Splodge News

Oh Deere!

2008-11-18T13:25:00Z

So much has happened!!

I`ll start with the tractor.......It died after just 51hrs of working ownership, fortunately still under warranty. It has been away and has returned sounding loads better having had a lot of engine work done. I still feel a bit edgy about it in that having sold the troublesome `the repair man has never seen a model quite like yours` Marshall 804 earlier in the year, I have now paid a five figure sum for another tractor that gives up after 51hrs...... you can see where my concerns are lying.

Sadly my elderly horse had to be put down. He was 32yrs, heart failure caught up with him and he kind of fell apart. He had reached a great old age and was a real character, we miss him terribly.[:'(]

We had problems with our straw delivery as we were no longer in possesion of a loader tractor. Many thanks to our neighbours for helping out. As a result, the cows were a bit later coming in than we had hoped and one calving coincided with a serious downturn in the weather. Ever resourceful and absolutely sure that I had a waterproof, breathable dog coat in my glory hole which is the understairs cupboard, I emerged triumphant! See piccie! As a short term measure it did the job very nicely for a few days until the straw had been delivered and the herd could be housed.

No.1 sons pig is causing havoc. She is free ranging and has taken advantage of our very old and soon to be replaced back door. I accept that a fair bit of the yard ends up in the kitchen, but finding a Saddleback asleep by the rayburn is one step too far, even in my relaxed approach. At night we have to prop a broom handle under the door handle to keep her out, but during the day she knows that she can get in. Delivery of new door with carpenter attached, due Monday!

Its clearance time for Kids Casuals on Ebay! Take a look at my cow tops, childrens, ladies and gents sizes. They are a bit Andy Warhol-ish and are the last few to clear space for the new season range in the spring. Heres a link to one, then click`view other items by this seller` on the right hand side menu to see the rest. They will be there for a few days so please do take a look and consider grabbing a bargain. (Please don`t tell me off Isabel, just trying to earn a crust after purchasing an iffy tractor!)

Finally: Hello to Tina ~ my sister who reads this blog just to find out whats going on, sad but true and nice to know that at least one person reads it!

The art of sharing

2008-09-24T23:43:00Z

Silage is done, fantastic! It is even possible to get through various gateways without the need for full length wellies. This is how it was supposed to be, so we`d better appreciate it while we can.

I have had way too much fun with the newly acquired tractor. I`ve been like a big kid with a new toy and have experienced problems with sharing it amoungst family members. I hope that I grow out of it eventually, they are all a bit fed up with me.

With all this newly found dry weather, the cubicle shed roof is finally getting its long awaited repairs. There is something very satisfying about watching a roof go on a shed, especially when in foreman mode ~ I don`t do heights. It seems that all the dry weather jobs have just backed right up so a good fortnight of trying to catch up would be most appreciated.

No1 sons Saddleback pig has seriously settled in. She has decided to go completely free range and has what can only be described as a kind but assertive personality. I am pleased that he has developed a farm based interest and have a feeling that next year, he and his pig may need transporting to shows.

The pre-Christmas build up on the website is in hand, new babywear including more muckspreader items are due to be uploaded this month. I enjoy the pre-Christmas workload but have learnt that I do need to set myself deadlines, the planning really does start in August (yeah! sorry but it does!) and builds steadily during the autumn. I definately work best under pressure ~ sad but true!

Tractor Mad & Magnetically Challenged

2008-09-08T15:03:00Z

Well, so much has happened, where do I start? The Royal Welsh was fantastic, as ever. Many to thanks to all who came to the stand to say `hello` and stocked up on Tractor Mad clothing for their children.

We sold the store cattle privately, which seemed to be better for all of us, cattle and humans alike.The weather was good and sunny at that time ~ ah yes! that would have been June.

The silage went well and we are now waiting for a weather window (yeah!) for second cut. To ease the winter cash flow we are looking at hosting some tack sheep this year. Its been many a year since I have done a bit of shepherding, and I am quietly looking forward to it.

We sold the Marshall tractor and have taken delivery of a rather smart John Deere of the monthly repayment variety. It certainly focuses the mind but at least the jobs such as clearing the sheds which are usually done in May can now be completed. Our other tractor, safe in the knowledge that it had worked through its final monthly payment, had a serious breakdown. Oh dear, it sat in the shed in three pieces whilst the calculator went into overdrive.

Number 1 son has had a summer of over exposure to pigs which has resulted in his 12th Birthday present from his Grandparents being Muddy Lane Gertrude ~ a pedigree saddleback who arrived yesterday and settling in nicely. I have experienced the additional paperwork and extended the filing system accordingly. He is well chuffed and they seem to be getting along famously.

The Ecoflow enterprise has really taken off due to the rising price of fuel but also my new venture of hiring Bioflow Magnotherapy Horse Rugs. Talking of which my 32yr old horse is still very much with us, heavily magnetised and being fed on an `all-you-can-eat` basis. If only I had a diet like that!

Tractor Driving, from a distance

2008-05-15T21:25:00Z

I have spent many a coffee break this week watching my neighbours on the other side of the valley spreading fertiliser. It makes you feel quite decadent observing others at work whilst relaxing & boosting your own caffeine levels. Organic status has saved us a fertiliser bill but the straw bill just takes it place, and to get here straw has had to travel a very long way!

I have nearly finished all the preparations for the Smallholders Show in Builth Wells this weekend. Its a fab show. I have printed so many Tractor Mad pairs of Dickies overalls that I barely saw Tuesday. So all packed and ready to load up tomorrow. This will be the first year of taking number 1 son as a stand operative. I hope that we both survive in tact. His main focus is currently a Welsh Black Steak for supper, lets hope I can get a fair amount of effort from him before that! We have a tradestand in the Glamorgan Hall so if you are coming to the show do say `hello.` Alternatively you can always take a peek at our website!

Really impressed with the grass growth situation, long may it continue, but lets have a dry weekend for the show or at least a request for rain at night only. Well you can but try.............

Tractor Mad? Not this one....

2008-03-14T12:45:00Z

Well we are still here ~ haven`t been blown away yet. Infact I was expecting worse. We have previously experienced the kind of storm which leaves you lying in bed listening to the roof of the house creaking. When gale warnings are issued I always park my car behind my Dads house ~ his tiles are held on better than mine.

The loader tractor has died........again. It is no surprise really. It is legendary in our locality. A classic case of `the repair man has never experienced a model quite like yours` I have wanted to push it into the nettles for years but the Environment Agency won`t let anyone do that now so the idea is to put it back together and sell it via Classic Tractor as a restoration project for someone with time and skills. Anyone interested in a Marshall 804 as a challenging project? Meanwhile the parts have arrived this morning so it looks like a challenging weekend, hopefully it will be eased by having the radio volume cranked up to max. and a constant supply of mugs of tea. Oh yeah, and a working tractor ASAP. If you have ever wondered why there is no Marshall lookalike tractor on our clothing designs, this one is why!

My elderly 32yr old horse is starting to fall apart which just proves that there are somethings in life that you can do absolutely nothing about. The vets have been great and we have decided that whilst he is happy we will just let him carry on. He charged in from the field last evening and is still seriously enjoying his food so I can`t ask for much more at this stage. 25yrs is a long time to have any animal and he will leave a big gap gap in the place when he does go.

Crusty the recovering calf is now quite literally crusty ~ with ringworm. She is responding well to the Tea Tree, Lavender & Juniper oil cream which is actually suitable for people with excema and psoriasis but we seem to use an alarming amount of it on the cattle to very good effect.

The forecast is not great for the weekend ~ the muck is still sitting there waiting to go out. Lets hope for a dryer week next week.

Crusty Hedges

2008-02-28T15:43:00Z

I reckon its time to put another of these Blogs together ~ thankyou for reading this, especially if you are visting via my website

My Dad finished the hedgelaying target which he set for himself and then disappeared for a week to Holland on holiday ~ its OK, he brought me back some waffles. He has been steadily working his way through the farm for the last few years and the place is really starting to look good as a result and the hedges are in great form and stuffed with wildlife.

We have had a very ill calf which I am pleased to say has recovered and is now making up for lost time on the food front and I am quietly hoping that it will reconsider growing. The children got involved with nursing `Crusty` and she is now as daft as a brush. Move over Splodge and Spotty, I think that this one could make it onto a shirt ~ if she would just grow a bit and sort out her mucous issues.

Still have most of the muckspreading left to do so hopefully there will be a long spell of dry weather ( well, one can hope!) and I`d like to book in advance for an early turnout please, Thankyou!

Newbie Blog

2008-01-15T13:53:00Z

I always feel that January is a great month for overviewing life and in our case it is about the only time we get to overview and plan. Much time is being spent in the office, particularly as a result of my New Year resolution to really get a handle on the paperwork on a regular, consistent basis and not have to resort to crisis management which does nothing for my digestion.

We knew which shed needed to be re-roofed this summer but the heavy rainfall has really brought some clarity to the issue. The cattle (sucklers) have wintered well despite our late, heavy and rather stalky silage. Its good to know that we have plenty of it but the straw situation looks like it could catch us out and I don`t like to think of what the straw price could be in our part of the country in March/April.

It is also the time of year to choose a new cow for the t-shirts ~ yes I did say t-shirts. It all started about three years ago when I thought it might be interesting to add a cow to our childrens clothing design range. Tractors.... Diggers.... Cows... it just seemed like a natural progression. We were fortunate to find just the right volunteer `Splodge` closely followed by `Spotty` the following year. This years cow selection is hanging in the balance but make no mistake, it is a coveted place to be.

It is hard to criticise a cows conception rate when she has an alternative income stream.