Is having to look at his electricity usage in attempt to combat the ever rising price of main grid electricity. Not really something we have to worry about up here, but the way we live up here is something that can easily be adopted by some.
Firstly, all houses on the isle have a 3kw limit to the amount of electricity they can use. Nothing beats a limit to make you sit back & see the things you really dont need and are in thereselves nothing but a waste of fuel.
We dont have electric ovens, kettles, toasters, gadgets, gismo’s. We cook using bottled gas which costs us £140 per year, hot water comes from either the wind power or the multifuel stove in the lounge.
We run 3 freezers & keep them well stocked up, each year, 1 cow, 2 pigs, 9 lambs & 30 chickens go into the freezer & this is added to in the summer with up to 180kg of freshly caught fish, as the freezers empty I fill the spaces with baked goods to ensure the freezers always run on the most economical settings.
Our electric fencing is run by 3 x 12v energisers, each small unit can power up to 2km of fencing wire, powered by batteries which are charged when we are on wind power using a low voltage charger, this provides more than enough for our needs for 4 pig runs, cows, sheep & ESA .
There are always ways to improve your power usage, you just have to put your mind to it & be open to suggestion. But yes, we are lucky up here, the isle has its own electricity company, we receive no national grid power what so ever & our quarterly bills are half what you lot on the mainland will be paying, but then we have far higher costs of living overall, so still constantly find ways to make financial cutbacks.
Does’nt look all that much does it…. But, when you wait 7 months for the summer timetable for our island ferry to return, bringing with it a once per fortnight day trip to Lerwick (4.5hrs there, 5hr stop, 4.5hrs return journey) meaning you can, or rather the hubby can, head for the co-op & pick up bags of mixed leaf salads, pots of fresh basil, coriander, watercress, tomato’s on the vine & deli sliced ham rather than the pre packed bernard M rubbish we get in the winter, this was the sarnie that was worth that 7month wait. Ohh boy did the tastebuds tingle.
Cow’s are out, Sunday am saw them gaining freedom from the byre with a mini stampede of high jinks & excitement, its great seeing them all outside enjoying the warm sunshine again & the wee bull, who’s just over a yr old now, was quick to get down to establishing just who is boss in the field now, we should see a huge difference in him over the summer, this will be the year he does most of his growing & maturing, i’m just keeping my fingers crossed he keeps his excellent temperament and manners, he’s certainly going to be a handsome begger when he’s filled out.
Been spending some (albeit it not a lot as it was to fantastic a day to be inside) time researching in the hope of bringing in a house cow this summer, trouble is we … I have my heart set on a Jersey, im very practically minded & am thinking about the quality of cream & cheese . The native Shetland cows do make good milkers, but the quality of the milk is a long way off from a Jersey when it comes to clotted cream, butter & cheese, I know there are one or two folks on Shetland who keep Jerseys, but finding them is proving the hard bit.
The first of the turkey eggs we moved into the hatcher has hatched today revealing a healthy wee lavender baby, 2 more are in the throws of hatching at the moment with another 3 pipped & set to follow.
Filed under: Chickens, Crofting, Island Life, Pigs, Self Sufficiency, Turkeys, animals
The first of the turkey eggs have just been moved from incubator to hatcher, so we sit with crossed fingers in the hope that a few of them will get through to hatching. Turkeys are well known for being hard to hatch.
That tumbling mass of newly born piglets doubled in size in just 5 days & are all now venturing outside & joining mum in exploring the piggy run. They all have homes waiting for them when they are 10 weeks old, demand has far outstripped this litter, we have orders for 5 weaners rolled over to the next litter, & we are bringing in another young sow & even with 2 sows, each having 2 litters a year, we still wont produce enough organic pork to match the interest we have.
I seem to be getting on well with getting everything planted & sown on time, or at least, im not behind with anything. The 80 broad beans are almost big enough to head out to the cold frame & harden out before planting them in the pea/bean area & the cabbage, broccoli & cauli’s will follow suit shortly afterwards. I’ve done over 200ft of carrots, still another 3 sewings to go & then 400ft of swede & beet.
