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Brewing Our Own Botanical Beers

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This year we have taken the opportunity to get homebrewing again and so far, we've made over 200 pints... All vegan and organic, using mainly foraged herbs and flowers, along with organic sugar and malt extract, yeast and pure spring water. We started out making our old favourite - nettle, goosegrass and ginger with a few dandelion petals thrown in for good measure.  Next up was the very popular lemon balm and lavender and then we decided to purchase some dried hops...we visited a small organic brewery where we were treated to a little tour and were able to buy a couple of different types of hops - one quite bitter and the other more floral. This resulted in a light, hoppy lemon balm bitter.    Our fourth brew was using the floral hops with rosemary and lavender, then using the floral hops again - we made a hops and lavender beer, which wasn't so good. We think the bitter hops would have worked better...nevertheless it's still very drinkable. Our latest be

How To Build Community

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It's been over 8 months since we moved to this fabulous place and we are continually amazed by the wonderful people who come along and share our space. We absolutely love the sense of community and being around such thoughtful, creative people. We've spent lots of time outside...  And helping to make shared meals... We have made many new friends...   Had the kidlets visit... And enjoyed time with all the furry friends... Flea and Lupe have settled in and got used to the other animals being around, though we doubt they'll ever make friends with any of them... Ziggy  Team Cotna Outdoor farm kitties. Life is good and we are so happy and grateful to be here. Kay and Sime xx

Preparing For Our Next Adventure

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Here are some photos of the barn we are moving into at the weekend. We will be sharing the main barn with folks on working holidays. The view from the barn across the land. The barn is made from straw bales. The end of the main barn and the smaller attached barn used for holiday lets/retreats. The outdoor solar shower. The compost loos. One end of the main barn with our bedroom on the right. The other end of the barn -  with kitchen, dining and living space... And this wonderful large stove which is perfect for us. We are very excited to be on the moving on to a new adventure and closing the door to the little house by the sea. Love Kay and Sime xx