I’ve been on my diploma journey for a few years, and hit a bit of a post half-way funk. Why am I doing this? Why has it become so burdonsome? What can I do to get going again? Do I want to carry on? These were amonst the questions on loop, in my head. Like many people I am demand avoidant, easily distracted, a productive procrastinator and find the slightest absurd excuse for not doing what I am supposed to…
Back in February, Storm Ciara hit the UK. I took some video to document the power of the water. This video is designed to be used as a tool to help us better design solutions to slow the flow of water, store water and work with the power of nature.
In Permaculture, great importance is given to Edge. Edge is where it ALL happens; A bit like a ring doughnut, all the great sugary sweetness is on the edge, then there is the soft yielding dough, and in the middle – not a lot. I have been thinking about edge a lot recently, especially as our physical interactions are reduced and we are more isolated. It is not easy to read body language on screen, and the nuances of a…
Hugelkultur, aka Hill culture, basically a raised garden beds filled with rotten wood. I have been rethinking my growing spaces. The top terrace will soon house ducks, and is surrounded by a native hedge. In hindsight planting this hedge, where I wanted to grow veg was a bit of a mistake. Yes, it provides shelter from the wind, but those bushes also feed from the soil, the blackthorn suckers and getting tangled in the dog rose is a pain, so…
For some years I have wanted a pond on our land. In May, this wish started to become a reality. Being at the lower end of a steep slope, we took some time to research the engineering aspects of placing a pond where we wanted it. Thank goodness for the internet, there really is a wealth of information out there, but it does take a lot of time to trawl through it all. The initial outline of the pond was…
It’s been a while since I last posted on here. Since my last post; Seeds have been sown; Cuttings are sprouting; Green manures are shooting up; Trees are sprouting; Fruit trees are blossoming; Goldfinches are feasting on dandelion seeds and a cuckoo has been heard! Today has been a big day – a digger arrived ready to start pond construction. The site has been marked out, so it won’t be long now. It is all very exciting. The pond will…
I harvested my first willow this winter. It is drying out in my lair, awaiting my attempts at making something. The willow was cut from my Fedge and Arches and also from some random whips I stuck in a couple of years back. For my birthday Andy bought me a days course at Creative With Nature in Todmorden. I managed (but only with expert guidance from Joe Gregory) to create a beautiful trophy stag (called Stefan) who will grace by beautiful…
One snowy Saturday in December Andy, I and Peggy the dog took a trip to the amazing new site of the Incredible Farm up at Lumbutts to purchase some lovely hardy fruit trees for the space at the back of our house. If you have never heard of Incredible Farm, go and seek them out – they do good things! I am hoping to get back to volunteering there again, but I need to concentrate on our farm at the…
We have been long awaiting the installation of our log/wood pellet boiler – fingers crossed this should be happening next week. In the meantime Will, our fabulous plumber and boiler expert has had to extend the flue to meet regulations. It has to be done, but boy is it a whopper. The question is how do I soften the impact of this large shiny pipe? One friend has suggested clipping pot holders to it; another suggestion id to grow climbers…
As the seasons change, and I realise summer has most definitely ended, I have taken time, while sitting inside watching trees bend in the wind to think about what I have achieved so far. I grew fruit and veg! Not all of it successfully, but that was the point! I grew little bits of lots of things to see what grew. 4 types of pea may have seemed excessive to some, but only 2 types were productive. I learned that…