Hazel, willow, beef and storytelling from Bedfordshire

Posts in category Woodland

Sawflies munched my hazel

Sawflies munched my hazel

It would be great to have more time to… well for all sorts of things. Spending time with spouse, children and friends comes top even though I know I’m luckier than most in that regard. Playing music, singing, walking, cooking, cycling, reading. That list could be a long and pitiful one so let’s stop there!A […]

Basket making day success

Basket making day success

We hosted a day of basket making last Sunday in our wood, led by Bedford tutor, Ed Burnett. The sun shone, the wood was lovely, all was mellow and some lovely baskets got made. Thanks to Ed for great clarity, patience and good humour! Here are a couple of pictures of the day; we’ll get more on our […]

Learn to carve a spoon

Learn to carve a spoon

Martin Hazell will be back with us on Saturday 14 September, this time to pass on some of his amazing skills in carving wooden spoons. Spoon carving is one of the easiest ways to dabble in green woodworking – it requires few specialist tools and no workshop; you can do it pretty much anywhere and there are […]

Helping with a hedge

Helping with a hedge

I’ve spent a couple of days helping lay a hedge on a neighbour’s farm over the last fortnight which has been good if extremely cold. It’s an excellent example of the benefits of the environmental grant schemes that have been and are still available to farmers.  This hedge was planted along with a couple of small […]

Bean poles, pea sticks, hedge stakes&...

Bean poles, pea sticks, hedge stakes…

I got into the swing of hazel over Christmas and have cut a bit now. I like to cut a little, process it, then cut more; that way, by alternating activity, I avoid spending too much time doing either (and the associated muscle pain), but more important it avoids creating a cat’s-cradle of fallen stems that’s a pain to unravel.I’ve […]

Fascines

Fascines

We’re doing a bit of experimental work making willow ‘fascines ‘ for a potential client in Cambridgeshire. This is an interesting diversion and work so far suggests that we will be able do the business using a mix of living sallow, Salix caprea, and a couple of our plantation-grown willows (species and varieties yet to […]

Wood bog – all dressed up and n...

Wood bog – all dressed up and no one to go

In the usual run of things, I wouldn’t usually have much to say on the subject of  ‘the toilet’. Poor hygiene or a complete absence can of course be irksome, but that’s about as far as I would usually go. However, for some months I’ve been searching the net for bog blogs and tales of alfresco pooing. Suddenly I’m fired up […]

Hazel pea sticks and bean poles ̵...

Hazel pea sticks and bean poles – still some available

We have been sold plenty of hazel pea sticks and bean poles during the last month. I know the weather here has been more autumn than spring and it sounds like we may have to wait a few days for some warmth, but if you have been putting off thinking about supporting your climbing or leggy […]

The shape of trees

The shape of trees

I photographed this sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus, last winter and have looked at the perfect sycamore shape on screen and on the  farm, regularly through the summer, and found myself pondering about how trees become tree-shaped and how or even why a sycamore is sycamore-shaped whereas an English oak, Quecus robur tends to be oak-shaped. I know there’s loads of variation within […]

Inspiration at Rawhaw Wood

Inspiration at Rawhaw Wood

Last week we had a trip to Northamptonshire to visit Caroline Church and Hugh Ross who own, manage and live in Rawhaw Wood. Trading under the name Hazel Woodland Products, Hugh and Caroline, were kind enough to spare a couple of hours to show Jane, myself and our friends and makers of things, Martin and […]