Snowline Productions Filming on the Land and Spring came!

Sooo... I helped Snowline Productions last week with their short educational films about camping outdoors.  We spent most of the time on our land but one day we ventured off into the wilds of Exmoor and found the most beautiful little spot by a river near Hoare Oak.

Above is presenter Paul Deegan, freezing cold on a frosty morning waiting for a shot to be set up. It's worth having an explore on his website, he is quite simply one of the most inspiring men I've ever met. He'll kill me for saying that on here but I'm not scared, I can 'ave 'im! Even if he has been up Everest! 'Right, come on Paul.. you & me.. outside... now!'

This is Al of Snowline. He's quite long but extraordinary on a camera anyway.

This is Elliott of Snowline. He has terrible habits but they don't seem to hold him back when he's doing the sound or using the camera. I believe they do hold him back with the ladies though.

There are so many stunning little Hawthorn trees on Exmoor.  Gorgeous, hardy little things.  Pushed and pulled into place by the elements.

We finally have bud burst on our Beech trees! My favourite spring leaves are Beech and it makes my heart sing to see them!  Over the four days we were filming the Hawthorn & Willow hedgerows went from the vaguest hint of bud burst to a bright mist of green. 

 The willow catkins are astonishing this year!  It's almost too intense to stand underneath them there are so many bees feeding! I've seen more bees on the land so far this year than I ever have.  All different sorts too, I even saw a Bee Fly!

 Ridiculously, stupidly & messily excited about the fact that our coppice is FULL of ash tree seedlings! In some areas like a huge carpet of green!  I'm hoping there'll be enough left for me to collect after the red deer have had their way, so I can start my tree nursery!

I also had the chance to properly extend the porch on the bender. I've been pesked by the doorway ever since we built it.  It's still not perfect but it's definitely better to get in and out of!

 We got a visitation from a Homing Pigeon!  She was just wandering around the field so tired she couldn't fly.  Luckily Al spotted her before The Stink did!  We gave her water & some oats & a perch to rest on.  She didn't leave our camp for days! Was lovely to have her mooching around!  I tweeted about it and was chuffed to bits to find out that @Irkafirka had illustrated the tweet! Just looook at this...

So, all in all another fabulous time! I've not even written about the Bushcraft tweetup on the land we had last weekend! No doubt I'll blast you with that soon!




hen xx

Wild camping, filming, willow withies and butchering half a pig

Been a bit busy recently having a thoroughly good time. Excitingly my first batch of willow, for weaving, arrived. It's been semi sorted into thicknesses now and I've worked out my next batch of baskets and got what I need (hopefully!) soaking in our pond. More pics of that to follow!



It gives me butterflies looking at this next picture!!


I'm just back from a weeks wild camping on the land, with two very good friends who have their own film production company - Snowline Productions.


Snowline Productions shoot in the alps - picture shamelessly nicked from their site.

They do amazing short films and documentary footage, mainly of snowy mountain peaks and wild places. It's worth a look at the footage they have on their website, stunning work!



Yes, these are tent pegs, mmmm, interesting...

Last week their bread and butter work was filming tents going up for a reputable outdoor company. They roped me in to help put up the larger of the tents and I took the opportunity to do lots of camp care, cooking and carving. It was very satisfying! I didn't manage to photograph anything I cooked and I'm thoroughly ashamed of what I carved so there'll be no photies of that abomination!! There was casseroles, dumplings, curry, chappattis and soup. Then there was the pub - The Beggars Roost Inn, Exmoor! The best pub food I've ever tasted actually. The atmosphere was amazing, just what you want out of a pub on a cold night. Good music, warm fire, great company, amazing food and a friendly landlord.


Autumn this year is a triumph. These pictures don't do it justice, but the hedges are looking amazing and the light, at times, is incredible!



As part of a barter for the rental of a couple of our fields our neighbours gave us half a pig and showed us how to butcher it and make all the different cuts and sausages! It was fantastic to learn the skill and get all the meat! The pork was a berkshire and ironage pig cross (an ironage pig is a cross between a traditional pig breed and a wild boar). The meat is unbelievable. Great colour and flavour when cooked. Hidden Valley Pigs

I've never done butchering before and I was very apprehensive! Seeing half a dead pig, head intact did deeply unsettle me. However, it's important to me that if I'm going to eat meat I understand, really understand, where it has come from. Pork is meat from a pig. Everybody knows that, I know! But I don't think I really knew that. Now I feel I do. I watched this pig grow up across the river and now it's roasts, chops, bacon and sausages in my freezer. That's the reality of meat.

I still have reservations about the spiritual aspect of eating meat. But right now I am thoroughly of the opinion that eating a small amount of meat, to supplement our diet at this time of year in this country, is the most environmentally sound thing to do. So I just have to get on with it until I can prove otherwise.

Oh, it's hard though.


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