The Caravan

Farmstay

Now we are living in our house it was a question of what to do with the the caravan?
A few people suggested offering it for rent.
People might  enjoy the experience living off grid, or on a small farm or even living abroad.
Learning to live using only solar power and no piped mains water, is a challenge!
I remember ( in England) how I took for granted switching on a light or turning on a tap or just the simple pleasure of hopping in and out of the shower without thinking about the water consumption or the power it took to work the pump!!
  It seemed a good idea.So weve been working towards getting the caravan ready.

Outside Living Area

This area made the biggest difference.It doubled our living area.

Fine dining Alfresco style

We spent many evenings stargazing and listening to music, or entertaining friends.

The Living Area

It seems so much bigger now there arent 4 dogs lolling all over the place!!

The Kitchen

I remember trying to make honeycomb and the whole caravan filling up with bees!

The master bedroom

 Its been a real trip down memory lane for us and now is finally ready for renting.
A holiday with a bit of something different.You can learn about "Living off Grid" or trying to become self sustainable.
The caravan has 3 bedrooms which sleep 2 people in each.
The living room also has a hide away double bed.
So it can sleep between 6/8 people.
It has its own BBQ area.

So if you or anybody you know would be interested in coming to stay please contact me.
We are set next to Els Ports Parc Natural in Catalunya,Spain.
There are many cycling and walking routes locally.
A variety of beaches, natural pools all within a 30/40 minute drive.
The local town of Tortosa is set on the River Ebre famous for its fishing especially cat fishing.
Im more than happy to show you around our little farm and introduce you to some of the characters!! Maybe try your hand at goat herding!! Or just come and say Hi to Pickle :)

Liberating Pickle

As everybody knows skipping and jumping is what baby goats do.
Its instinct,its natural and wow is it cute!
Pickle was no exception.She wanted to kick up her heels and ping about too.
I would stand over her and clasp my hands underneath her chest,holding her up.
Pickle skipped and jumped.For ages....
Every day I would do this and she loved it.But she was growing and I felt like I  was
 restricting her.
Pickle wanted to jump more but I couldnt hold her for long periods.
Time to get my brain in gear..
I thought of baby reins or a dog harness and attatching it to elastic and suspending
 it from a tree!! Like one of those baby bouncers or jumping jacks...

Woohoo success!!
Pickle absolutely loved it.I was so happy I was crying with laughter!!
I wasnt completely happy with  the harness though.
It didnt sit right and seemed to cut into her armpits.Not that she complained she
was too busy pinging around !!
I tried padding but she was so mobile I couldnt get anything to stay put.
I spoke to my mum about it and mum went on a mission.(mum loves a mission!)
Mum contacted a dog seat belt harness company and took Pickles measurements.
It wasnt long before a wonderful package arrived!!
The harness was padded, soft, fleecy with easy clips!! And a hook on the back to attatch it to the elastic.

It was fabulous.It looked so much more comfortable.
Then we had a new problem . like you do!!
As Pickle was growing the elastic wasnt elastic anymore!
Up steps mum again!!
Mum went to a shop in her local town that deals with army supplies and explained that we needed
some extra strength bungee elastic.They were amazing and didnt bat an eyelid when mum told them it was for a goat!! People are amazing and truly want to help.
They donated a whole roll of extra strength bungee elastic! I now have  enough  to make swings for all my goats! Wouldnt that be a sight for people driving by?
 20 goats all bouncing from trees.The neighbours think I'm nuts as it is lolol.
So I would like to say a huge thank you to Major Bananas of Bournemouth for their wonderful donation.
And a huge thank you to my mum for completing her mission and "Liberating Pickle"
Thank you for everything.
The harness has proved invaluable.It helps exercise different muscles and improves her digestion and im hoping it slows down any more curvature of her spine.Plus its a great help when I have to trim Pickles front hooves as they dont get worn down.
And lastly i would just like to mention Pickle has a favourite tree! She will not come near me if I try to get her in another one! But if i pick up her harness and go to her favourite tree she scoots over pretty fast! Oh and we are also in the process of hooking up a pulley system so I can hoist her up easily! Exciting times!!

Happy days :)

Pickles story...

By 2012 my little farm was growing.We had ducks,chickens and miniature pigs!
Not to mention the goats were into double figures.
It was a real learning curve.I learnt everything as it happened.
Id dealt with births and deaths.I sold some goats and pigs.That was tough.
I wanted to keep them all but knew I had to be practical.
In early March I was just waiting for Salt to deliver.
Its always an exciting but nervy time....
Everything started out normal.
We did the morning herd and Salt wasnt showing any signs of labour.
When I know a doe is due Im back and forth all day long.It must drive the goats mad!!
When I went out to do the evening herd Salt was in the process of cleaning up a perfect little miniature version of herself. I was so excited !! Every time is like the first time for me!
I let myself in the pen and went over to see if it was a boy or a girl.

She already had my heart.

I picked the newborn up.A girl!!
Then I noticed her front legs.Oh...They were both pretty severely deformed.
I was devastated.Salt was cleaning and talking to her. Being a normal loving mummy.
I was told to let Mother Nature take her course and she would be gone within 48 hours.
It seemed the right thing to do.
The baby was alert and trying to stand up and trying to get to her mums udders.
It was heartbreaking.I couldnt watch and do nothing.
I automatically held her up to the udder and Salt seemed to lower herself so the baby could reach  and she guzzled the milk.

What would  you do?

Well it was a watch and wait time.
We had absolutely no idea what was going to happen.I cuddled her and carried her in my jacket when we went herding.I had no idea how long she would live but I loved her so much already and wanted her to feel loved.
I kept talking to her "well we are in a pickle arent we?you're a little pickle,youre a lovely little pickle",you get the idea...

Pickle at 6 days old.

Six days later she was still here.So content and happy, rarely cried and was beautiful.
I was still referring to her as a little Pickle so decided to call her that.
We checked her legs out.there were too many bends and twists to even think about splints.
Unless majory surgery was involved.And i couldnt even see that working.
Pickle was mobile and getting around.Usually on her elbows but sometimes on her hind legs!!

My little "Kangagoat"

If I was carrying Pickle, Salt would keep running back and forth checking.When they were back at the pens Salt rarely left her,she loved her too!
Salt was coping and feeding her by herself.
I watched as Salt would lower herself so Pickle could reach.
It was at this point I realised they were just dealing with it and they were winning.
So if they were going to fight against the odds,then i was going to do whatever I could to help.
But little did I know this was just the beginning of Pickle s story!!

A Goat Herder?

When things settled with Mummy and Baby (the names had stuck by then!!) I decided maybe it was time to get a billy.A friend said he had one that was surplus to requirements.
So Big Bill came to live with us...

And he was BIG!! He was friendly and we hit it off straight away.
I loved it because he loved fussing and scratches.
He would lean on me and rest his head on me,he was a character !!
He was in with Mummy and Baby and I let nature take its course.

About 5 months later Mummy gave birth to Sherbert  (Sherbert because she was sweet with a little kick to her)
It was amazing.I watched this awesome little scrap of life come into the world.
I watched Mummy clean her up and a little fluffy doe emerged.
So cute and tiny and she instinctively started nursing.

Within a couple of days she was skipping and jumping all over me!! So friendly and sweet.
Up till this point they had been in the pens all the time as I was terrified they would run away.
I was unhappy about it so I thought Id just let the 4 of them out.It was so calm and satisfying watching the older ones graze and Sherbert skipped about and played so happily.Luckily they were as unsure as I was and just stayed around the pen.
Over the next few days we all got a bit braver and moved further from the pen,because Mummy was unsure of me it was easy to steer her back in and the others just followed!

As we have 7 hectares of land it seemed a good idea to start grazing them everyday.
And so slowly but surely a Goat Herder was born!!!

A Goat Life.

So how did the whole farming thing come about?
We have a local shepherd graze his herd on our land and the payment for this is a goat or a sheep once a year.
I had visions of him rocking up with a whole  dead  animal.Which really held no appeal.
So i panicked and said "A live one,definitely a live one"

He turned up with Mummy hog tied in the footwell of his moped and just flipped her off...

And her daughter swinging from the handlebars in a sack...
I said thank you politely and watched him drive away.I needed to check them I was so curious I'd never dealt with a goat before apart from petting zoos.
On the mummys back was an open wound bigger than the palm of my hand.It wasnt pretty and was weeping badly.She was terrified.It was heartbreaking.We managed to get her in the pen but she was freaking out.The baby was so scared too.theyd obviously never been handled,just part of a big herd.
They were both pretty scrawny too.

We managed to sort antibiotics for Mummy.We wormed them both.

I would sit in the pen for hours fascinated and letting these beautiful creatures creep into my heart.

They loved the bedding.They loved the food.They started to relax and started to put on weight.
Mummys back healed up.They still didnt trust me but that was fine Id already fallen hook, line and sinker.
I didnt have a plan at this point.Just couldnt believe I had goats!!
 So thats how it all began.At this point in time i have 20,but there have been about 40 pass through here.They've become a passion (or obsession) and I love everyone.
I havent forgotten any of them..
I dream of having a rescue for goats one day.For unwanted and special need goats.
In a way they saved me,so I owe them :)

Citrus Marmalade "Sunshine in a jar"

Ingredients :

• Citrus fruit
• Sugar
• Water

Lemon Marmalade

Preparation:

1. Weigh out equal parts citrus fruit and sugar
2. Grate citrus fruit and remove pips
3. Place sugar and fruit in a saucepan with enough water to cover it by 2 inches
4. Stir continuously and bring to the boil until it becomes like jelly
5. Put a plate in the freezer,when you think the marmalade has set test it by putting a few spoonfuls on the cold plate.Tip it to see if it runs.If it holds its done
6. You can then can it in a water bath for 30 minutes.
7. Enjoy :)

Its only temporary...

It was always Ians plan to move abroad to sunnier climes.and no way was he leaving me behind!!

We bought 2 caravans to live in while the house was rebuilt and renovated.

It would only be 3/6 months and we'd be in.....

Our 2 teenage sons lived in the 2 bedroom one on the left.
My husband,me and our 11 year old daughter lived in the 3 bedroom caravan on the right.With the dogs.
We had plenty of  room and we made them homely.It was only temporary...
In the beginning we made a lot of expensive mistakes like buying 500 euro mobile air con units when a 20 euro fan worked far better!
Work on the house was well underway.
Friends visited and we got to know the area and our neighbours were really friendly and helpful.
Our daughter was  enrollled in the local school.
Ian made a temporary (!) scaffold tower with a water tank on top and our water was gravity/pump fed.

We ran a generator for 5/6 hours a night for lights, music,showers and eventually tv as there was a lot of sport being missed!!

Just over 2 months into the build we had an official visit..2 police cars arrived and social services.
Armed police!! Yes we panicked a bit !!
We were told in no uncertain terms to stop all building works.We needed permissions for everything.
We had been very naive and trusted our estate agent and the local architects.They had told us as long as we stayed within the footprint of the house we could rebuild and renovate what we liked.Apparently this wasnt true.They took photos and measurements of all the work we had done.It was very intimidating having about 6 armed police making their presence felt.
The social services wanted to know about our 2 sons and our daughter.We had to prove the boys were 16 and had left school.We had to prove our daughter was enrolled in school.
So the paperwork trail began...
What with one thing and another mainly bureaucracy (which is the same in any country.But made harder here because our daughter wasnt learning the language fast enough..just kidding!!) work on the house ground to a halt.Things were obviously becoming not so temporary any more..