work Archives - The Smallest Smallholding

Holding onto these precious autumn days

November 21, 2018 by Lucy

ash tree in autumn
It’s been a while since I last posted. Life is just one hectic day after another at the moment. The Smallest Smallholding is gearing down for winter, albeit going out with a bang in all its autumnal glory. The ash tree is slowly shedding golden leaves everywhere, and the cherry tree is at its pinnacle of burnt ochres and ruby red before it gently releases the last of its leaves to lay at rest on the lawn.

In the veg plots, only a few autumn raspberries remain, with the carrots still in situ and some hastily planted leeks thrown in for good measure. The first frosts arrived last month week, taking out the dahlias, cosmos, pumpkins, nasturtiums and zinnia. I felt a little sense of sadness as I pulled them all out, the last vestiges of a long summer discarded on the compost heap.

I didn’t have the time or inclination to put any brassicas in this year, so it’s a case of tidying, prepping and putting the garden to bed until spring. We also have a lot of interim work to do – namely clearing some ground to plant trees – and have already cut back the hedges ready for new growth next year. We’ve got birch trees ready to go in, and I have my eye on a rowan and possibly another apple tree!

Unfortunately as much as I want to be busy in the garden and tending to my Smallest Smallholding during these ever-decreasing daylight hours, my life at the moment is focused on increasing my part-time income. That means I’m either looking after my daughter, in work, or at home tapping away at a screen when my daughter is asleep. I have precious little time for anything else.

I’ve taken on extra project work and am working flexibly (so, early mornings before my two-year-old wakes, nap times, and then evenings up until around midnight), as well as freelance work – on top of my normal part-time hours. It’s really tough. There’s no downtime, no me-time, no hobby time. I’m not complaining – the extra income is a saving grace. And I’m determined to get rid of my personal debt and live the life I’ve always wanted to… and that can’t happen whilst I’m held back financially. It’s just a case of going all guns blazing until I break through the wall of debt. Then I feel I can start moving forward.

The dream is still alive. But it’s taking so much more work than I ever anticipated to even take a step on the path to where I want to be. I’m tired… no, absolutely shattered at the moment, but I’m still determined.

There has been a little downtime recently, though. We had a lovely Sunday with the in-laws, which offered a rare few hours of relaxation. We stopped and ate by the riverside, and afterwards my daughter stomped, skipped and jumped her way along the leaf-strewn riverbank. She was captivated by peacocks, chickens, ducks, swans and geese – making me hanker for more avian friends here at home – and spent hours showing off her new conversational skills, chatting scribble happily with her grandparents. The perfect Sunday.

I’m holding on to these special days. They make the grind worth it. It’s going to be a tough winter, with the extra work (I’m just thinking about the extra income!), the amount we’ve still got to do on the house, and trying to keep up with everything else in between. But it will be worth it. It will.

Filed Under: work

An opportunity presents itself

August 2, 2017 by Lucy

This is going to be one of those annoying, vague posts that hints at something exciting and tantalising, without revealing much. Sorry. All I will say for now is “flowers”.

An opportunity has unexpectedly fallen into my lap. Things like this don’t often happen to me, and I feel that I might be at the start of a little adventure. After a summer of heartache, grief and a bit of an ongoing struggle, this is just what I needed. A little burning, bright light at the end of a tunnel to stumble towards.

I’ll reveal more when the details become clearer; for now, everything is in preliminary stages – lots of ideas floating around that need to be put into writing. Brainstorms that need to be had, plans that need to be drawn up. Spreadsheets that need creating. Lots and lots of research. Pouring over books. Surveying.

Hard work, but heavenly. A turn in the right direction.

I’ll keep you posted.

Filed Under: flowers, work

Rain and Sunshine

June 10, 2016 by Lucy

Earlier this week we had a thunderstorm of pretty epic proportions. In fact, I have no shame in admitting that I almost crapped myself a couple of times, thanks to some ear-splitting booms and claps that rolled out of the skies.

It wasn’t just a show of sound and light though; after a long build up in which the bump and I slowly melted under a fairly oppressive cloud of intense humidity, the heavens opened. The downpours were long and penetrating – just what the veg patches needed – and the Smallest Smallholding has, as expected, gone into overdrive and everything is growing at a rate of knots.

Raspberries, calabrese, parsnips, peas and more in the long patch

My onions and perennial wallflowers were the only plant life that took a beating from the storm, whilst everything else has thrived with a heady combination of hot days and squally showers. Another benefit of this mix of sunshine and rain is that the soil is virtually fluffy, so weeds (even the mile-long tap roots of thuggish alkinet) are so easy to pull. This, together with my no dig approach, has meant that keeping on top of the veg patches has been so easy.

So it’s the first week of June and the veg is romping away, the roses are blooming and the Smallest Smallholding is just so full. This time of year is so invigorating. Armies of honey bees and fat bumblebees are jigging and rubbing themselves with tangible glee all over our geraniums, lavender, foxgloves, toadflax and alliums. The fledged blackbirds are out in force, and the hedgehogs are resolutely on slug duty at night. I’m having a battle of wills with an undisclosed feathered or furry critter who keeps pulling out my strawberry plants (two miserable looking plants have survived) and it’s all a bit wild and out of control… and when I stand back and look… there’s still so, so much to do.

But do you know what? It’s totally OK. It’s keeping me busy, occupied, and dare I say it… happy.

And in three weeks I shall be on maternity leave. Yes, we have a list of things as long as my arm to do in the house before my due date, including some significant renovations and decorating, but I can’t keep my mind off my vegetable patches, my borders, my plans for everything.

I should be worried, I should be brimming with anxiety and how the hell I’m going to cope with the weeks and months ahead. The state of the house should have me wringing my hands and raging. But somehow, my garden is taking that energy and channelling it into something positive. Something I can build on in the future, and something I can make good with.