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Sorry about your dad, Dan. I lost my mom to cancer two Christmases ago, and while the (small amount) of money was nice, it's not a good trade. I am sure your dad would approve that you are going to spend some of it making you and yours happy 🙂 E: and a bunch of goons on a dead forum, but probably keep that from him.
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Jun 8, 2022 15:30
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Sorry for the situation with your dad. All the best to him, you, your family in a lovely situation. Looking forward to your plans over the next years. This thread brings me joy.
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Jun 8, 2022 15:36
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I hope it goes as peacefully as it can.
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Jun 9, 2022 01:23
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Thanks all- it's all taking some getting used to but that's the way of such things life's a ditch               Nice day to start with, and check out dem bees  It was better than the lemon one, which tasted like lemon flavoured medicine, but I drank em both for the powers they would bestow upon me    Cleared the drainage ditch by the entrance  Put a little tiny sump/pond at the end of the ditch to see what happens   Did an archaeological dig on the steps I put in x years ago   Had the cake first because I'm a rebel, both that and the curry were excellent and over too soon   Battery was better, even in shade and under load, spent some time figuring what other branches and trees need to go to help, then when the usb battery finished I charged my phone off it a bit and felt accomplished   Then I took out a bunch of oak saplings that would otherwise be troublesome and stacked the branches where I want hedgerow to be   And this pathway that stopped being a pathway because of the trees and bramble and dogrose well I did my thing and it's a pathway again and it's got blood on it cause well it fights back  Then the day was done with and there will be more, soon
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Jun 9, 2022 21:29
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jammy git, I've not had a Painted Lady this season yet!
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Jun 9, 2022 21:43
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AceClown posted:jammy git, I've not had a Painted Lady this season yet! There were a few around and a few around today but near impossible to get a good shot  life's a ditch, then you eat pie       Nice and warm, just a touch of breeze  Panels getting a good dose of the mighty photon but I want more, more, more!  Before the before   Before   During   After- I would like another few metres to take it up to the slope that marks the edge of the property and run it alongside the watershed (not the point of the evening where you can say gently caress on television) but that can wait for now  And then we did another big murdering of (mainly) oak saplings- another two dozen perhaps- the sap price must be paid if a meadow is to exist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPKnXG5PBtQ Short trailcam video- complete with baby fox cubs AND baby deer deer  Then we decided to pack up and get mcdonals, which was an excellent call. Next up, probably splitting some wood and preparing for brushcutting, and you fukken know there's gonna be more, soon
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Jun 12, 2022 16:09
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-88nHHh7PaA if you want to see sixteen minutes of me stumbling around most of the pathways on the acres on my previous trip but now I'm 4K, then buddy, this is a video just for you
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Jun 14, 2022 08:34
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I could go for some Thai right now tbh   Wish I had spent more time bughunting, but isn't that always the case  Pond is getting a nice amount of light now, we shall see if it remains wet  10kg+ in each hand and too many kg on my back made for a tiring walk in, decided I should have driven down about halfway into the hike  Bird feeders have been left empty for a week or so of UV sterilisation, and they got a bit of a scrub/clean as there's been some bird flu- not locally but it's important to do my bit.  Got a few handfuls of currants in me- surprised the deer/birds haven't hit this one as hard as the other plants yet   Two barrows of wood   Some effort     Two barrows chopped and bagged and tested and awaiting delivery  Battery even happier under load than before, still need to rewire at least the charge controller to battery wiring  Had left most of half a watermelon in front of the trailcam, as well as some homegrown catmint- card entirely full so hopefully some antics there  And as I forgot fresh batteries for the trailcam, it's especially good that there will be More, soon
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Jun 15, 2022 17:17
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Where do you get your rations from Dan? Every time I look online the price is a bit  Do you have a line on 'technically expired but actually still okay ' or something?
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Jun 15, 2022 19:46
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Clarence posted:Where do you get your rations from Dan? Every time I look online the price is a bit Pretty much all the ones you are seeing at the moment has been me clearing up older stock but supply has indeed become problematic I used to get them from a military surplus place (you will need to hunt around a few categories the site is a bit haphazard/old school)- every few months various militaries/military suppliers sell off batches to surplus shops and they get a few crates and split them out Since ukraine kicked off I think a bunch are being sent out there and there's very little surplus available- I looked a few days back and could only find one type of mod 24hr, no french 24hr at all, a few scattered individual pouches- but a good selection of very overpriced american mre's looking on amazon etc shows them being sold for really high prices- rcir's might be amazing but they are amazing at 13 quid a box, much less so at 30+ Next camp will probably be an older mod one but after that I might have to start getting creative so I can keep some level of emergency reserves
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Jun 15, 2022 21:05
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I've been meaning to ask: Do you do any hunting and have you considered doing it on the five acres? I don't mean going in guns blazing, just getting something for the freezer. Those muntjac are supposed to be tasty.
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Jun 16, 2022 14:49
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Mzuri posted:I've been meaning to ask: Do you do any hunting and have you considered doing it on the five acres? I don't mean going in guns blazing, just getting something for the freezer. I do hunt but I don't mention it often as I really hate what gets associated with the word "hunting" in the UK (bunch of toffs chasing a terrified fox for hours, or wrecking a large percentage of wildlands to raise grouse/pheasants or stalk deer) and it also gets emotionally complex- I feel grief/sorrow for everything I kill even though I kill with good reason- but also undeniably the rush and satisfaction of a clean kill is like nothing else- I thought the first part would get easier, but to hunt an animal you must watch them and the more I watch squirrel the more I love them. I have taken and eaten some wood pigeon (tasty), and dispatched more grey squirrels than I care to remember at this point (and have also eaten it a few times, not too bad)- I haven't had as much time for it recently but luckily a neighbor has been taking up the slack regards squirrel control The muntjac are meant to be very tasty but there's only a few around as they have rather solitary habits compared with some- I wouldn't feel right taking some without a better idea on the numbers locally- I would also need to step up from a .22 air rifle or sometimes borrowing a .410 shotgun (legally for muntjac I would need at least a 12 gauge) and that's an investment in time and money that can wait for now left the mad dog alone out there today  Got down here much later than I wanted, already hitting 26-27°C  Bird feeder been wrecked up again, something pulled away enough wire to dump out all the seeds   Started prepping the beast, found it wouldn't start and it didn't even feel like it was trying- fuel fine, air fine, no spark- it had come loose inside the boot (has done this before a few years back) and I couldn't get it fixed right so I fuckin improvised as best I could and made sure to keep my elbow away from too many fukken angry electrons- fired on the first pull, repair form sent to maintenance department  I don't even drink drink anymore, this is just for the essential nutrients beer provides a worker   Before  During   After https://twitter.com/TheFiveAcres/status/1537326999408152576?t=K2YWfx7ZdBJ7rFb1yTIAHw&s=19 Next trailcam vid is one for magpie lovers  This picture is from home, because that's where I went- after the first tank of fuel was done it hit 31°C and while I felt alright then the portents were all clear and I needed to bail right then and there- excellent decision as despite much water and rest, by the time I was packed up I was utterly spent, covered in sweat and blood and ready for home, but I hope that you, dear reader, will be ready for more, soon
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Jun 17, 2022 15:09
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DesperateDan posted:Next trailcam vid is one for magpie lovers Heck yea! Never heard of a muntijac but they look tiny, like crucian deer. We're heading up the bluff tomorrow to camp. Maybe see if the big buck is still ornery about overnight humans hanging out. Great as always man and enjoy the amstel
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Jun 18, 2022 02:22
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AKZ posted:Heck yea! Never heard of a muntijac but they look tiny, like crucian deer. Hope it went well  2 stroke onslaught  Brought the cutter home to work out a fix- you see that fitted rubber part? Lost the fuckin' thing in the back garden doing testing and I can't find it still   So given I wanted to cut next day, it's time for a farmin' fixup- improvised a sparkplug cap with some silicon tube offcuts and epoxy and secured the silly coil spark thingy attachment with some of my very finest zip ties and hopefully I find the original soon  absolute offroading veteran at this point           Nice day, 11°C cooler than last time, I'm far more efficient like this   Nice shaded view from the chair- it marks the location of where an entrance will be, further details to be disclosed imminently     Some of my forage today- could have had more but a few handfuls was fair treat and I had poo poo to do  yellin' let's rock like vasquez at least once on every fuckin' visit         Not all the pathway work, but 97.3%+  I would have finished but my target was two full tanks and bail- doing so let me keep not only my energy balance but also retain my diplomacy at max levels  Almost took this to the museum- found it on my way out and hopefully it's still there, seems badgers or foxes dug it out- note the old ringpull, that fucker is probably 80's era  Well that's most of the strimming, the brushcutter heads will be in play soon for some heavy messing, there will most definitely be more, soon
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Jun 21, 2022 17:05
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report on the consultation of the operational executive June 2022   yo    Brought in some more bird supplies    Brought the connectors to attach battery better but they aren't quite right so I didn't- I did however finally open up the control box so I could set the D-1077 to have a wider gap between cut-off and reconnect voltages to hopefully avoid bouncing the relays like a basketball- had to evict a small moth to do so  Lots of small, well camouflaged amphibians afoot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xQmuSlO2do And the hives were busy  Tarp been hosed with again, will require more tarp at this rate, fixed as best I could for now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwzDnia3iWI And this tarp needs taking off and replacing with a real roof but I do enjoy poking things with a stick  Got some good trailcam stuff coming up  So here's the report on the consultation of the operational executive June 2022- my wife came down and looked around the place and where the operational plans would be executed, and the aims and objectives and whys and whenceforths and thereof's- regardless- all operations are approved as planned without modification, we got a big old green light  Exciting times! I don't think this pond is going to stay wet but that gives us a chance to dig for victory- but we may have other concerns- more, soon!
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Jun 24, 2022 14:48
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new trailcam video is up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ4vns5Hql8 lots of magpie action from them starting to form a cult around half a watermelon, as well as an extended badger scratching session
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Jun 25, 2022 08:02
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DesperateDan posted:green light Yay! Look forward to what lies ahead.
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Jun 25, 2022 09:32
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spookygonk posted:Yay! Look forward to what lies ahead. what lies ahead Many things are still up in the air but that cannot stop the rock- so, we need to improve access and also get in more time down there while the situation gradually clarifies We do this in a three pronged approach- -Extend/improve/maintain/reopen the pathway system both to the north and south, meaning the access improvements can be easily linked up when they happen regardless of where they happen -Build a small cabin to make overnight stays simpler/easier without complicating the office area -Finish up the office area including a proper roof/rainwater collection system The pathway jobs are fairly straightforward for now- much of this will happen late september onwards when cutting/clearing season really kicks off (theres places I want to clear now, but its not good for the wildlife) but eventually I may need to take out a really fuckin' big tree or two- luckily I know a guy who can help with that. The cabin is what I'm most excited/scared about, I'm not ready to share my childlike drawings but its a wooden frame construction- think a 2.4 metre box with a roof, with a small covered deck right next to it (also about 2.4 metres cause thats what fits in the audi)- I have spent a few months watching various videos of people putting similar structures together/looking over various plans. First steps for this will be clearing the area of brush, taking out a few trees (both for space and for safety) and then preparing the ground/stockpiling materials for a start to construction hopefully in spring next year- biggest problem here is delivering sheet materials and also I'm scared of falling off roofs which may complicate construction a bit Office stuff is largely what was planned anyway, bulks out the plan a bit- doesn't need much other than a new bench/chair/sink setup, maybe another table or two. Had hoped to be down there today but parenting stuff came up instead- More, SOON!
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Jun 27, 2022 10:39
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https://twitter.com/DoRayMeFarTed/status/1542224522484613120?s=20&t=kIm_7kA_eHA-Pce5PuOoxA See you're on Twitter now too.
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Jun 30, 2022 14:48
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spookygonk posted:https://twitter.com/DoRayMeFarTed/status/1542224522484613120?s=20&t=kIm_7kA_eHA-Pce5PuOoxA I was already but I don't [redacted] and eat bans on this account I did say itt at the time I set the account up with a bunch of automated tweets bah gawd  wooooooah black cherry bam-de bam   So I went from very poo poo sketch to less poo poo    Then a very old accomplice laughed and kindly did a cad, and then my wife saw it and said "very good but make it twice as big and a bit taller" and I agreed so now I have to go back to the very poo poo sketch stage but this is how progress is made https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kD4vMuF0jk This is where I'm thinking for the first cabin- hard to get a sense of how big it is till I clear it out at least a little          Ey oop  Guess who's gonna be digging out pond soon! I'm thinking I'm gonna make an island too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHux5bPvrEE Adjusting the controller seems to be paying off, it was quite overcast and has been a few days but the battery was barely flinching at being put under some load- still need to sort the terminals and provide more photons but progress is being made   doin' the things again. Cutter needed 3 pulls to start and that means its finally due a full and proper service- had to check but it's been 7 years in duty now, definitely deserves a little TLC   I finished up the pathways and then went at liberating fruit bush emplacements   Didn't take many pics but I got most of em done  But then it started raining and Stephan here came out (he wishes you well) so after we became acquainted it was time to bail and let the creatures be      More, soon!
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Jun 30, 2022 16:30
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down to the mud         welcome  First skipper of the year, several varieties of butterfly/moth around but all very active and declined to land in appropriate places  Loads of these spiders doing a handsome trade in bugs   me and the pigeon both agree the pond looks dry   it is very, very muddy tho   Now that's a lovely connection right there   A little better- will leave it be and see how it reacts over the next week or two- numbers look real good and another battery might be an idea if they haven't gone insane price wise lol   Gate guard on close inspection duties as I left  Had to help round up some wayward chickens on my way home- that one to the right is a troublemaker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NphOaXZD6BY Lots of magpie footage for anyone inclined  was meant to be down here yesterday but flare-up of symptoms wiped me- felt much the same today but was determined to get something done- there will be more, soon!
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Jul 4, 2022 16:14
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https://twitter.com/TheFiveAcres/status/1544356683622793216?t=KE01zemRlEt4Vq8uqqEXCA&s=19 Just throwing the mum and baby deer on here, caught them on trailcam with a fairly good shot on both
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Jul 5, 2022 17:29
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less than a footlong      Absolutely loads of butterflies/moths around but at that time of day (around 10-12) they just never seem to stop flying   Needed to deal with some old firewood so made some larger bits into bits less than a footlong so I can come back and split em. Gotta be less than a footlong so it fits customer requirements  All PPE all the time, no loving around on that one   I'm guessing 3 and a half bags when I split it, then there's a bunch more under the shelterbench benchshelter and yet more around otherwise to deal with- I need to develop better infrastructure for this than an upturned broken table  I guess the plan is I get up real fuckin' early and dig dig dig but not much just yet, as it's still chewing gum consistency and I think some of the forecast hot weather will help with that- still I can start nibbling at the edge at least  Pretty sure they were both watching me while I cut, but the undergrowth is all mixed in with the overgrowth and it lets them move around like the vietcong   Still on a flare-up of symptoms but glad to put a few hours in, then sit under the trees awhile and watch the birds demolish the feeders- there will be more, soon
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Jul 8, 2022 19:17
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count with me to one, two, three!     absolutely loads of the ringlet butterflies and good numbers of skippers, brimstone and others I couldn't quite identify  awww yisss  did use my privileges for some good though, nothing particularly heavy but awkward enough to carry far   Splitting takes anywhere from 2-3 good whacks to upwards of fifty if it's a real stubborn bastard like the one pictured- a fair bit of variation between tree types too but I am not yet very good at identifying wood and getting accurate results with simple tools (maybe a book would help)  let's count barrows of split wood ah ha ha!  one barrow of wood! very good! Ah ha ha!  two barrows of wood! spectacular ha ha ha  three! three barrows of wood! amazing! Ahhh ha ha ha ha!  running about a barrow to a bag, and as much as this is fun and good for my arms, eventually I'm gonna want a splitter that does the hard parts for me, especially if I get some more paying customers  This thing was running when I got there and factoring for the voltage and disconnect/reconnect values I'm fairly sure it was running all night off the battery- smells almost pleasant in here now between the fresh air and the jeyes. Would be great to improve on things so the same happens in winter.   Felt I could do more but I'm still coming off a flare-up so held back a bit just in case, had a restful bit of a sit-down and then bailed- more, soon!
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Jul 12, 2022 14:53
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oh and I stuck my phone right next to the beehive so you could see them all chilling by the entrance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kiRE7AFXkE then they buzzed more and I got scared and ran away a bit
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Jul 12, 2022 18:31
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DesperateDan posted:count with me to one, two, three! First picture is a Meadow Brown, the second is a Small White. Good pictures! They don’t usually sit still long enough for me.
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Jul 12, 2022 21:37
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Looking good Dan! Very interested to see how the pond goes. My trail cams died a while back and then we moved to a bigger spot so now I need to get new ones to document the wildlife at the new place. Might spring for some spendy ones and see how those fare.
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Jul 12, 2022 22:31
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Catzilla posted:First picture is a Meadow Brown, the second is a Small White. I concur I got fairly lucky with a few shots that day because it was really the wrong time of day Rotten posted:Looking good Dan! Very interested to see how the pond goes. I'm equally interested to see how it goes/dreading the amount of labour it's going to take in this heat to put even a tiny dent in the mud- might try and organise getting down there extra early in the morning Spent awhile yesterday looking at trail cams myself- a fair few of the cheaper ones are offering better resolution/features now, but it still seems low quality control means your chances of getting a good, reliable one out of a batch is about 50/50- the few more expensive ones I looked at had less "this is broken from new" reviews but didn't seem to offer much more than models a third the price
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Jul 14, 2022 13:38
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the deaf adder hey human I hear you grow the 'nip, how 'bout a little taste? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnJd8MFxwyU  I can see through time             well, managed to drag myself away from drugging the neighborhood cats for a bit and aye, the hypothesis about snapping butterflies earlier in the day seems to be somewhat supported by evidence but it was still hard   say hello to the hornet hoverfly- scared the gently caress out of me because I thought it was a legit hornet and it was right next to my head for a bit and hornets have utterly no remorse  I was gonna eat it, and then a butterfly came along and I chased it and forgot my prize  No more messing, gotta deal with this bastard pond at least a bit  top section was a few inches of rotting vegetation/soil then thick mixed clay/sand. Smells SO much better than previous digging attempt, almost... tasty...  right down in the bottom level it went to a pure clay  I want to make this section twice as wide, and then work on reclearing the bits I did on previous years- even if I get the time and energy (lol) I won't clear out the whole pond in one go because I don't want to disturb some of what may be lurking within the mud- the mud I have removed only went so far as the high bank so any bugs etc aren't too far away from habitat  I felt like I could probably keep going some more, but the temperature was rising with the sun so I quit and had myself a field shower- absolutely fantastic, gotta rig up something even better  With a few viciously hot days ahead I refilled the watering station  Found this slow worm underneath it- or as are sometimes known locally as the deaf adder- something I misheard as the death adder which is far more dramatic death adders almost as good as tunnel snakes imo tunnel snakes rule  so as mentioned it's gonna be hot and there's red heat warnings and such but I'm gonna have to come water my plant and animal friends and so there will be more, soon!
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Jul 16, 2022 14:27
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this is why we fight      hi   this wasn't loving around, it's hot and this wobeshitten nation really can't deal with it either structurally or culturally   Was trying to take a picture of a bumblebee, but it was getting it's arse kicked repeatedly by this skipper  Caught up with Stephan a bit  They had to shoot off though  Fed the birds   Watered the things like the posh apple and our plants in the nursery   After 7 years zipties, scrap iron and bodgery, I finally fixed up the water porter with some quality hardware  Refilled the auto-water too to make sure our friends stay hydrated- some supermarket reduced carrots and apples got thrown in front of the trailcam too, for some easy eating   code:
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Jul 19, 2022 14:13
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excavation works    grand day to be out  So much flapping around   Did the water and helped the trees and animals and bugs and potentially xenomorphs and/or predators  Pathways running different directions seems to work nicely for having some pick up on a breeze- this felt significantly cooler than not just out in the sun but other shaded areas too  Bramble likes to demonstrate how it reblocks pathways so fast, which makes for an interesting few targets for the mora when you can't be arsed to go get the secateurs or loppers out   Made the pond wider on all levels, although it's really hard, slow work to cut this drat clay I still want to go deeper out of both curiosity and to spite margaret thatcher, who surely burns in hell, simply by being a yorkshireman merrily digging a pit    This is fairly representative of the makeup, mainly thick clay with short veins of silt/salt? and sand although I did find a few stones at the lowest point so I'm hoping to go at least a spadesdepth deeper there  The spoil comes mainly in the form of clay blocks which I have thrown up on the bank- it can be tidied up a little but I expect some creatures might enjoy the broken ground   You can faintly see the U shape I excavated X amount of time ago- extended plan is to clear that to a spadesdepth and join it onto what I have dug already    Plums on this tree have mainly either been robbed by creature or dropped due to drought but I enjoyed the one I had  felt like a productive trip, bailed at a good time so there will be more, soon
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Jul 24, 2022 15:03
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can't stop the wakefield lot     now then   this thing is still putting out fierce heat with near zero smoke once it gets going   real low content posting tbh, my auntie was down from the old country visiting my da and wanted a trip over to the farm so me and the younger lad took her to the farm, had some bbq and then even went round't neighbors lake to see't ducks. Tha' will be more, soon
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Jul 27, 2022 17:59
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Soil ternary plots oh no!
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Jul 28, 2022 01:24
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AKZ posted:Soil ternary plots oh no! It's not quite a methane/oxygen flammability one but we make do with what we have on hand while I'm here, you might wanna know I just impulse bought a roof don't even know if it's gonna fit in the car it's miles away not even entirely sure what's going on but it's done now who left me on drugs with powers of responsibility on drugs lol so anyway I'm gonna go on an adventure then camp out there saturday to sunday and see if we can't raise the motherfucking roof- more soon
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Jul 28, 2022 16:45
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"bodgery" has to be the most british word ever
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Jul 29, 2022 23:14
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I've never seen bugs fight over a flower before.
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Jul 30, 2022 05:01
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HolHorsejob posted:"bodgery" has to be the most british word ever I see your bodgery, and I raise you a minge Seat Safety Switch posted:I've never seen bugs fight over a flower before. shiv or be shivved imo on the road again Got on the acres about an hour ago and I'm finishing up getting unpacked, when I'm rested and have gotten set up for the work of the day there will be pictures and words and more soon
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Jul 30, 2022 10:28
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moth-a-lomania 27C and mixed sun and clouds with a touch of wind from the north, good weather for this work  like a glove    Got setup, took off old roof, re-homed many many moths  Ready to figure out what goes where now- more soon
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Jul 30, 2022 11:44
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What's on the menu today, Dan?
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Jul 30, 2022 11:49
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Clarence posted:What's on the menu today, Dan? read on macduff angles? schmangles!   chop, drill, drive  the framework for the roof is now done, got part of the back wall to do then it's roof panel time  soup is fuckin fish eeeww not again   It's a bit one note but it's a good one and there's plenty of meat- apricot bar was like a lump of marzipan and fairly artificial tasting but it went down a treat anyway- time for a brew and some more rest before I figure out the overhang and overlap situations- more soon
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Jul 30, 2022 14:07
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