[singlepic id=52 w=320 h=240 float=left] This is the song I’ve had stuck in my head for hours at a time and yes, it is indeed annoying! It’s there because wood is a bit of a focus of life here. If we’re not chopping it down and clearing from the land then it’s being slowly processed for firewood and kindling. There’s a massive annual delivery of unprocessed logs which sits in yard and is gradually chain-sawed up into smaller chunks and then each one chopped. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dee
Wild and not so wild life
[singlepic id=39 h=200 float=left]Wildlife is an important part of Gwalia and we try to be as encouraging and respectful of nature as possible. There is a badger set here, bats live in the woods, an otter has been spotted and many different types of birds regularly feed on the bird table and nest nearby. The ponds also host a fantastic range of species. Of particular note is the dragon-flies which get counted annually by a local research team as part of their on-going ecological studies. Continue reading
Demolition
[singlepic id=74 w=320 h=240 float=left] Never before have I experienced the shear joy of hitting something as hard as you can…and then doing it again and again….and again. The conversion of the old pantry, which was originally a 1950’s lean-to kitchen extension, into a modern bright and open living room / kitchen will be quite a challenge. Work began back in January 2013 when, fuelled from a 2 week stay at Gwalia over Christmas, we were inspired to start knocking stuff down. The ceiling of the Pantry needed to come down so that we could see what we were taking on. Whilst this is normally a fairly simple task, it was made quite a lot more difficult by a decision taken some 30 years ago to use some rather unusual insulation. Continue reading
Amy HQ
[singlepic id=29 w=320 h=240 float=right] There is much work to do before we even get started on any house renovations. In order to have a space in which to work and create, let alone house Amy’s ever-growing collection of tools and accessories, we’ve had to do a bit of a conversion job on Harry’s garage. When I say garage it’s more like a massive shed which is divided in 2. “The black shed” houses an Aladdin’s cave of “useful” things, most of which are so thick in dust and cobwebs that I’m unsure what some things actually are. It was a similar story on the other side where, over the years, an accumulation of all sorts of stuff was getting a tad out of hand.
House Renovations
Livy and Harry have very kindly agreed to hand over the reigns of Gwalia to the next generation but they are on-hand to provide guidance, words of wisdom and let us know their opinions on the changes we plan to make. This is of course appreciated and is very much in the spirit of the lifestyle we’re trying to create – maybe not communal but certainly reciprocal. We will be living more as next door neighbours, rather than all under one roof, with a shared space at the centre of the house. In the early days the farm was purchased with another couple and so it feels like a tip of the hat to the original idea of how the Chandlers came to live here. Continue reading