RUNNING YOUR HOME (OR BOAT!): I will take care of the day to day running of your home in as many or as few ways as you prefer. If you regularly walk your dogs, I'll try to stick to the same schedule. (NB long walks will be difficult but short/medium length walks fine.) I take care of it if there are vet visits lined up, or plumbers scheduled, or a weekly char or gardener to pay ... and so on.

PRESENCE ON THE PROPERTY: I know that one of the purposes of my presence in your home is to deter criminals. I will be on the premises every night, and most days will be working from your home, but may also go out shopping or sight-seeing, or relaxing. It isn't possible to promise never to leave your home empty, but I will take care of your property as I would my own home.

BOATS: We have lived on our own (blue-water sailing) boat, and now on our own narrow boat, and have had other smaller boats too - I am thus experienced with the little nuances of boat care. Every skipper has his/her own preferences though, and I'll follow your list of instructions for your own boat.

ANIMALS: Dogs, cats, and other household pets, are no problem, and we're happy to do chickens and ducks and geese. Horses/ ponies/ donkeys in a field at the back would be also be lovely. Sadly, due to a back problem, I can no longer ride horses, or do heavy grooming (light is fine). I lived on farms on and off most of my life, and my sister farms cattle and sheep, but I don't have a lot of hands-on experience with looking after pigs, sheep, or cattle other than keeping an eye on them to make sure they look healthy and aren't lame. I love being on farms, and if you have farm hands taking care of the heavy stuff like mucking out, I am happy to farm-sit!

CARE OF YOUR HOME: I will keep the parts of your home that I use clean and tidy. We're non-smokers, and virtually non-drinkers; we lead quiet lives. I will not have parties in your home, and any visitors will be a select few - direct family and maybe one or two close friends, all trusted by myself, whom I'll let you know about ahead of time. There will be no smoking or drinking in your home by our guests, either; our friends are similar in nature to ourselves.

GARDENING: I am happy to do light gardening work such as watering and a little weeding, pond care, light raking, etc. I cannot dig due to my back problems, so heavier stuff isn't possible. If you leave instructions for general care of the garden, all should be fine.

PAYMENT, BILLS, ETC:  I don't charge for taking care of your home. I expect to buy my own foodstuffs and beverages, and pay for any phone calls I may make (unlikely), and any other personal expenses. On short and medium term sits it is normal for the house owner to continue to pay regular monthly bills that he/she would cover anyway, such as phone line, internet, TV licenses, electricity, water, rates, and so on. Longer term sits: Bills are negotiable depending on the house sit duration.

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