August 2017 and the frugal living challenge continues

Where do I start? It was another tremendously busy month at Frugaldom but it didn't stop there: August was as busy on the home front as it was at the field and at the caravans, with work exchange students, holiday makers and the next investment to join the realms of the Frugaldom project. 😊
Work on the main yard seemed relentless but we finally got to the top layer and even during the very wettest days of summer, we had no puddles or floods in this area.

 At Frugaldom, we had several visits from little people wanting to play with ponies, search for beasties, make things, learn more and explore the willow dens. This frst one is progressing well and has sprouted so much that we need to coppice the new growth.

In the Thrift Cottage orchard, there were apples galore to be picked and processed. It would seem that our regular apple crumble with custard habit has now been carried back to several European countries, thanks to it proving to be a hot favourite with all the students.

 August saw several visitors arrive at Frugaldom and on one particular weekend, we had a jolly get together after moving more hay - I think there were about a dozen off us took part in the most fun-filled archery tournament ever and then had a great chatty night of giggles and laughs.

 It wasn't all play and no work, we made a serious start on schooling ponies to get tem accustomed to some of the work they will be doing in the future. All 3 ponies have now been ridden and are continuing their training barefoot and bitless. We don't need metal!

 Willow takes absolutely everything in her stride and is ready to join in or take part in anything at all! Eldest grand daughter has been practicing her grooming, mane pleating and pony leading skills, as well as having her first bareback riding lessons on our medicine hat 'spirit' pony. I'm still intrigued by native American tales of these unusual ponies and hope Willow will live up to expectations as a fabulous companion.

 Over the past almost 2 years we have been introducing heritage variety apples to Frugaldom. Our longterm aim is to farm these apples for supplying locally and for trading from Frugaldom. The trees are now 2 and 3 years old, so the first of them bore enough fruit to allow us to try several things with them - cooking them into crumbles, chutney and sauce. The Galloway Pippins are lovely apples and are also tasty eating apples. We haven't tried cider making with them.

Our orchard project will be expanded year on year, as we clear and prepare more growing space. We'll be focussing mainly on the apples but now have a mixed orchard of pears, plums and cherries as well as the apples. Now that we have the lean-to, I plan on experimenting with grapes and hardy kiwis.

 
 As you'll have noticed, keeping up with blogging has been very difficult but that should hopefully, now, be brought back under control and I'll be able bring us all up to date now I can get online anytime. This is the latest gadget to hit the Frugaldom family - the Huawei sim-operated mini wifi hub on pay as you go data! I LOVE IT! It can provide internet access via wifi for up to 9 connections, so now it's easy to get online from the caravan. Now all I need to do is get online from the barn and we're sorted!

 Chickens have been laying eggs daily and providing a regular supply for fellow caravan residents at the holiday park. With only 4 lating hens, we have still managed to sell a dozen or so each week and still have enough leftover for home use. Once the next 3 hens start laying, we should be able to sell a few more during 2018, when 4 out of the 7 hens should be laying blue eggs.

During quieter, more reflective moments, I have had the great pleasure to be able to clamber onto spirit pony and sit with her as she carries on being a pony. I know that this sort of 'riding' is not recommended, nor is it seen as safe, but we are strongly focussing on a much more holistic approach to horse-keeping here, a method that is based on trust and allowing ponies to live the way nature intended.

With plans afoot to open our Galloway pony heritage trail by 2020, our ponies will need to be well used to all sorts of events and activities by then, so August was also a fun month for pony play school. Frankie, Willow and Pippin could be representing the ancestors of some of the greatest horses the world has ever known. Who'd have thought that their common denominator would be the humble Galloways?

There was so much going on throughout August that I'm cutting this blog post off here and doing a second August one - announcing the next phase of our frugal project - the long awaited frugal living experience that we first set out to offer several years ago. Follow our progress on Facebook and get updates via Twitter or hang on in there and wait for the next installment of the frugal blog. 

Frugaldom’s World War 1 Centenary Woodland

By NYK Media as part of www.frugalblog.co.uk

• #Eco Arts
• #Gardening
• #Foraging
• #Wildlife
• #The Frugaldom Project

World War 1 Centenary Woodland Project

Phase 3 of our planting began this month with the arrival of our next tree pack from the Woodland Trust, after being awarded a place in their World War 1 Centenary Woodland project last year.

Frugaldom was accepting onto this scheme last year, receiving our first tree pack for planting in November 2014. The planting is part of a nationwide project to plant millions of native trees throughout Britain and, thanks to generous funding from lead partners Sainsbury’s, IKEA FAMILY, players of People’s Postcode Lottery and Yorkshire Tea, the Woodland Trust is awarding the free tree packs to all those taking part in the planting. Trees are essential - we need trees!

The woodlands that these new trees create will become living memorials to commemorate all men, women, children and animals who were affected by the outbreak of the First World War. Here at Frugaldom, we hope to plant a new phase of our woodland every year from 2014 to 2019.

After starting our edible hedging last year with the hazels, sloes and elders, we have now filled in many of the gaps with crab apples to form a wild food foraging area near the barn. Pictured here is... read more here

Published by NYK Media

Ecoart Sculptures and Last of the Galloways

Updates from our Facebook Page

Frugaldom and the Frugal Living & Working Challenge

 

Latest Photos from Frugaldom

      

Frugaldom is a very interesting and exciting land development project combining agriculture with horticulture and the Arts. I can highly recommend the fabulously affordable and extremely comfortable accommodation as a rural getaway for anyone interested in the great outdoors, art, photography, writing and/or wildlife. Try one of Frugaldom's Frugal Breaks and sample the place for yourself.

Art in the making - the Frugaldom horse is really taking shape. As part of our Ecoarts project, this represents the 'Last of the Galloways' our native ponies that once grazed the hills and moors of Galloway and the surrounding areas before being spread throughout the British isles and bred out of existence.

Ecoarts at Frugaldom

Reverse angle showing the sculpture still in the early stages. This sculpture is a life size portrayal of a native Galloway pony and will stand proud at Frugaldom one day soon.

Fruit, glorious fruit!

First of the plums and apples from the garden are simmering with some raspberries for the first of this year's mixed fruit jelly. What preserves are you planning this autumn?

This assortment of fruit was simmered in a little water until soft then the resulting juices strained through a sieve and made up to half a litre. I added 500g of sugar and boiled it for approximately 10 minutes until it reached setting point, then decanted it into a large, sterilised jar. Nothing else is added as the apples provide all the natural pectin needed. Some people add a slither of butter to help clarify the resulting jelly but this is not necessary.

Please get in contact if you have any questions regarding Frugaldom, our frugal living and money challenges or our ecoarts project.

This is an experimental blog post to test out the compatibility of Facebook with the option to blog from there via Windows Live while also offering us the chance to spread the frugal news further afield by way of sharing on social media. Hopefully, readers will be able to see the photos and link back to our Facebook page, bringing a little bit more interactivity during the early stages of developing the Frugaldom Project.

Published by NYK Media on the Frugaldom blog as part of the Scottishmultimedia web project

Frugal Breaks in Scotland

Well, here’s what I have been doing during my somewhat lengthy absence from frugal blogging – taking the next step in providing our frugal friends, families and fellow money-saving challengers the opportunity to sample Frugaldom life for themselves.

Escape to the country and enjoy a frugal holiday.

Get back to nature in the Scottish countryside with a short break to sample rural living at a price you can afford. Try our budget self-catering accommodation in a holiday caravan at Three Lochs in the beautiful Dumfries and Galloway region of southwest Scotland. Relax and unwind, bring your walking boots, swimming costume, fishing rods and/or golf clubs and avail yourself of some Scottish hospitality, safe in the knowledge that your Frugal Break won't break the bank!

Followers of Frugaldom (Facebook, Twitter, Website, Forums or Blog) will know that our main aim is to make a good life affordable to all and that should include a break from the norm. Our answer to this is to give you the opportunity to find out about Frugaldom for yourself, right here next to the project.

We are now offering this comfortable, 3-bedroom static caravan, which is fully equipped with all the basics you will need for sampling our frugal lifestyle, for short breaks and frugal holidays. For added luxury, the following are all available FREE to our guests:

• WiFi
• Satellite television (free channels only)
• DVD player
• Indoor heated swimming pool
• 9-hole golf course
• Fishing loch
• Nature walks
• Squirrel hide
• Wet weather family games supplied (cards, board games, dominoes etc.)

We enjoy an elevated position here with views of nearby Loch Heron and the surrounding countryside and wildlife. There is easy access parking by the caravans and you are guaranteed to have frugal neighbours who can show you the sites and give you a tour of Frugaldom, which is less than a mile's walk, cycle or drive from the holiday park. (For the more adventurous, there are tent pitches available.)

The caravan is accessed by 4 steps leading up onto the 40' wooden decking, which provides adequate outdoor seating for enjoying lazy afternoons and evenings in the sunshine. A container garden provides fresh herbs for cooking and freshly picked sweet gale, grown nearby at the Frugaldom project, helps deter our Scottish midges. The location is adjacent to a small woodland where we have our bird feeding stations, which can be viewed from the caravans.

The open plan kitchen is fully equipped with gas cooker, microwave, toaster, fridge freezer, electric kettle and slow cooker plus everything you need for an enjoyable self catering holiday. There is a small shop on site for any additional items you may need, but we can include basics like tea, coffee and sugar.

The main living and dining areas are spacious, light and comfortable with adequate seating for friends and family. The caravan has 1 double room, one twin room, one single room with space for travel cot, which can be provided, and a foldaway double bed in the living room.

Bring your camera to catch a shot of the resident woodpeckers or watch for the red squirrels. The area has an abundance of wildlife and a good population of owls. If you are lucky you may spot a red kite or white tailed sea eagle soaring overhead between here and Frugaldom.

Prices start from £50 per night plus £5 per person for linen pack. You can, of course, choose to bring your own bedding and towels to save a few pounds extra.

We accept PayPal and all bookings must be paid in full a minimum of one week prior to arrival. Optional extras are available, like grocery packs and outdoor activities such as pony trekking, bike hire, air rifle shooting, archery, clay pigeon shooting, boat hire and fly fishing.

There is a small shop and laundry facilities on site, plus the indoor heated swimming pool, children's activity play area, BBQ hut and small skate park for use by residents and holiday makers. A woodland walk takes you around Loch Heron.

We should be able to start taking bookings from next week and I have already made a start on putting together a few photos and details for the webpage, which can be found at www.frugalbreaks.co.uk

NB: Frugal Breaks will offer booking concessions to 'Friends of Frugaldom' for any crafting, artwork, fitness, equestrian, tree planting, wild food foraging or other outdoor workshops we may organise.

Published by NYK Media as part of the Frugal Blog – helping make the good things in life affordable.

Frugal Living from Scratch 2

 

Part 2 of 2: Getting right back to basics - Each step forward can be seen as another step back towards the starting line. Each tiny achievement marks the successful completion of part of your lifelong challenge, your quest for freedom. Along the way you will meet many sceptics, cynics and even a few cheats and liars whose only ploys are to get your money. As long as you have your 'get out of jail free' card then you know you'll be back in the game soon.

So here I am, sat in my latest home, looking out the window at a pretty grey and wet day with 'pretty' being the most important word in that sentence. The curtains are quite awful, but that's an easily remedied problem once I get around to making some new ones. Perhaps I'll add a pelmet or even some nets, who knows? I haven't decided yet. For now, the curtains serve the purpose of shutting out some of the cold at night.

Most of my days will now be spent between here and Frugaldom, planting and sowing, clearing and cleaning, plotting and planning and wading through all the meetings that these projects seem to involve. The site where we have the caravan is quite busy with fishermen, so I'm managing to hog the satellite wifi connection very easily from my makeshift office corner. It has great views and has all the facilities I could possibly need.

Buying a bigger caravan and siting in on a holiday park may seem like a major luxury to some - indeed, it has already been commented upon! However, this suits our needs and was within a strict budget. Now my new neighbours will know who and where I am, as this lot's sitting outside the caravan waiting to be built into the new decking. I can't wait to see it completed and then I'll be ready for welcoming visitors. I'm using this week as a trial run to work out what is needed, having come here on Friday with only the barest essentials. There's hot water and a heated towel rail, hand washing items of clothing isn't a problem. (Neighbours, if you happen to be reading this, come and introduce yourselves. Just make sure you get the right caravan, as I see several had decking delivered this week.)

This is frugal living! The little fridge is rather bare but I've cooked up some pasta salad, made some fruit jelly and strawberrry whip for desserts and will waste nothing - anything else is from a packet and most of it is vegetarian until I get the groceries brought over from the house. Meals are interesting! I had a box of individual milk portions at the office caravan that came free with an Approved Food order some time ago, so I decanted all of their contents into a jug and used it to bake some rice pudding with sultanas. Had some for lunch today and can have the rest as breakfast, snacks or pudding tomorrow.

Each of the tiny milk cartons has been washed and will be used to plant a single pea, so I can have some home produce. No point wasting good cartons when they can be put to good use. This is frugal living - waste not, want not. We'll grow what we can wherever we can and hope to have enough produce to swap and share. It's just a little chilly out to expect miracles at the moment.

This is my frugal life! The view of our barn dwarfed by the snowy Galloway Hills on the horizon is an awesome reminder of how small we all are in the grand scale of life. Only we can choose how we live and if we choose to live in a simple way then so be it. We don't own the land even when we buy it, the land ultimately owns us and will dictate what grows where, no matter what. Frugaldom is very much about watching the lie of the land and working out what might do best where and when in the future. Some people choose to spend their money on a big house, expensive jewellery, a luxury car, designer labels or visiting foreign and exotic places - we choose this.

Tree planting on a chilly but sunny day, overlooked by hills and snow, with the sheer joy of this being no more than a short walk from home - for some it is a nightmare they would never want to have but for others, it's their lives' work, investing in a better future.

Just to make sure we truly appreciated these days of walking, fetching, carrying, digging and tree planting, we were honoured by the presence of this beautiful bird in flight as it soared above us on our walk between field and caravan - the Red Kite has reached Frugaldom.

Believe it or not, in the beginning it is quite difficult to stop spending money when you're on a roll - no matter what you buy, it becomes a habit, just like smoking, drinking, gambling, even clothes, shoes, handbags or hobby stuff. We each justify our spending but any manner of excuses but we are wise to remember that the ends justify the means - and I'd rather end up with the freedom to soar wherever frugal life takes me. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that, but taking your first flight of fancy into your own future of freedom is like starting from scratch over and over again. You just need to quit spending on stuff that weighs you down, then spread your wings and work like crazy to reach each goal.

Join us in Frugaldom, give up spending on what you don't need and shape yourself a new and affordable lifestyle while you invest in your future.

Frugal Living from Scratch 2

Frugaldom Project April 2015 Part 2

Easter weekend and the weather is finer than it's been all week, This morning, the sun shone and work continued at Frugaldom. I was absolutely delighted when the phone rang to say that the fencing of corral #1 had been completed and was eager to pour over the resulting photos, so here goes... the culmination of a lifelong ambition to have a post and rail paddock!

Not much to say about this as the pictures speak louder than words, so I hope you enjoy seeing the progress being made at the Frugaldom project, here in southwest Scotland. I have published a separate post here detailing our unusual fund-raising event, whereby individuals or businesses can 'Tag a post at Frugaldom for £10' by as an additional way of pledging support.

To the left of this line of fencing we are in the process of planting a new willow bed and strip of woodland comprising birch, hazel and rowan, which can all tolerate the boggy ground during wet weather. Beyond that is the second corral, which we hope to fence sometime in the not too distant future.

This is looking towards the yard and what will become the start of our planned willow walk, which was being pegged out last month when planting the willow cuttings.

Now we need to finish painting the barn and getting all of these front posts tagged before the next phase of work can begin. It shouldn't be long before the grass starts growing, so I'm going to try to flatten out the tractor ruts next week.

This is looking straight across at the second corral, which will eventually be separated from this one by a new willow bed that will be coppiced for crafting materials. Beyond corral #2 is bog myrtle or sweet gale and to the right, you can just see the tree protectors from all the new crab apples we planted around the little quarry in November.

I don't think I will ever get tired of the view from here, it is just amazing. I've now seen it at dawn, at dusk, in sunshine and with snow on the Galloway Hills. I've also seen it disappear in torrential rain, but this is Scotland, all of the above could have occurred within the same day.

Final view of corral #1 at Frugaldom, looking towards what we call bracken hill and the future willow walk. Once things begin to grow, you may soon see traces of the willow hide I planted late last year. I hope it takes root and begins to grow soon.

That about wraps it up for this evening. To find out more about what's happening on a day to day basis, register free to join the forum and look for the dedicated 'Frugaldom Project' section.

Aside from this, I am still pursuing my challenge to slash the grocery budget to £5 per person per week and have managed, so far, to get it down to less than £1 per person per day. You can find more about that in the 2015 Challenge section of www.frugalforums.co.uk

See you all there!

NYK Media in Frugaldom.

Frugaldom Project April 2015 Part 2

Frugaldom Project April 2015

Part 1 of 2 - Spring is here, the clocks have changed, we're eagerly awaiting the return of the swallows and 2015 work has now begun at Frugaldom. It kicked off with tree planting in March, which will continue until we have another 600 trees in the ground. 420 of these are part of the Woodland Trust's WW1 Centenary Woodland project. Next up is building the first of the corrals...

To begin, I will recap on the long term plans for our outdoor, wilderness project, as it is the culmination of all the savings made over these past years of extreme frugal living. All details are covered in the forums, where members can follow all the updates. The frugal lifestyle will continue as the project progresses. This is so much more than just a simple retirement plan, this is something great that can be embraced, enhanced and enjoyed by future generations for years to come.

The Frugaldom Project encompasses almost 5 hectares (over 12 acres) of land in the Wigtownshire area of Southwest Scotland. The land has a main burn flowing around it, with a smaller stream flowing from that, The flood levels of the Black Burn, a tributary to the Bladnoch River, create our wetlands, which are covered in marsh grasses, sphagnum mosses, willow and sweet gale, otherwise known as bog myrtle. There is an abundance of heather and, in one raised area, plenty of bracken that now needs cutting and gathering.

The Black Burn forms a natural pond at the far end of the Frugaldom project, where water lilies, willow and tall grasses thrive - an ideal location for a hide, just as soon as we get around to clearing the path that leads there. We are simply expanding on what the local wildlife has already created, by way of their regular trek across the field.

Frugaldom has a large barn, a sturdy track leading to it and some hard standing for us parking & turning, although we would prefer that our visitors walked, cycled or rode on horseback to the project. (There will be seating, bike parking and horse hitching provided in the future.) It is our first wilderness project embracing frugal work, rest and play. The main project extends to approximately 10 acres and will eventually comprise the following, if all our plans come to fruition:

• Foraging and working woodland
• Gratitude garden - a specially designated area for dedicated plants, shrubs and trees in memory of those who are no longer with us
• Sensory garden - colourful, fragrant and part of a proposed willow walk
• Fruit, vegetable, herb and fruit growing (for picking/harvesting)
• Willow cultivation & coppicing for biomass, environmental art, our willow walk and weaving materials
• Bog Myrtle (sweet Gale) cultivation
• Heather cultivation
• Sphagnum Moss cultivation
• Arts and crafts from natural resources and recycling
• Ponds, marshland and bog gardens
• Wildlife habitat regeneration and conservation
• Wildlife hides for nature studies
• Wild flower meadow - we're taking part in WildGrow UK
• Environmental art / eco arts project
• Microholding - think mini smallholding for food production
• Permaculture - allowing the lay of the land to dictate what goes, grows or grazes where
• Native woodland regeneration - we're taking part in the Woodland Trust's World War I Centenary woodland project
• Frugal fitness - we are on a national cycling route with miles of good cycling, walking or running routes, off road and on, plus working in the great outdoors qualifies as getting fit, doesn't it?
• Rest areas, seating, bicycle parking, horse hitching
• The Corral project
• The Trading Post
• The Hitching Post
• The Barn - otherwise known as HQ

Frugaldom is set in an area of rural Scottish lowland countryside that will be worked as an off grid, frugal project, free for members to visit, help or support. Ideally, the barn could make an excellent visitor centre for passing cyclists, walkers, trekkers, local holiday-makers and fellow frugalers. Likewise, the project is ideal for writers, artists, photographers and crafters looking to relax, recharge and commune with nature. (We are right next to Euro Velo 1 detour cycle route 73 and about 3 or 4 miles off the Southern Upland Way.) The barn, or HQ, is a project in itself, as this will be the main headquarters for the project. We have no amenities on site, but rain water is being harvested from the barn roof, so we can water seedlings during dry seasons etc.

Yesterday, 2015 work began on the first of many of our projects - the corrals. These are small areas of land that sit above the wetlands, ideal for cultivating into pasture or for using as work space for a variety of activities.

There are two main areas that were temporarily fenced using old posts, logs and ropes. The two areas, once properly fenced, will be seperated by a small strip of woodland and a willow bed for future coppicing.

The fence-line has been realigned to increase the overall paddock size and we now have the tractor and fencers on site to move the logs and replace our makeshift fencing with rough sawn posts and rails. This is a major job for us, which meant investing in new posts and rails, hire of machinery and professional help, so we have a plan that may interest some of you. We are inviting people to literally 'sponsor a post' as soon as the corral is completed.

Each of these posts will be available for sponsoring and will feature an engraved medallion displaying the name of each sponsor taking part. You could include a personal name and date, a memorial to a favourite pet, a token memorial to a loved one or even just a tiny promotion for your blog, web site or company name. We have selected 2.5cm metal medallions, which will be engraved to your specifications and we promise to make this opportunity affordable to all. For the tiny sum of just £10, you can have your chosen name and date on the new Frugaldom corral.

Part 2 of this post is coming soon, I just need to wait for the pile of wood to turn into a corral post and rail fence. In the meantime, enjoy the Easter weekend wherever you are.

www.frugaldom.com

Frugaldom Project April 2015