Our Farm Diary

When we first viewed our now farm, we took a stroll through the garden with the estate agent and came upon a little gate we asked what was through the gate for the estate agent to say he had no idea (bless him, he wasn't the most helpful but anyway). So, we decided to go on a little voyage of discovery. Through the tiny gate under the leaning archway was what looked like a tiny pond surrounded by overgrown shrubs and bushes. Ric's face lit up like he'd struck gold and it was

Life often pulls us in many directions. We hear advice to work harder, eat #healthier, #exercise more, and enjoy life to the fullest, whilst making sure we get enough sleep, maintain #relationships etc. Yet, extremes in any area can lead to #stress, #burnout, or dissatisfaction. The key to a fulfilling life lies in balance, as my Great Grandfather used to say 'everything in moderation'. This approach helps us enjoy the good things without tipping into excess or deprivation. T

If you’ve signed up to our #newsletters, you’ll be receiving mini updates from the #farm regularly (if you want to sign up to our newsletter for free, click here ) but if you haven’t you might be missing out. So, we thought it was about time we did a little farm update with what’s been going on around the Evans & Moose farm over the last few weeks or so. Typically, January and February are quieter for us on the farm, the #willow has been harvested and is in storage drying rea

February often gets overlooked. It’s the shortest month of the year, squeezed between the cold of January and the promise of spring in March. A stepping stone waiting to be jumped across, with very few people stopping to admire the view on the way. Yet, February holds a unique charm that deserves more attention. It is a month filled with renewal, connection, and a celebration of love in many forms. We felt February deserved a little love letter of it's own, inviting you to ap

One of the best things about January is that it allows us time to slow down and prepare for the spring. It can feel like everything has ground to a halt and the month has gained more days from somewhere but really, January gets a bad rep… It’s a period of rest and recuperation as well as promise and preparation. Filling up the bird feeders and observing what arrives whilst spending ten minutes looking at what’s already growing in the borders will show you just how much life i

If you follow us on social media (if not, please do!), you'll have seen that at the beginning of the week we launched something we've been busy working on and are very excited to share with you, 'The Considered Living Collective'. The Considered Living Collective is a space where living a considered, slower paced, seasonal life is both explored and celebrated. It’s no secret that the speed of modern life is contributing to the decline in people’s mental health, yet it can som

Right, first things first, if you've followed our #renovation journey so far, you might have noticed that some of the photos in our posts aren't your typical staged influencer pictures... firstly, we're not influencers. We share our journey as normal people, soaking up whatever weird, mundane or magical thing life throws at us, hoping to bring some down to earth #realism to the staged world that is sometimes presented to us on those tiny screens! Secondly, part of simple livi

Ok, so it's a little under the first year since the #willow cuttings went into the ground but it feels like the right time to blog about our progress so far as we reach the end of the first season. If you've followed our social media accounts (and if not, why not?!) you might have seen that back in march we set about planting over 300 willow cuttings in one of our tops fields. Let's back track... we've been on our own farm now for about two and a half years, but we decided no

When we were looking to purchase our own smallholding, the space for our business to grow and thrive was a non negotiable so, when we viewed our now farm, the old Shippon was the perfect candidate for the forge. Some of it, as you may already have seen, has been transformed in our floristry and willow workshop with the other half now occupied by our forge and blacksmith's workshop! Firstly, we had to get the forge from our previous property two hours away. Armed with an Enter

So, a farmhouse is never truly complete without a pantry so we decided that, what was the utility room, needed to have a bit of an upgrade and become a self sufficient enthusiasts dream storage space. This needed to be a multipurpose space, where we could store the dogs' bits and bobs, do laundry, be a walk in pantry and, provide a space for our farming jackets and overalls etc. The previous owners left us with a handy storage bench which, combined with an open space to hang

It's no secret that as autumn and winter set in, many people feel mixed emotions ranging from fatigue and lack of energy to full blown sadness. In this post we've included five easy ways to help cope as the nights draw in. If we look at the principles of slow, seasonal living, we're encouraged to embrace the longer nights as a time of reflection, self care, creativity and most importantly, as a time of reset. Many people don't realise it, but during the spring and summer, the

When we were looking at houses, space for a home office was a must and after some minor #renovations and some major #redecorating the home office we've created makes working from home a dream! It's certainly one of my favourite rooms in the house. Office when we first viewed the property. It's not the biggest room but with a few handmade bespoke pieces of furniture we've created a workable space for two people as well as being home to a few decent size techy bits, lots of boo

The old small cattle shed screamed out to be utilised as one of our #workshops. We decided it would be better suited to the #floristry and #willow side of Evans & Moose, already having a slate roof and thick stone walls meant any flowers stored in there would stay nice and cool. A simple #renovation for one of the first we tackled. Step one? Clear out all the rubbish! The space had mainly been used as a wood and coal store by the previous owners so we needed to clear out all

They say #moving house is one of the most stressful things you do in your life, I don't know who 'they' are but let me tell you... they are correct! Well partially. We actually didn't find the moving part so stressful, despite the fact we were moving a business and a menagerie of #animals as well, it was the searching part that got us. We had always said we would move wherever the right house was, location was on the lower end of the tick list, this didn't sit well with a few

So, in just under a month, we'll have had the keys to our very own little slice of #YnysMôn for two whole years... considering it took us well over a decade to get here, it still feels like a dream! It certainly is a dream come deservedly true. Over the past two years we've been focused on #renovation and #decoration and found all the trials and tribulations of renovating a period property on a budget. We've also discovered new skills and new not so skills... s

What a year it's been!

Ok, so I might have underestimated how long it had been since we last published a blog post... I looked back at the date on the last one and was quite shocked to see it had been over a year! Sorry about that! Now we know getting your #business out there is a lot about maintaining a presence online in whatever form, but let's be honest, sometimes life is just too busy to document, too busy to allow you to stop and take stock of what's around you and this last year has been no

We've been wanting to write this little farm update blog post for ages now but it just didn't seem right writing about all the great things #spring holds while there was snow on the ground... (at the risk of sounding very British, what about this weather hey?!) but, fingers crossed, just like the bluebells lining our woods, it's finally safe to poke our heads above ground and enjoy the spring sunshine! Not that we've been hiding away, we've been busy with lots of projects at

So it's been just over a month since we officially launched Evans and Moose!

We're really pleased that you're taking the time to have a look around our site so thank you! If you've read through our about us page, you'll have seen the simplified version of what Evans and Moose is but it's about time you meet the people behind it. So we're using our first blog post to introduce you to us! ​So hello from us, Ric and Hannah Evans (we'll introduce you to Moose a bit further down)! Having weathered our fair share of life's storm clouds, we knew the time was