Photo: Fiona in a bee suit with smoker
My name is Fiona Nevile. I want to share our journey towards our goal of partial self sufficiency. It is such a satisfying, old fashioned endeavour, that provides moments of glowing pride alongside the occasional smelly disaster.
I started this blog after we decided to invest in our future. Retirement looms in a few years time. Before I fell ill I often worked in houses where people had recently retired. Usually they were testing the water. They had plans that they had dreamt about and tweaked for years:
- Raising a few chickens
- A small vegetable patch
- Bees
- Homemade wine and liqueurs
- And the individual extras which could include stock car racing, dabbling on the Stock Exchange, breeding terrapins, planning the trip of a lifetime and dreaming about a lottery win that would finance the lot.
Watching from the sidelines, I realised that often the first four of these interests can take years to get up and running. So I decided to start early. These activities are so satisfying that within months I was peering over the parapet. Why not cure and smoke our own bacon and make salami? How about making sausages and homemade butter? And where could we find food for free?
Six years later we are investing in now as well as our future retirement.
Why just plan for the future? Investing in now can be a bumpy ride but generally we’ve found that it’s fun and our quality of life is so much better than before. Each week our horizons expand.
This website charts our journey towards deluxe self sufficiency and beyond. Our aim is to live like kings on the lowest possible budget. Visit our new forum for inspiration and ideas from our readers.
My articles have appeared online in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Chicago Sun Times and many other publications. Use the ‘contact us’ tab to speak to me. Writing commissions are always welcome.
Some people like to visit us here at the Cottage Smallholder.
Because I have been ill and unable to work since July 09 we decided to host advertising on the Cottage Smallholder site from December 09. Click here for more details.
a brief potted history of Fiona’s career, which has ended up in our attempt at partial self-sufficiency.
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FD
Hi Ken
I haven’t got my mitts on the recipe yet, I’m afraid. I have tried plum brandy. It took about three years to be drinkable and was very disappointing. Bullace gin and bullace vodka both work well.
Happy glugging.
Having made my Sloe Gin I remembered I had some Bullace in the freezer and was about to make some Bullace Gin. However, my owner and trainer read about Bullace Brandy (we found a very nice and cheap Brandy in a French supermarket, the Gin was even cheaper!) Have you been able to extract the secret recipe from the villagers please?
Regards
Hi Kim
Oh this sounds superb. You can do so much with half an acre.
I do hope that the move goes well for you.
Hi Fiona,
We are just about to complete on an old Farmhouse with a half acre garden and are really looking forward to growing our own vegetables. We already have chickens and ducks and would love to expand our menagerie. We love your site and really enjoy the recipes and ideas
Thanks Kim
Hi Kris
We have a large garden – about a third of an acre, rather than a smallholding. It’s large enough to engage in the smallest of smallholding activities – bees, hens, growing vegetables etc. One day I would love to have a goat for cheese, butter and milk.
I’m so pleased that you are enjoying the site!
Hi Erica
Great that you keep chickens – they are such a joy! Home grown vegetables taste so much better. I find that foraging is a great way of unwinding.
Thanks for leaving a comment.
Hi Fiona,
I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your site, we are making very small steps towards self sufficieny, such as keeping chickens and growing our own veg. This year I am hoping to move on into forraging for mushrooms and fruits.
I find your site a real inspiration and it helps me unwind from the day job. Its really nice to dream about having what you have, at the moment I live in a suburban semi, but in the future I would love to own a smallholding.
Hi Fiona
I have always wanted to live on a smallholding. My grandmother grew her own vegetables and kept chickens and my parents grew their own too. The idea has always been appealing, my life took a different path.
Now as I read your articles I am more drawn to living on a small holding, and I have no doubt that one day I wll acheive this. The recipes are fab, I have made your apple chutney and looking forward to veggie moussaka.
Yor articles are inspiring…can’t wait to keep chickens.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Krys
Hi Denise
Our beehives are well away from the lawn, behind a thick yew hedge. So the lawnmowing doesn’t worry them. When John cuts the yew hedging he hasn’t had a problem as yet(!) I personally wouldn’t fancy hedge cutting a foot away from the hives but he is happy to do it.
Great that you are enjoying the site.
Discovered your wonderful website whilst searching for a recipe for potato cakes! Have just read through every post on bee-keeping as I’ve always wanted to do this myself. A passionate gardener, I have always been worried that I would never be able to mow the grass or trim the hedges if I had beehives as this might anger or annoy them.
What do you think?
Regards and well done – a fantastic website
Denise
Hi Christine
Of course you haven’t rattled on for too long. I loved reading about your acre in The Forest of Dean.
Bad luck with the potatoes. I reckon that in 2008 we are going to have to bite the bullet and treat the ground if we want to grow pots. Unless we have an extended freezing patch between now and April. I am going to spray with Bordeaux Mixture – this can be used organically. HFW mentions that he uses it in his first bestselling book.
Great to here that your rescue chucks are doing well!
Fruit trees are a joy. We love ours. But we are battling with honey fungus (loves apple, pear and quince trees). We’ve lost a handful to this daemon.
It’s great that you are enjoying the site. Thanks so much for leaving a comment.