I Know a Bargain... I think!?

This Saturday we hit the auction house again. We were really only there for a look and a browse but where is the fun in that! We secured ourselves a spot at the ring side and they brought on the vintage jumble, that's the kind of sale it was by the way. They had everything from glass-less oil lamps, to old milk churns to cafe signs and tractor seats. Boxes just called "Spares" and "Old Tools". As well as enough bits and bobs to build your own tractor! Farm Guy was after a pair of bolt cutters which he secured against little opposition. I had a nose around the ring as the bidding went on to see what I liked the look of. There was a giant glass jar hidden away behind a large kist (wooden chest) but I couldn't see a number.  "I'll just wait to see them hold it up and make my decision then" I thought.

In amongst the jumble was a large number of old horse harnesses, bridles, collars, shoes and bits.  All split into various small lots.  I was interested to see what the interest was on them.  Answer - none at all.  Not really surprising as they were listed as 'Harness' with no indication of size, condition or even if all the parts were there! The auctioneer was dropping as low as he could with still no interest and was combining lots left and right to get them to sell.  People were walking away with 3 or four lots for a couple of pounds.  The second from last lot was a saddle and two bridles.  He dropped his price from £60 starting to £1!  Nobody was interested.  The last lot of horse artifacts was a driving harness, all squished into a box.

"Combine the last two then" he called down to the guys in the ring.

He tried starting a £30 for the two lots but came down and down and down to a sea of blank faces.

"£1?" he repeated again and again, looking around.  I nudged Farm Guy, "Go on.  For a laugh"

"£1" he said waving his book.

Off went the auctioneer "£1. I got £1. £1. £1. £1 bid" No point.

"Sold!"

"Hurray" I said, "What did we win?"  I had been so interested in the saddle I hadn't really taken in what the second lot was.

The saddle isn't that bad condition although I don't think you'd want to use it and the harness and bridle leather is very warn, again, not sure you'd trust it, but it might polish up nice for some kind of decoration somewhere!  And it was just a £1!  There is a kind of nice feeling to be living on a farm and to have reminders of the past around you.  Something very secure in that feeling.

We were interested in the kist so we hung around, however so were many others and we were quickly out bid.  Ah well, farm baby was getting restless and so we decided to head away.  As we were leaving I saw the glass jar being held up from the corner of my eye.  I'd forgotten all about it.  I heard bidding was £1.  I quickly waved what I had..

"£2"

"Sold!"

Hurray, my glass jar.  They called it a churn.  

"It must be the jar from an old butter churn" I thought.  One had sold earlier, the kind that is a glass jar with a rotary blade hanging inside - turn the handle, churn the butter.

What I thought I had bought was this: (that's what they held up, and quite happy I'd have been with it too!)

What I actually bought was this:

The full kit of an electric butter churn.  It is pretty old and has a cable but no plug.  I don't think I will trust the electrics on it till I have asked Farm Dad to bring his tools down and take a look.  Part of me hopes it does work but even if it doesn't, I still have my nice storage jar!

It was a lot of fun and there was so much to look at.  Outside it was all about the farm implements and that included stone troughs, mangles, carts, potato sorters, tractors, bits of engines and tyres.

£3 spend and a great day out was had by all!

Well Manicured Smallholder

Y'all may have noticed a gap in the reporting on the farm.  The Farm family have been on holiday.  I shall give you a quick update before bed, hopefully I can elaborate on all points separately later!

This was Farm Baby's first trip away.  We had decided that 9 months was a reasonable age to start galavanting around the countryside.  We chose to visit the Lake District for a weeks break.  It rained most mornings but the afternoons were much warmer and more pleasant.  We did the usual holiday doings, relaxing, walking around the holiday centre, which was in the middle of a red squirrel nature reserve.  However, we also did some trips that were very 'us'.  The best of which was to a couple of Car Boot Sales.  We made some good purchases.  I have been trying to perfect that cluttered look that farmhouses have. Somehow farmhouses manage to have rooms full of stuff, stuff on every surface and it just works!  So far all I can manage is looking like I have too much stuff!  It is definitely a learned knack, or perhaps I am trying too hard. LOL.

Anyway, we managed a few good buys but my favourite by far is a beautiful wicker trug.  I have been looking for one for ages.  But modern ones are expensive, not ridiculously I know but trying to live cheaply and efficiently and self sufficiently means that I am always on the look out for the most economical choice.  New wicker trugs are even more expensive, presumably due to the work required.  So when I saw this sitting lonesome on a rug by one of the stalls, that was it.  I was having it!  I also got a quirky copper jelly mould shaped like a hen - for the wall in the kitchen - farmhouse clutter people!!

Regular readers will know that we recently purchased eight Lohmann Brown hens with whom we have been having a laying problem.  While we were away they were being cared for by Farm Dad and then Farm Mum.  As you know their egg production had fallen away to practically zero before we left.  We had started them on a good solid diet and regime and were just crossing our fingers.  As you can see from our 'What's The S-Coop?' module egg production has increased.  The last two days we have been up to four!!  Much better.  I had been expecting 4-5 a day so this is a much more cheerful number!  Big smiles on our return to the farm, a nice welcome home present.

The vegetable patch had tried its best to give us a welcome home that we would enjoy and in some places it did.  The cabbage and brussels are doing well.  Broad Beans and peas are growing like crazy.  Farm Mum is jealous of what look like are going to be HUGE onions and the garlic is stonking along.  There was a couple of raspberries ripe and farm baby enjoyed the first taste of produce from the garden - flappy arms and kicking legs of approval there!

The garden on our return.  Potatoes in the front, onions in one tyre, rocket, celery and beetroot in the other.  Raspberries behind and the bean patch in the top left corner.

Here are the beans.  Of all the Runner Beans planted (approx 40 ish?) only 8 are clinging to life.  All the French Beans died again!  We have heard that our neighbours on the hill have also given up on their Runner Beans as they have succumbed to the same strange fate.  We are blaming the odd weather we have been having.

Onions to make your mum jealous!

Potatoes and cabbages are fighting back on the side of self sufficiency growers everywhere!

I said I was growing celery, and I am!  Here it is!  All the other 19 plants went the way of the Runner Beans but this guy soldiered on.  Spare a thought for his fallen friends!

Planting Out - Roses

	There had been a sale on in one of Farm Mum's plant catalogues and she had decided that this was a great opportunity to increase her flower stock. I had a peruse through the catalogue myself and spotted a selection of climbing roses that I knew would come in very handy around the new garden - in particular around the new vegetable patch. I am calling it a vegetable patch but am hoping to make it a nice place to just go and sit, so some inspirational colours and scents can only enhance that! I love roses and was unable to bring the ones from our previous house, the time of year when we moved I was too worried that the shock of digging them up would kill them and I would rather that they stayed and where enjoyed than risk them dying! So it was a perfect time to re-acquaint myself with some roses. They were delivered bare rooted and were all ready for being planted out. There were four different ones in the pack, all the same "type" but a nice selection of colours and styles. Farm Guy Dad had brought down some bags of horse manure (he lets out some of his fields for livery) so the roses all got a nice dose of this in the newly dug hole and around them once they were in the ground. Three headed to the vegetable garden but one was kept (the white one, called - Iceberg) and planted in a nice deep pot by the back door, perhaps I can convince it to grow up a cane and give a nice display to the visitors. I am hoping that they have a good scent on them but there are so few roses now that do have a scent that I may be unlucky, guess I will have to wait and see!