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Wednesday 28 February 2018

Cold old start to the 2018 year

It has been a cold and wet start to the year, with plenty of challenges trying to ensure the sheep and horses all have some grazing and are not in too much mud!
I am sure it is the same over most of the UK and probably our friends in Europe are struggling too with the wet, but life is full of challenges, whether you live in the city or in the countryside, some of them are very different......mud may not be high on the list of problems in the city......but keeping cheerful and warm, when life is a little challenging, is a problem wherever you live. So I hope all our potential campers are keeping both cheerful and warm.....
...and making the most of any views they can get - to 'keep the soul happy' - when the sun does come out and the rain stays away. Here I am, on a quick lunch-break in the car.... no more perfect a place to live than Cornwall!
Hens have been out having a 'perfect' dust bath underneath the steps to the compost toilet too.
For a short time they are having to share with the Pomeranian and the Call Ducks. Mr Fox came a calling yesterday and picked off one of the Pomeranian ducks for tea, so in an effort to keep them alive I have moved them to the reservoir garden with the hens. Last time I did this they just flew and waddled right back to their sheds at the top of the long field. 
So today they will have to share in the little pen and sleep in a different hut adjacent to it, in the hope that tomorrow if I let them out, they will be content to remain in their 'new home' which is closer to me and hopefully further away from the hungry fox.
My new year's resolution was to try and live off-grid in the new cabin for the campsite manager, to see how it works, in preparation for being on-site for the camping season. I like to set myself a challenge. No point waiting for the season and finding it doesn't work as an option. It also sounded like a bit of fun.
I am adapting! It can be a little cold first thing in the morning - because the cabin has no insulation - a chilly 4-6 degrees sometimes, approximately 1 degree more than the outside temperature, but no wind chill factor. However, my Nautipod stove
www.hotpod.co.uk/welcome-to-hotpod-wood-burning-and-multi-fuel-stove/nautipod
is AMAZING and so worth every penny spent on it.
Let me introduce Nelly! Not only does she look gorgeous, but she is bonzer to cook on: chilli, stir-fry, toast, eggs, omelette, pasta, rice (she cannot do a sunday roast but I can go back to the cottage for that) and she can get the cabin from 6 degrees to an almost ambient 12 degrees by the time I have finished the first cup of tea!  And when I am in the cabin working, she will keep me in a lovely 16 degree environment, which is perfect. (She will also take me to a high of 20 degrees, but to be honest that is too warm and I have to start peeling layers off then).
Welcome to my tackroom and campsite manager's office.












I do cheat a bit. It is too cold at the moment to use the outdoor gas heated shower - or one could argue that I am not hardy enough - either way, the cottage is just fine for showering and laundry.

The cabin brings me really close to nature and it's rhythm. I love hearing the sound of the rain and feeling the wind 'rock' the cabin. When the gusts are up to 46mph I worried a little initially, but since I have not been 'blown away'- like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz - I now just ride them out and enjoy the movement from nature. The cabin is almost like being in a tent, but not!
Here's a 'view from the loo'.

Bookings are beginning to come in for the coming camping season and I look forward to the weather improving so that the garden can be tidied in preparation for campers from Easter. Meanwhile, when I can, I am on my usual beast on the beach ensuring a picture to keep the bloggers happy!

















Welcome to 2018.







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