Field finds: troughs for all

One of the nicest things about moving to a new house is how it can surprise you. Of course that can also be one of the worst things about a new house too (boiler breaking down the week after you move in anybody?). But in the garden I’ve been constantly surprised and pleased at the constant growth of things like unexpected bulbs and plants. The previous owner also very kindly left us her hen house and enclosure, a field shelter for the animals and a wide variety of smallholding equipment that’s made our lives a lot easier when starting this self-sufficiency venture. My oldest son and the dog have really enjoyed playing at breaking the thick ice that’s been forming on top of the water troughs throughout the winter (he with sticks, the dog with her nose) but it was only yesterday that I realised that the previous owner was even more generous than we’d thought. We have a working water trough that’s actually plumbed in!

So when our lambs arrive in a couple of months, they’ll have constant access to fresh drinking water from the tap without us having to install it. So we’ll just leave the other multiple troughs lying around the paddocks for the chickens to drink rainwater from I think. I actually feel a bit ashamed at how easy this has been made for us, but equally gleeful! Bring on the sheep! We are, however, going to have to work out a way to clear it of all the (now rotten and vile-smelling) leaves and twigs and things that my son and his friends have been making “soup” with. A job for our seaside fishing net perhaps?