A couple of weeks ago I built a four metre long tunnel using hazel poles. This was for a client who is developing a great garden and wants to grow more veg. She spent the day helping which was great too. The idea is to create something that will carry climbing plants – lots of […]
Jane’s been at Randall’s Farm today running a training course called “Storytelling in Environmental Education” for the Wildlife Trust. The course was designed for anyone already working in an area where storytelling could add to what they do. There were Forest School practitioners, Wildlife Trust staff as well as others who lead guided walks and […]
Sorting willow for length We’ve started cutting willow at last. At this early stage, as usual, it feels like an ordeal, but we’ve made some progress this week and the weather has been fairly kind – just an hour of rain so far. The quality seems good this year although in some varieties quantities are […]
For the second time in the last month, I saw a little egret, Egretta garzetta, on the farm this morning. It’s a big white bird and very much a relative of the grey heron which we see pretty regularly around the fields. Although this one, we saw at a distance of several hundred metres, there’s no […]
Finally we’re running on rain water and I’m feeling great about it. It took ages to get around to sorting out the various stages involved in getting the roof of the barn connected to a massive tank and then to a trough inside. For the last few weeks the supply has been nothing more than a […]
Taking money, as we do, from the EU through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, sometimes bothers me. Partly that’s due to a bit of guilt in taking public money for what could be seen as private gain and partly because it’s got to be better not to be so reliant on a grant that inevitably will end at some point. However, […]
Starting to collect sticks together for some hurdle jobs and hedge stakes, I’ve been cutting sallow or goat willow, Salix caprea. Now I know some of you will scoff at my use of willow for hedge stakes. Actually I know some of you will get quite cross about it. Everyone knows that willow will grow if used in a hedge, so […]
We own a book by Eddie Straiton called ‘Cattle Ailments, recognition and treatment’ (The Crowood Press), which, when it arrived a few years ago, I glanced through quickly and have rarely felt inclined to pick up since. My reluctance is no reflection on the book’s relevance. Rather, the graphic illustrations reveal my squeamish side and I have […]
For several years I’ve vaguely noticed this flower in a couple of road-side ditches in Gravenhurst and mentally labelled it as butterbur. The other day, seeing it flowering, I took a step into a ditch alongside Campton Road to take a closer look and a picture. Later, when looking at this image on-screen and thinking to find something out about the plant, […]
Rather unexpectedly, it’s dark and white this morning; obviously we need to keep more of an eye on the forecast, as we hadn’t noticed it was on the way. Fairly typical southern English snow – wet and sloppy and the temperature is hovering above freezing. Actually now that the cattle are inside, we feel a bit like whatever happens […]