yummy scones

8oz / 225g self raising flour
pinch of salt
3oz / 75g butter (room temp)
1.5 oz / 40g caster sugar
1 large egg
some milk

Preheat oven to 220°c

Seive the flour and salt, rub in the butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and add the sugar.

Lightly beat the egg with 2 tblsp milk, and gently add to the flour mixture until it is a soft dough (add a little more milk if necessary)

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to 1" thick. Cut out 2" rounds and place on a lightly greased baking sheet

Cook until risen and golden brown. Serve warm with homemade jam and cream . Just like this...

Strawberries and courgettes...

The stawberries are coming along well now and they taste delicious - not that we've had many yet, in fact just 1! More are ready today but I can't pick them when Rhys isn't here - that's just mean!



This morning I spotted our first courgette too, which is very exciting as last year the slugs ate all my seedlings. Its quite a triumph really, although its only about an inch long at the moment.



...and blackcurrant jam is on the way. What an eventful day! I'd be grateful if anyone can tell me whether picking the flower ends off each currant is strictly necessary... it'd be nice to know for next time!

1st batch

I hope it tastes as good as it looks ...




If it is I might even make a blackcurrant version this weekend!

Lovely day out ...

Last weekend we had a treat and visited the Smallholder and Garden Festival in Builth Wells. It was a lovely day despite the weather! We joined the Cottage Garden Society and got all sorts of wonderful seeds from them (we can't read all the writing though so I might do a pot luck chuck the in the border and see what comes up!). Definitely worth a trip if you happen to be in mid wales around the middle of May, and like gardens and smallholdings of course. We nearly came home with a goat, a pig, a cow and of course a donkey!

Speaking of which Donkey was the winner in our "what shall we get next vote" (by so small a margin I think Rhys & Tom collaborated to rig the vote!!!), followed closely by chickens so we'll keep you posted on progress!

Voracious predators ...

Yesterday we welcomed a delivery of Adalia bipunctata (or 2 spot ladybird larvae to us!) to come and ravage the aphids that have appeared as if from nowhere on the strawberries and bean plants in the polytunnel.

Funny little things - not what we expected at all, didn't pay enough attention to insect lifestages at school I suppose!



We are hoping they will do their job admirably and eat up to 100 aphids a day each, that should keep everything in check! - hopefully they'll grow into lots of lovely ladybirds too that will like the polytunel and decide to stay there...

The big home coming...

Yeah Tom came home for a proper stay today. OK it was only for a few hours to audition as the new mower, but it was great to be able to leave him to his own devices while I pottered in the field collecting felled brambles from Rhys's last tractor excursion!



I can even see him from the house (well his ears at least, and only if he lifts his head up!)...

One year on...

So we've been here a year now. Such a lot has happened in that time that it feels like 5! Anyway, what better time to look back and see what sort of progress we have made so far...

The stream ...

The Polytunnel ...

Flower beds we didn't know we had ...

Inside ...

Beating beastly buttercup

What a chore pulling up all this creeping buttercup is! But there's nothing for it, it all has to come up and that means huge amounts of digging, pulling and generally grappling with the stuff. I'm taking heart that the bed that "we" (lovely Jem!) did last year and then smothered with bark has actually been manageable ever since. Fingers crossed we are actually making progress then!

The bigest of all the beds is slowly coming under control - before and after pictures to come once the after is completed - and its very exciting discovering the few gems that have struggled on despite the smothering buttercup ... they don't get much better than this