Hello and a warm welcome, my name is Hen.
This blog follows my journey to finally fulfilling my lifetimes dream of building my own no-dig market garden and home in Devon.
It's full of all sorts, scroll right down the links and labels on the left hand side to see if there's anything that interests you.
I might take this blog back up.. a lot has changed!
This summer we have had the utter joy of having a bathroom! It's luxury and I can't believe we've done without one for so long.
We got our horse trailer and bath from Ebay, the water (immersion tank) is Leo's mum's old one, complete with lagging and Leo made the woodburner from an old & large 47kilo gas bottle. Very satisfying.. Leo will be writing up how he made the woodburner soon hopefully!
We've not got round to decorating yet.. too busy having baths!
It takes under 2 hours to heat up the water, which is about 120ltrs and one burner load of wood. We use the water for bathing, laundry and washing up. I can't quite express how much better it makes us feel, psychologically it's like a weight's been lifted.
Toilet Tit
This wee fledgling and her buddy live in our compost loo every night. The first I noticed her was when she made a deposit on my foot while I was making my own, erm, deposit...
Dora
Dear friends, I'd like you to meet the new love of my life, Dora. She is a Dutch Bantam chicken who was rescued, covered in blood, underweight and weak, by my pal Luisa. Dora has an horrific injury on the back of her neck, as you can see below...
Dora's injury is healing very well
I don't know what it is about chickens but their spirit and their innocent adventuring always melts my heart, that and the fact it ony takes a few gentle strokes, purring sounds and some apple to get them to trust the big smelly oafs that us humans are.
Dora and her new best friends, Bubbles (in front) and Heidi (in back)
I could cry with joy at the sight of this. Dora and her new perch pals off out exploring, adventuring and bringing destruction to many red soldier beetles in the meadow.
My office
Above is my makeshift office (bizarrely minus a stool in this picture!). I'm so lucky I can sit outside to work, I do a lot of office based stuff for the Save Our Woods campaign that would drive me batty if I had to sit in the yurt to do. Phew :)
A male Golden ringed dragonfly resting on a hazel
Our river meadow, coppice and woodland edge is a magical place to be at the moment. Full of butterflies, roe and red deer, dragonflies, adders, passing otters, too many species of bird for me to list here and lots and lots of wildflowers...
Silverwashed fritillary
Leo and I went butterfly hunting the other day and spent an hour or so surrounded by crazy Silverwashed fritillary's. They've done so well this year, much better than our Small pearl bordered fritillary's. I still find it exciting to watch the Silverwashed fritillary's in flight, they fly so strongly and of course are very territorial so everynow and again you get a brilliant fight kick off!
Silverwashed fritillary feeding on bramble
Something I hadn't noticed before I saw these photos was the raised strip on each wing. If you look at the first picture of the fritillary above you can see that there is what looks like a lighter coloured short strip on each wing, in the photo above you can see that those strips are raised. Wonder if that's aeronautical design?! Anyone know?
Thank you to the lovely Ceri for introducing me to the world of the hammock and snorkeling. The hammock forces me to relax and snorkeling, well, what can I say about snorkeling? It's other wordly and a magical experience. Here's a youtube video from a couple of random strangers that are snorkeling where Ceri took me snorkeling... blissful!
Learn more about the Oil beetle family at BUGLIFE.ORG.UK
It
is a female Violet Oil Beetle in the video, she has a swollen abdomen
as she has just emerged to find a male and is full of eggs. If you look
carefully you'll see little flies on her body, they're feeding on the
oil she exudes. When she's mated she digs a nest and lays her fertilised
eggs, up to a thousand of them!
When those eggs hatch the larvae set
about finding a solitary bee by climbing into a flower and waiting. When
the bee arrives to feed on the flower the larvae hop on to it's back
and get a lift to the bees nest. In the bees nest the larvae pupate and
begin to feed on the bees eggs and food stores. Quickly growing and
pupating again. They stay in the bees burrow until emerging in the
spring the following year as adults like the female in the video.
Here's my gang of broody Cuckoo Marans hens and the tiny wee lavender bantam Heidi. It's all very serious but I haven't got enough eggs for them to sit on yet so I'm having to chuck them out of their nests a few times a day... kindly of course.
Here is an angry broody...
Just had to share this close up of the really titchy tiny Heidi...
That's all I've got to say right now. Life's crazier at the moment than I've ever experienced in my ENTIRE life. Up and down and chaotic but headed in the right direction! Oh, I nearly forgot.. here's a few photo's of Spring in the woods :)
For the past two yrs there's been only one Wood Anemone growing under
some of our oldest Ash hedge trees. This year there was FOUR flowering
stems!
Badger badger badger! [please note: this isn't at Stock Wood...]
Moschatel... one of my all time favourite woodland flowers.
Shot in a couple of hours on 2 separate afternoons, this is Leo who lives in a yurt with his partner and a variety of animals on the edge of Exmoor in the UK. He is a craftsman of many talents, and this film shows him turning a piece of wood into a beautiful bowl using a traditional foot powered lathe (which he also built himself).
We started shooting on the first afternoon, but one of his sheep escaped, so we had to shoot the rest the following afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather was far from perfect and was actually raining lightly.
It doesn't take him long to turn one of these bowls, and watching him work was a real pleasure.
A note from Leo
Bowls have been made like this for centuries, the lathe I am using is loosely based on a Viking design. Made from a single ash tree, its 'oversize' construction reduces vibration during turning and allows the appropriate level of force to be applied on the cutting stroke without unsettling the lathe.
Wooden bowls were still being made in this way into the 1950's by George Lailey who lived and worked very close to where I grew up, in Berkshire.
Sadly, his craft died with him in 1958 until it was revived, primarily by Robin Wood who uses a replica of Laileys lathe today to make his bowls.
This Breakfast bowl was made from a piece of cherry which was first cut to length, split in half -through the pith, and shaped into a hemisphere with a carving axe. The blank was then fitted to the mandrel (the cylinder around which the drive cord is wrapped) and mounted on the lathe.
The outside profile of the bowl is roughed out using a bevelled hook tool, once all the axe marks are gone and the shape is acceptable a final pass is made taking a fine cut to give a smooth finish. The blank is then turned around and the inside hollowed out.
Working from the rim to the centre the bulk is gradually removed until the correct depth is achieved. The final cut is right into the centre of the bowl where the mandrel is still driving the workpiece -gradually reducing the size of the core until there is just enough to prevent the bowl breaking away. The turning is finished and the bowl is given a tap at right angles to the grain to release it from the mandrel. The final step is to remove the remains of the spiggot from the base and core from the inside.
Although considerable effort is required to fashion this humble, everyday item, the act of 'making' from the rawest of materials -a once living tree, gives a sense of place and 'rightness' which everyone should experience at least once.
Elliott Forge is a lifelong low impacter that now runs his own film production company in Bristol, Snowline Productions. His past lives as a musician, pioneering mountaineer, novice buddhist monk, Tinkers Bubble resident, part owner of a low impact small holding and other adventures help him to create beautiful films like The Woodturner.
Leo Singleton is a low impacter and lifelong craftsman. He lives in a yurt on his low impact, high welfare smallholding and manages coppice, oak woodland, high banked hedgerows, river, permanent pasture and meadow.
It's seemed like it's been raining everyday for a year now.. I think probably because it pretty much has. So, when the sun shines it feels like I've had a weight lifted and can lift my head again to get stuck in to those things that aren't just about keeping us and the livestock healthy! Some weaving and a carving :)
The first thing I've woven in over a year is this quiver. I didn't soak enough rods (it's steamed and white willow), so it's a few inches shorter than I planned it. Just sourcing some leather to make a strap for it. I don't like to strap my quivers to my back, instead I like it hung on my hip. Sometimes though it's good to sling it over your shoulder with your bow as you bimble about, so I'm thinking a nice adjustable longish leather strap, about an inch wide, will do the job.
Anyone know of any british sourced leather suppliers let me know!
I carved another cooking spoon from apple wood. Loved making this one as the wood was so buttery and forgiving. The knot is the shape of a heart too, shhush, it is!
I came home the other day from some exciting meetings in London for Save Our Woods to find a couple of amazing handcrafted, woollen SMOCKS! TeeBee Bespoke has made me this one above for mucky working in. It's of a light wool, with a long tail and a hood. It's also got long cuffs which suits me as I don't wear gloves, so I can drop the cuffs to warm me up when I need to. I'm now, never out of a smock!
This smock (for clean!) is of a thicker wool. Because TeeBee's made these smocks to fit it's one of the best bits of kit I've got. It's windproof, non-restrictive, isn't baggy or tight in the places a lady often finds outdoor kit doesn't fit (mainly because it's designed either for men or for tiny wee wimmin!) and because it's 100% wool wont make you cold if it gets wet.
TeeBee beautifully embroidered the Save Our Woods logo on the arm of my 'for clean' smock.
She also embroidered this GORGEOUS hen! Look at the detail!
Thank you TeeBee!
Here's Tee Bee's email address if you want to have a chat with her about fitting you a smock. She will be able to sort you out with what ever style you want too. The original smock design was created by Sean Mullhall and TeeBee, with loads of attention to detail: teebeebespoke@hotmail.com
This is Stock Wood Farm in the snow, if you want to see what flora and fauna we've got here there's a load of photos in the Photographs page of the farm not in the snow (click link above)
After a nudge from Leo I finally got round to baking bread in the woodburner. I hadn't done it before because I thought it would be a disaster, the stove is only little! Luckily for us, kind friends of ours (Trisha and Chris) gave us a gift of some lovely Shipton Mill spelt flour and I had some out of date Doves Farm yeast lying around from ages ago. So there really was no excuse!
Recipe
I used a basic recipe for a spelt loaf from the Doves Farm website as that's the first one I came across online. Here it is:
500 g
White Spelt Flour or Wholegrain Spelt Flour
½ tsp
Salt
1 tsp
Quick Yeast
1 tsp
Sugar
300 ml
Warm Water
1 tbsp
Vegetable Oil
Make sure everything (bowl, flour, you) isn't cold. We mostly have the woodburner going all day during the winter so the yurt is comfortably warm, which helped!
Chuck the flour, salt, yeast & sugar in the bowl and give it all a good mix. Add the water and mix until you feel like it's coming together but still looks rough. Then add the oil and start to knead. I kneaded mine for about 5 mins.
Prove it!
I then put it in an oiled heavy stonewear casserole dish and put the lid on, so it could prove in a protected environment (we're constantly in and out the yurt & I was paranoid the cold air was going to get it!).
I then went out to get the rams in, checked them over and did their feet for a couple of hours and came back to this wonder of wonders! The yeast was alive, it rose!
I gave the dough another beating for 5 mins and then put it on oiled greaseproof paper in the enameled metal baking dish I was going to be cooking it in. I covered it with another bit of oiled greaseproof paper to stop it drying out and protect it from draughts and left it for another hour or so (I didn't have to leave it that long. It was risen enough after 30 minutes).
Prepare the fire!
The burner was down to light embers and so I kicked off some big old logs. When they were roaring I shut the stove right down for about 20mins (don't open the door to check!). That turned the logs into a sort of charcoal perfect for baking on.
Leo bent an old oven shelf to fit inside the burner. I took off the greaseproof paper covering the dough (but didn't remove the greaseproof paper that the dough was sitting on!) and very gently popped it in the burner. You can see in the picture that I've put some crinkled up recycled tin foil over the embers.
To cook the bread close the door gently and shut the burner right down (just like you did when you were charcoaling the logs) and cook for 35 minutes or so. I checked mine after 15 mins and that's when I realised I should have put in the crinkled up tin foil from the beginning!
Slightly blackened bum!
I couldn't wait for it to cool before I scoffed some! The bread is absolutely delicious and had a slightly smoky taste to it! To minimise that make sure you keep the stove shut right down all the way through cooking.
If you give it a go in your woodburner I'd love to hear how you got on and hear some of your hints n tips!
We took down a poorly Apple tree last week and I carved a spoon from the trunk and Leo carved a spatula. It was an obsessive pleasure for a whole day! LOVED IT!
Today I decided that it was time to coppice the hazel stools that grow at the feet of Bert and his son Sleepy Bob.
Sleepy Bob is on the left and was born when AGES ago Bert (on the right) was laid as a hedge.
These Ash trees are so full of character and have shaped the flora around them. The area around these, two of our oldest Ash trees at Stock Wood, has a different atmosphere than the Oak woodland or the hazel coppice. It has the feel of a warm southern woodland, where primroses and bluebells are in abundance and our only wind flowers grow.
This is where I go when I want to meditate outdoors. I often don't mean to come here but somehow always end up at Berts feet.
Bert and his millions of nature
The trunk of Bert is completely hollow and has the most incredible heady scent. He used to be on top of a stone bank, which you can just make out at his base but that's mostly degraded now. He also has Old Ivy growing around his main stem and she is very top heavy. She's not doing so well this year and so I'm thinking of pollarding that stem, which will sadly kill poor Old Ivy but will save Bert from having his trunk split and give him a new lease of life. Hopefully setting him up for another few hundred years!
That's the back of Bert on the left and Sleepy Bob on the right
The hazel stools that were growing at the base of Bert and Sleepy Bob were very dense and about 30yrs old or so. With the river being right next to the trees it can be quite damp around that area. So to get more light and air to the guys we've coppiced those stools and the area is transformed! Can't wait to see whether there's an explosion of wildflowers in the Spring!
Brash pile for wildlife
Got lots of good firewood from the hazel, as well as some long, straight rods for hurdles and other crafts. We don't burn brash (the twiggy bits classed as 'waste' from coppicing/tree felling/hedgelaying). We love making nice and dense brash piles loved by wildlife. Above is the brash pile from today's coppicing. A gorgeous big pile that'll hopefully be home to millions of beasties very soon!
It's been raining horribly today so I've spent some time keeping dry and making our christmas tree! It's a simple affair, a bunch of steamed willow with some ivy I foraged yesterday and favourite christmas decorations I've collected over the years from charity shops or made by friends.
Soo.. I started by getting an old stick of yew and trapping it in a basket with some heavy stones. I made a willow ring to help the whips flow out at the bottom.
Then I bunched a good wodge of steamed willow withies together and tied them at the top to the yew stick. It's then a bit of a fiddle, requiring lots of patience, to get the base of the rods to be at a reasonably similar height from the floor, by pulling the tips up or pushing the ends up.
I've now covered the trees in bits n bobs and surrounded it with the beeeyutiful christmas baubles I found in a charity shop years ago. On the tree is a couple of needle felted holly leaves with berries that I made a while ago, a gorgeous copper bird made by the beautiful Jackie Stewart and a long string of gold paper stars I bought from Amnesty International yonks ago. The glowing pagan star at the top of the tree my Mum bought me and has a candle in (elf n safety..), and obviously most importantly of all there's the fairy on the top left of the picture. I made her about 12 years ago now and it's the best of days when she makes her appearance!
It's been a while since I wrote on here. Looking back at my recent posts it seems I've started a few like this! Well, I hope to write more about what is going on in my life as I've realised that nowhere but here on my blog, can I explore fully some of the experiences I'm having and some of the eye opening things I've been learning. For now though, here's a blether about my morning...
My wee hoose
The weather this year has been astonishingly wet and cloudy. That means not much Sun. That means lots of work trying to keep the animals healthy, as well as ourselves. Living under canvas in this weather is fine but it's a very careful juggling act to stay healthy (physically and mentally), especially when the weather is wet but not cold as it's unpleasant to keep the wood burner going but of course to keep dry & prevent moulds, you have to! No such problems at the moment though, it's blooming freezing so we're back to happily running the woodburner all the time, making toast and stews all day!
Today it's a beautiful, crisp, clear day and all of a sudden
I've forgotten the wettest year for 100yrs and I'm filled with the joy
of it all! Sunrise this morning was utterly magic, as last nights Full Moon set in the purple sky.
Some of our ex-battery hens free ranging (pic from a couple of months ago!)
In the morning I get up at sunrise to do my animal rounds. Letting out the poultry first and making sure they've got a ton of food and fresh water. I don't let them out to free range fully until lunch time because I like to see they've got a full crop before sending them on their adventures.
Goatforms (this was them last month!)
Then it's off to give the goats their breakfast and let them out to go exploring. None of the girls are in milk at the moment, which is a real shame, I miss my goats milk!
I take a few moments to enjoy the gorgeous morning, let the beauty of it seep into my soul and give thanks to the Holy Moles for this rare dry, still day to collect my thoughts in.
My boy, Jingo the Shetland ram
I love my Shetland sheep and I particularly love Jingo, my main ram. He's a beaut, with a loving soul, a penchant for the fleecy ladies, fresh hay and head scratches. The Shetland and Castlemilk moorit girls are looking strong and healthy, so I'll be getting them a ram in within a couple of weeks. Jingo doesn't get a go this year poor lad!
Cheeky stinkdog pinching the warm spot!
Finally, I get to come back into the yurt for my coffee and breakfast in the warm chair by the woodburner... or not...
This article was first published on my SaveOurWoods.co.uk website! Miranda Gibson is currently well into her ninth month living on a platform 60m up in a beautiful, old growth eucalyptus tree, within the heart of one of Tasmania's ancient forests. She is fully equipped to reach out electronically to the World to spread her message about the destruction of this place, a place of World heritage value, of value to you and me, even if we are over on the other side of the planet. Miranda has vowed to remain in the Observer Tree until these irreplaceable forests are given the protection they vitally need. Let's help get Miranda home and spread the word aboutThe Observer Tree!
Miranda Gibson, StillWildStillThreatened.org
Nine months ago I climbed 60 meters to the top of an old growth tree in the middle of Tasmania's ancient forest. I vowed to remain on the tree-top perch until the forest was protected. I haven't set me foot on the ground since.
As I write this, I look out across the upper canopy of world heritage value forests, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and listen to the sound of birds calling across the valley. The forest around me is constant reminder of why I am here. Despite the fact that in August last year this area was promised a conservation agreement by the Australian and Tasmanian governments, logging machinery moved in on December 12th and started destruction. The logging ceased once my tree-sit brought international attention to their actions. However, the threat remains. They could return any day now.
Miranda, Photo Credit: Dan Haley
And so I keep my tree-top vigil, day and night, month after month. And every day that I am up here is a reminder to the world that Tasmania's globally significant forests are still under threat. Armed with solar power and computer I have skyped my way around the world – talking to people at conferences, festivals, schools and community forums. I also update a regular blog about tree-top life and the forests at www.observertree.org.
It has been an absolutely inspiring action, because it has taught me, among many things, that there is a whole world of people out there who want to see our precious forests protected for the future. And with the help of people around the world, we are making a real difference for the forest here. One easy yet significant way in which people can help is by taking part in the cyber action. It only takes a few minutes, sending a message from you to the corporate customers of Ta Ann. This is the Malaysian logging company who are one of the key driver behind the destruction of Tasmania's high conservation value forests. Yet, despite their role in the destructing they are in fact selling their product as environmentally friendly!
The truth about Ta Ann is spreading around the world. And back home in Tasmania the impact is being felt. The more pressure on them in the global market place, the closer we come to gaining real and lasting protection for the forests.
Every day I watch this forest, changing over the seasons, and I am reminded of why we must continue to campaign against Ta Ann's forest destruction. Because all around me this forest is teeming with life, in an ancient ecosystem that, once lost, is irreplaceable. This forest has in fact been recommended by the World Heritage Committee to be included in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. But the government failed to act on the recommendation. The government have even failed to act on the advice of the independent team of expert scientists which they endorsed to verified the area. The scientists found this forest to be of world heritage value. 572,000 hectares of threatened forest as found to contain significant world heritage and national heritage value. A key finding was the importance of these forests for the survival of endangered species. Tasmania's most iconic wildlife species, the Tasmanian Devil, is one of those at risk if logging continues. The species is listed in both state and federal legislation as endangered, due to it's rapidly declining population.
Tasmanian Devil!
Below me, on the forest floor, Tasmanian devils live in this forest. Through remote-sensor cameras conservationists have monitored their populations here. Two days before logging began footage was taken of a mother devil carrying food to it's young. If I had not climbed the tree.... and logging had continued here..... who knows what would have become of those young devils. Wildlife experts have raised concerns in relation to the fatalities that may be occurring during logging operations. Young devils are at risk of becoming trapped and dying in their dens. And the destruction of den sites is significant for this species, who use the same maternal dens from generation to generation. In great relief we watched the footage taken in February, showing healthy juvenile devil fresh out of the den. The forest and the animals that call it home had been spared. For now.
Fern Gully
Many of the old trees around me have grey and rotting branches, full of hollows that are ideal habitat for a range of species. It takes around a hundred years for these trees to develop such hollows. Therefore, when these areas are felled and converted into managed regrowth forests that are logged on 80 year rotations, this critical habitat is absent, having a detrimental impact on wildlife. I have watched a majestic white goshawk, an endangered species in Tasmania, in the top of the tree that is my closest neighbour, and I wonder where it will live if logging is allowed to proceed in this forest.
Miranda, Photo credit: Matthew Newton
It is these amazing and unique species that inspire me to continue my action. And although there have been challenges along the way, the experience has been an incredible journey too. I have learnt so much from watching the forest around me. And one of the most important things I have learnt is how much we can make a difference in the world. I hope that my action has inspired people around the world to take action too... it doesn't have to be climbing 60 meters to the tree tops- there are a million ways to take a stand for what you believe in, to make the world a better place.
I am 100 percent committed to staying in this tree for as long as it takes to see this unique and precious forest protected. For the sake of the forest and the wildlife here, I hope that someday soon I will be able to set my feet back on the ground below, in an area safely preserved for future generations.
Tasmania's forests still falling: watch the brand new film and take action!
