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@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot
2026-05-25 15:10:19

Hauling logs across to the sawmill. I've got a certain amount done this morning, but it's now too hot to work.
#TheJoyOfCrofting

From the tractor end, the winch line leading out to a turning block on the rear sawmill pillar and back to a log which is being hauled across what I used unironically to call my orchard side lawn. There's another log already lying by the sawmill and more lying behind the tractor.
The same scene from the sawmill end. The Little Tractor That Can stands in the middle background, beside a raft of logs dragging in from the wood. From the tractor, the winch line leads in down the right of the frame, towards the turning block which is out of view behind me, and than back into view to a log which is half way across the unmown and weedy grass.
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot
2026-08-15 16:57:54

Today, The Little Tractor That Can and I have been mostly topping thistles.
Yes, I'm late in the year for it, and it has set seed; but I also got most of the ragwort, which hadn't, so it was worth doing.
#TheJoyOfCrofting

The Little Tractor That Can in commons meadow, with tall thistles to the right of it and none to the left.
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot
2026-06-09 13:29:06

This morning I have mostly been truing the sawmill bed. The ground had obviously shifted a bit over winter, and it was no longer cutting perfectly true.
It's now cutting much better, although I am going to need to get my blades sharpened.
#TheJoyOfCrofting

The spirit level one of the bearers of the sawmill bed. The bearer is a rectangular section steel box beam, painted green. The ground beneath the sawmill bed is extremely littered with sawdust and scraps of wood.
Checking the alignment of the bearers, using a plank that has been cut to a straight edge. There are six bearers visible in the picture, of seven total. They span across between the rails on which the carriage that holds the saw runs. The carriage is visible at the left of the picture.
First timbers cut after truing, lying on the bed of the mill. The cuts are slightly wavy because the blade is not sharp, but it is cutting to consistent thickness.
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot
2026-07-01 18:58:52
Content warning: Meat

Today we have mostly been butchering the bull we killed a fortnight ago.
A long, hard day, but it's done. That's all my meat for a year.
#TheJoyOfCrofting (unironically)

Start of the day — before the rain. The mincer is set up on the table nearer to the camera, most of the other equipment is on the big stainless steel table further away.
Deboning a leg. My friend Phil uses a knife to cut the meat off the bone.
Making mince. There is a tray of steaks to the right. Behind, other parts of the carcass are being dismantled. The rain has started so we have moved everything on to the main table and erected an awning over it.
At the end of the day, everything has been cleaned up and cleared away, but the awning is still over the stainless steel table.
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot
2026-06-30 11:52:19

Just moved the cattle onto fresh grass. Needless to say, they're very happy about it.
#TheJoyOfCrofting (unironically)

Black cattle up to their bellies in lush green grass. Some of the calves are almost hidden.