The Old Stable Block

Our old stable block is looking a bit of a mess now that all the ivy has been taken off the walls. All the rendering is coming away from the cob walls, so it will have to be stripped off ready for new rendering in the spring. The climbing rose has had to be cut down to the base, but hopefully it will recover and grow back up the wall. We have also temporarily taken down the dovecote, but the doves weren't using it anyway, prefering the medieval barn! However they will be getting a shock this year when we fill in the gaps so they can't roost in the barn.

Medieval Barn

We have been working on restoring the medieval barn this autumn. At the east end of the barn a stone wall was repaired and all the ivy which was creeping over the wall and roof was taken down. Now we have started repairing the west end of the barn. The window that you can see has the original fifteenth century ornate wood work at the very top. The vertical slats have been replaced at sometime, but are still old and in very good condition. Once the paint is dry we intend to build a new shed half way up the barn wall spanning the two outer stone walls. One half of the area will be a log store and the other half is for all the recycling boxes that have been provided by West Somerset Council. We have so many boxes that we need somewhere to put them all which is accessible.

The Old Stables

The horses moved out of the old stables in the spring to the converted barn and since then the stables have been empty. There are three stables inside the old building along with a corridor and a good size room in the roof which has some interesting old beams. We would very much like to convert the roof space into an office and just keep two of the stables with the third stable being used for the staircase access. However we need a new roof and all the ivy which is growing up the back of our buildings needs to come off before we can assess what state the cob wall is in and how much repair work is needed. We hope to clear all the ivy off the buildings this autumn.

Clearing the Stream

This year we have had a problem with an invasive pond weed which is taking over our stream and covering it with a horrible green mass. We have now got to the stage where you can't even see the water which makes it difficult to cross as you end up stepping in th water, as well as it being so unsightly. We think the warm weather and lack of rainf this summer has helped the plant to grow, but we have no idea where it has come from. So we thought it was about time we started to clear it out of the stream and this half term week we have had some help from our young guests Matthew and Abigail from Dorset.

Summer Dressage Show

In August we ran our first horse show for the local West Somerset Riding Club, which was a dressage show with two arenas one on the grass which can be seen in the photograph and the other in our outdoor school. We were so lucky with the weather, it was absolutely glorious and everyone could sit around and watch their friends and enjoy this summer's day. We had a lot of entries and many riders who live locally supported us and rode to the competition. A big thank you to all the riders and of course without you our helpers on the day.

Hay Making

We were very lucky to start our hay making season, on would you believe it, 31st May!

This must be one of the earliest ever. Then we had to wait another month until the first week of July for good weather when we cut the grass in the field by the road to make small bale haylage. We still have two more fields to make, but the the rest of this July has been very changeable with some heavy downpours. We desperately need a dry spell so we can finish making our hay. This photo is Derek turning the grass in the field by the road on a very warm and sunny day.

Mim starts her Schooling

Gosh how time flies! Mim was three years old on 15th May this year, so I decided it was time she started her schooling. I started her on the lunge and initially Rob helped me by walking around the outside of the circle with her and me standing in the middle until she got the idea on what we wanted her to do. Then I carried on my own lunging her little and often so that she didn't become tired or bored. I introduced her to some poles on the ground to walk and trot over and firstly of she was good and then erupted and started being a bit naughty when she couldn't get her own way, but she soon settled down. I now intended to keep up the lunging over the summer and at some point I'll put a saddle on her back with the idea that I'll get on her in the autumn. Hopefully with all this work her muscles will become stronger and she'll lose that grass tummy!