and sewage pipes
Our sturdy little barn got the thumbs up from building control for her rather impressive foundations. She’s planted in the ground to a depth which exceeded our building regulation requirements, and that’s saved us a heap of time and money (not to mention the backs of our building team who would still be shovelling earth from beneath her walls if she hadn’t been “built to last”. Or laid up in traction somewhere).
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Clever little chaff barn, I grow fonder of her by the day.
As it is, things have raced on apace and that’s caught me on the hop. You see, I might have decided where those windchimes are going but I hadn’t placed the bogs and sinks with any final-decision conviction. They’ve been tested on every wall in my 3D simulation (those walls are still moving at whim) and I’ve looked at lots of pictures… but now, suddenly, my water and waste pipes must be positioned in actual real life.
I was advised that, in an ideal world, the pipes should emerge in the vicinity of my sanitary fixtures. Funny, the things you don’t think of. Or I could make a feature of the plumbing, of course, and run drains through every room.
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Hmm, maybe not…
It’s dawned on me that the builders and I are viewing the building plans from slightly different perspectives. They think what’s ruled on the paper is what they’re meant to be building. I see the drawings as more of a, erm, serving suggestion.
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There has been muttering in the ranks. Something along the lines of “if we build it fast enough she won’t be able to change anything…”
Now the buggers want to know where the entrance doors are going. I caught them trying to chop the brickwork out while I wasn’t looking…
So I sent The Farmer down with my changes, and let him take the flak.
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This week I’m thanking my lucky stars for solid foundations and very forgiving builders.
May 19, 2017
Rustic Guest – Lorna Sixsmith
I’m delighted to have Lorna Sixsmith as a guest in my Farmhouse Kitchen this week and, as we both married farmers, I think we’ll find plenty to talk about.
Lorna lives and farms in Ireland and she’s published three books about her farming life: Would you Marry a Farmer? How to be a Perfect Farm Wife and An Ideal Farm Husband (hmm, I really must get that last one for the other half.)
The kettle’s just boiled, so I’ll hand you over to Lorna, and she’ll tell you about the ‘hoppity dance’…
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I think farmers and writers are quite similar really. People in both careers tend to like spending time alone, enjoying the peace and quiet, are resilient and often have a dog as their best friend. Therefore, being a farmer and a writer means that all of the above applies to me – doublefold!
Brian and I returned to dairy farming in Ireland in 2002 after spending 12 years in England, most of which was spent living and working in Salisbury: Brian as a scientist and I as a teacher. I’m not sure if it was the time spent away from farming that helps me to see the humour but it’s certainly the “if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry” moments that inspire stories for my books.
Just like how you, Sam, gain inspiration from your surroundings for your rustic romance books, I do the same but my books are nonfiction, with a tongue-in-cheek look at what life is like on the farm complete with tips on how to survive it. Wives will discover “how to wear an apron and wellies with flair” and men will find out how best to introduce a new girlfriend to the farm and how to ensure his mother will approve. They are best described, I suppose, as useful tips with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humour.
My first book was inspired by a session of sorting Friesian calves into two batches: males and females. I was standing in the gateway with the job of turning back any male calves and letting female calves through while Brian tried to send female calves my way. It was impossible for me to see between their legs to tell the sex so I was reliant on vague instructions like “The BLACK ONE – quick, the BLACK one”. Now, did that mean that I was to stop the black one or let it through? All three of the calves coming towards me were black and white. I couldn’t tell that the one he meant was slightly blacker on the other side, the side that my beloved could see. My limbs ended up doing an involuntary “hoppity dance”.[image error]My body didn’t know whether to stay in the gateway, run after the “wrong one” that had got through or try to skulk off.
That evening I wrote a blog post entitled “Advice to those considering marrying a farmer ” and within a relatively short time, it had 60,000 views which inspired the idea for a book. But would people read it? They were interested in my blog post but would they pay for a book? The only way to find out was to run a crowdfunding campaign asking people to pre-order. It was successful and within another three months Would You Marry A Farmer? was published. That was November 2013.
Two more books followed: In How to be a Perfect Farm Wife I give others the benefit of learning from my mistakes and also share tips on how to CHEAT and convince others you’re perfect. An Ideal Farm Husband shows him how to cope when he discovers his new wife isn’t telepathic, amongst many other things.
Farming is one of those occupations where things don’t always go to plan. Yes, we have the “if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry” moments more often than we care to admit. If I can help even one person to have a better day, it’s great news to me. One of the best compliments I’ve received was from a farmer saying my books were the best money he ever spent. His wife was city born and bred. Whenever he made any of the “mistakes” outlined in my book, she knew it was typical farmer behaviour. Rather than arguing, they both laughed!
If you want to hear more from Lorna visit her blog the Irish Farmerette or find her on Facebook and Twitter.
And if you are actually thinking of marrying a farmer I suggest that you read these first!
May 12, 2017
A Bed of Brambles ~ Kindle Countdown Deal ~ £0.99
Passionate, contemporary romance for just £0.99
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This was never going to be a conventional love story. No bed of roses.
Proud, passionate and wilful, Hettie and Alexander are alike in so many ways. That has to be a good thing, doesn’t it?
Or it could be a disaster…both carry scars, and old wounds have a habit of causing new hurt.
Physical attraction draws them together. Hearts and minds can be thorny.
Together, or apart, their lives will move on and Alexander and Hettie’s clashes of spirit will only be part of the story.
Second chances. New beginnings. The opportunity to make things right. Or to make the same mistakes all over again.
Unless fate takes the future out of your hands…
Offer ends 19th May 2017
May 11, 2017
Building the Dream – builders on site!
I thought you might like to share the adventure as The Farmer and I embark on our ‘big build’ and attempt to morph this…
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The Chaff House ~ built circa 1910
into this…
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The Chaff House ~ built circa 20?? (I’m not jinxing it with a year)
It’s a lovely old barn on our farm, and we hope to preserve some of its character and history as we turn it into our home.
To bring you up to speed, here are the stages we’ve been through so far:
Architects drawings (twice, because we changed everything.)
Planning permission (twice… because we changed the architect’s drawings.)
Enthusiastic tree felling (see earlier post: Plain Barny)
Barn clearing
(To be fair, The Farmer takes the lion’s share of the credit for this transformation. I was busy…)
… making pretty models on 3D Architect.)
(It’s addictive, I tell you. Like real life Sims! You can even add wind chimes (ffs!) I’ve moved every interior wall (several times) and suffered a mild panic attack when I set the bed down in the master bedroom (calm restored when I remembered that I was working in an American programme and adjusted the bed to UK dimensions. American beds are ginormous, apparently.)
But the playing is over now. WE’VE GOT REAL LIFE BUILDERS ON SITE!
We’ve gathered the perfect team, with more years of experience between them than even that ol’ barn has seen. DB, DS and DK (*Dodgy Back, Dodgy Shoulder and Dodgy Knees) are currently tearing down the old feather-edged boards, and OF (*Ornery Farmer) is excavating foundations to see if they’re deep enough (fingers crossed).
(*To be fair, I’m the one with a ceramic hip, and the farmer might be less ornery if I stopped moving walls.)
I’ve supplied tea, biscuits and ibuprofen, now I’m writing a blog post. It’s what I do best, for the moment (and it’s keeping me from the dangers of Architect 3D with the potential risk of forking out for a third set of drawings).
Let the adventure begin.
Any suggestions where I might hang those wind chimes, guys?
