Unlike our friends over at City and the Mountains I haven’t taken the time nor had the patience to weigh the produce we have collected from our kitchen garden; maybe in the future I’ll try to keep better records as it’s interesting to see exactly what comes of all the hard work. On the other […]
I’m determined to try and catch up on July before August arrives, as I can see the slippery slope getting steeper and I’m loosing my footing; even so the catch may still be instalments as I’m relying on dates of photos and the calendar to try and get things in order, not that it matters […]
About three years ago, soon after we bought the land, I also bought a chain saw; the brambles and brush were so thick that the strimmer just wasn’t up to the job. I also had big plans about clearing some of the trees to provide firewood in the future, but that’s another post in itself. […]
Yes I’m still here, although if you had asked me the same question this time last week I may have provided a different answer. Yet again I fell into the bimber trap (Polish moonshine) at yet another neighbours barbeque; we are still the novelty guests in the village and after turning down an invite a […]
Monday 20th May: Another slow start to the week for us as we had more paper work to complete for the EU amongst other things and we didn’t reach the ranch till gone 4pm; still the weather was good so we set about the garden weeding, planting, inspecting and detecting. I spotted quite a few […]
Ok, I’m trying out my new idea for the format of my posts to see if it works; it will also give me an opportunity to catch up on events, if not for you then for me. And if you are wondering how I have found the time to type this then it’s down to […]
Even if you have heard it all before 🙂 It’s all very hectic here in Yorkshire; don’t be fooled into thinking that I’m having an easy time of it up here; with a demanding sister and two nephews I’ve turned into chief cook and bottle washer. Add to that, shopper, wood chopper and fire maker, […]
It’s about the only Chubby Brown joke I can remember that doesn’t have an ‘F’ word in it, and for whatever reason its a joke that always runs round in my head when it snows, as it is doing right now. You may have noticed that my pledge to head over to the house to […]
As we arrived back in Rzemien last week from our two day trip to the house, we were greeted by Gosias parents along with two of their grandchildren (aged 14 and 17); all sitting round the table, armed with knives, shelling walnuts. The task at hand was to come up with 3Kg of shelled walnuts […]
I know its a little off subject, but then the more I look back over my posts the more I realise there is no real subject, although I’m sure my niche in straw bale building and composting toilets will come into it’s own as time passes and the sun begins to shine once again. In […]
As the smells from the kitchen drift through the house I type contentedly, smiling to myself; in the knowledge that my belly will be full of wonderful, traditional, Polish food, sometime soon. Pierogi (ruskie and kapusta), golabki, sznycel, krokiety, kotlety, krupnik (not the honey vodka), bigos, kapusniak, to name but a few of my favourite […]
One of our hopes for the future is to be self-sufficient in wood as a fuel for our heating and some of our cooking, I would say all of our cooking but I don’t think it will be practical or realistic to cook on the wood burning piec in the height of summer; 35ºC is not […]
Or if you’re not lucky enough to be Yorkshireman, ‘no water’ Even the guys drilling are loosing faith, or they were until this evening when after 4 hours of pumping water from a very deep hole, which is no more than 30 meters deep (I say this for legal reasons) they came across what could […]
Well I’ve done Fire and Air so why not Water! So this was the week we drilled for water, well not me and Gosia; Pawel and Krzysiek, the Studnia (well diggers) And even then they don’t use spades any more, oh no, they turn up in a big truck with drilling gear. If you have […]
Preparation for next years kitchen garden.
How to save water and the world
A good Polish title, although not one that makes sense even if you speak Polish! Gosia has a new name for me, Pan Hilary, and all because I cant remember where my glasses are, even, as was the case earlier today; when I’m wearing them! It refers to a childrens story about a man who looses his […]
So after nine days back in Rzemien to respect the ‘All Saints’ holiday and let me fit in two English teaching days, we headed back to the ranch with the intention of ‘getting things done’. Easier said than done it seems as our enthusiasm wanes along with the sun. We did manage to clear most […]
Our first attempt at keeping livestock
As you walk down the streets of many of the rural villages at this time of the year you will be surprised by the number of people carrying knives; not just young people, but middle-aged and even pensioners, all brandishing a variety of sharpened cutlery. Now if this were England then the local constabulary would have […]