Kitchen Garden Forum

I have never understood why dogs like to sit in front of the fire, particularly my dog, if it gets warm in the lounge she likes to go to the older and lower part of the barn which is cooler yet she will doze for hours in front of the stove just like Peters pooch.

Our dog isn't allowed on furniture, I'm not making judgement on this because dogs always want to sit with their owners or where their owners normally sit for good reason. Beti isn't allowed in bedrooms though she gets very stressed during noisy storms so we allow her to be closer at night. None of this though explains snoozing in front of the fire and often panting.

Maybe the explanation lies with us lighting a stove and enjoying the comforting glow, I go through the ritual of lighting a fire when it would be easier to turn the central heating on. Unless you get your wood for free I can't even imagine the cost of a multi fuel or wood burner being less than oil or gas. If you cut your own wood you put a lot of hard work in.

Hi,

That's the trees sorted - wood stored in the barn for next years fires (every cloud). Today's tasks include post bashing (joy), repairs and apparently pruning (while we're here ...) and maybe some playtime with the vineyard pups!

I don't buy wood, find enough for free, been here for 14 years end of next month and always have a fire on a cold day(it also heats our hot water, so saves on the electricity as the emersion heater won't be needed). We don't have mains gas in our village and I don't need central heating in our little cottage. We do burn a coal product as well(some sort of "nuts"), but my auld fogies heating allowance more than covers the cost of that, so my heating is pretty much free except for hot water in the summer.

In Spain they cut the vines right back every year they leave about 18 inches above the ground the rest is firewood how far do you prune back pawty

Love the black and white photographs, Pawty.....to me, they always seem to have more feeling!

Forgot to mention, four of my glass cloches still managed to escape being tied and pegged down....the movement of the glass managed to cut the string and over they went.....so lots of broken glass was picked up this morning.....that will teach me to be a little smug.

Nice Pics Pawty!

You were lucky there with only one tree down as there is quite a long line of them. Gives a great perspective of the size of the vineyard as well. Love the look of the vines all twisted and weathered.

Didn't get any significant damage this time but I have continued with my photograph indexing and have got back to January 2005. My huge Eucalyptus blew over and didn't do the pergola much good, easier to see when I had stripped off the leafy parts. Created quite a pile of firewood. There are some smashed greenhouse pictures in the same folder!

I'm hoping to have ten ton of topsoil delivered today the fun will start when I have to barrow it onto the plot

Fierce frost last night, better check the greenhouse plants!!

robo wrote:I'm hoping to have ten ton of topsoil delivered today the fun will start when I have to barrow it onto the plot

How much does that cost robo ?

We have bought thirty ton between three of us we actually received forty ton it was a mate of a mate who got it for us it's a bit hush hush we paid him £100 only problem is I was the last drop as I'm on the end of the allotment the gate is at the bottom of my plot I finished up with the extra ten ton

Is it good clean topsoil though?

It's not to bad Peter I think it's from a reclaim yard that seems to be the only topsoil available in this part of the world

Some neighbours bought two fields of eleven acres from a local land owner who had supposedly arranged to grow pine forest on them courtesy of a government grant. Two days before the contracts were completed three JCB's and a number of tractor-trailer combinations turned up and stripped topsoil for those two days and all in the absence of the neighbours. Fat-cats who buy up poorly farms and land and seem to have local government help in change of use are doing well in Pembrokeshire.