Ex holiday cottage as new family home.

[BritDownUnder]

Good to hear about the good progress. I never heard about potatoes blowing away but maybe they dried out in the wind and then blew away.

I would have thought it is Covid that has made job finding much easier.

[adam2]

Update by telephone.
Generally going well. The only major improvement done recently was removing the patio doors and fitting a double door and new windows in the space. The heat loss through the original patio doors must have been substantial and the fuel saving is significant. The whole living room is now warm, without having to huddle around the stove.

Employment has been much better than was expected with the grown up children working on local farms, the younger children working part time, and father working as a supermarket home delivery driver, this position gives a useful staff discount.

Water supply is ample.
Electricity is ample, two Rutland wind turbines have produced more power than expected.
They have given up keeping chickens after various losses and failures.
In the recent cold snap they had about a meter of drifting snow.
Canada geese continue to be a major part of the family diet. Everyone locally is remarking upon the scarcity of rabbits and the plague of geese. A licence is needed to shoot them. Some type of goose native to the UK is now an endangered species, possibly becuase people have been shooting ANY goose rather than just the Canada geese.

[careful_eugene]

Do you need a licence to shoot Canada Geese or do you mean a licence for the gun to shoot the Geese?

[adam2]

I understand that a licence is required to shoot Canada geese, the holder has to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of different species of goose to obtain this. A shotgun certificate is of course required in addition.

[Catweazle]

You need to legally "justify" shooting Canada geese, some people use "health and safety" because of the large volume of slippery poop they leave around. They congregate in huge numbers around here, often covering a field, much to the annoyance of sheep farmers.

[kenneal - lagger]

You need to legally "justify" shooting Canada geese, some people use "health and safety" because of the large volume of slippery poop they leave around. They congregate in huge numbers around here, often covering a field, much to the annoyance of sheep farmers.

I bet that farmer gets a good crop of hay the next summer though.

[BritDownUnder]

Update by telephone.
Generally going well. The only major improvement done recently was removing the patio doors and fitting a double door and new windows in the space. The heat loss through the original patio doors must have been substantial and the fuel saving is significant. The whole living room is now warm, without having to huddle around the stove.

Good to hear about the latest news.

I have huge 3 window patio door (or ranch slider as they are known in these parts - pity I have no ranch) with only one sliding window. The heat loss must be enormous from it. It has an electric sliding shutter on the outside which helps somewhat with insulation at night as well as a full floor to ceiling lined curtain but still matches the outside temperature near it very well.

[kenneal - lagger]

Is it double glazed, BDU?

[BritDownUnder]

Is it double glazed, BDU?

Double glazing is a very rare thing in Australia so this one is not. To get double glazing fitted here is for those of considerable financial means.

[kenneal - lagger]

You won't be following us to triple glazing very soon then BDU?

External shutters can be more effective than triple glazing if properly insulated and fitted to stop air movement.

If your curtains are thick and well fitted they could be insulating the room quite well and consequently the windows would be at or near the external temperature. That is not a problem as it is the internal surface temperature which is important to comfort in the room. If the inside surface of the curtains is near the internal temperature they are doing the job which a double or triple glazed window or even the shutter would be doing.

[adam2]

The present and ongoing snow and cold weather have proved an interesting challenge.
Within the house, all is well, with ample heating, plenty of food and fuel to hand, warm clothing and blankets etc. A lot of firewood consumed, mainly small oak and large silver birch logs.

The problem has been transport, with roads impassable on foot or by electric cycle, and only marginally passable by tractor or Land Rover. One family member had to stay overnight at the farm where they work as road closed by accidents.

[kenneal - lagger]

Perhaps snow shoes, skis or even a snow plough might be in order on the equipment list. Perversely global warming might bring more frequent snow episodes to the UK as extreme weather events increase as the jet stream gets more erratic.

[BritDownUnder]

Occasional snow is probably not a problem and will maybe have some beneficial effects in killing off pests that would otherwise thrive in the hotter (overall) conditions.

[adam2]

Update after visiting.
Generally going well. Father working as a supermarket home delivery driver, the staff discount is most useful, as is the facility to purchase short dated goods very cheaply.
Mother stays at home and runs the household, and home educates the two younger children.
Both grown up children working on different farms.
Younger kids do various part time work, often fruit picking.

The only setback has been very poor results from the raised/terraced beds in the garden. An expert investigated and found significant lead in the soil and advised against regular consumption of anything grown therein.
Lead mining was a major industry in ancient times, and MAY have continued into the 1800s.

I suspect that the smaller rocks and the gravel are tailings from ye olde lead mine.

[BritDownUnder]

An expert investigated and found significant lead in the soil and advised against regular consumption of anything grown therein.
Lead mining was a major industry in ancient times, and MAY have continued into the 1800s.

Nice update as usual. It is good to see people getting on with a good life.

With regard to lead take a look at this website run by a town council in a city in Australia where there is a major lead smelter and gives advice on lead abatement.