June 2024

In Bloom

The foxgloves have been out en masse this month, they must love warm and wet conditions! Same for the orchids below that have popped up in the edges of one of the fields. The neighbours had mentioned when we moved in that there used to be orchids in the fields but they hadn’t shown up last year. It’s the time of year when the vegetation becomes a bit overwhelming and it’s impossible to keep on top of. Some helping hooves have joined the grass management team as the neighbour’s cows have moved in for a few months.

Orchids in the field

Water, water everywhere

What started as a mission to replace the sofa, as an upgrade for the Euro’s, unfolded to replacing large parts of the caravan floor after uncovering several leaks. This was the largest one, which we realised was due to cracks in the shower tray pouring water out from the bathroom next door. This whole area was ripped out and the floor replaced, along with a spot by the door and most of under the sink. The shower is still out of action (we are using the one in the van instead) but the other areas have been shored up so water is no longer finding its way in.

So if football does come home, it’ll find a much more pleasant and less damp place awaiting it.

The damp floor 

Mower a Go

The mower lives! Much to the delight of the dog, whose favourite activity is chasing the mower with her ball. Here he is making the caravan field into a golf course, it’s the only space that’s under control at the moment

Mowing in action

Breaking ground

The ground on the house has been officially broken! It was only to inspect the foundations (there aren’t any) and the holes got filled back in. That gave the structural engineer all the information they needed to finalise the building requirements. We hope we have now submitted all the documents to the solicitors for the mortgage to be completed and the builder is ready to start once that happens. Fingers crossed for more digging next month.

Thanks for reading, love from Hillside Farm x

PS Avvy would like you to know she rescued this baby Barn owl from the side of the canal. She found it a couple of metres from the towpath where it had seemingly fallen out of its nest. I called a wildlife rescue centre and they asked us to bring it in, here it is being examined by the staff there. They were hopeful they could get it back to the wild once it was old enough.