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14 November 2013

Beeswax candles

Finished candles, I like the bendy ones.

 As soon as the wood-fired range goes on in the autumn the requests come "when can we dip candles?"
All day the beeswax melts on the range and evenings are spent dipping.

 It is a wonderful activity for wet dark days, but the light is not good for photos.

 This year we have 6 colours to add to the beeswax.



12 November 2013

Tivon's Weaving


Tivon was looking for a project to use the wool from his sheep.
 Weaving was the craft of choice.

 Threading the loom.

 
Tivon weaving his sheep's wool. 


10 November 2013

Turkeys and hens

Argus is Tivon's Crollwitzer Turkey and he now has 2 girls!
He is one happy fellow!

We doubled up the bee colonies 2 to a hive so we have one spare hive.
Or should that be... one spare turkey perch.

Meanwhile he lives up to his name.
 Argus means watchful guardian.
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 Our White Sussex hen and cockerel. 
They are moulting and he has lost his lovely tail.

He is not looking too bad considering the number of fights he went through before he realised he was never going to beat Argus.

09 November 2013

Poached egg plant and other flowers.


The Tibet potatoes have been lifted at last. It is a good crop of excellent potatoes but it is too late to plant a green manure cover crop in the beds that are now empty and bare. So, I have been transplanting some of the many poached egg plants that have self seeded everywhere. It is a little more work than throwing down seeds but I am full of anticipation for next spring when they will flower.


One of the potato beds just filled with little poached egg plant transplants.

This was taken in June, The bees just loved the poached egg plant.

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Some of the flowers in bloom when I went out with the camera yesterday afternoon.......


Hypericum

Mahonia










 

Arbutus Unedo
Feverfew.










Straw flower
Callendula
Climbing rose.

Broccoli flowers
Rosemary
Fushia.
Winter Jasmine.

Borage and crimson clover
(The frost will hit these soon)
Viburnum Bodatmese Dawn.

06 November 2013

Our cat Flo

Why do cats think that a paper bag filled with sticks is the best place for a lie down?


Flo's favourite place is looking down between the stair banisters.

02 November 2013

The meadow.

Since 1998 the area to the south of the house has been a meadow which is cut once a year.  We finally got around to cutting it this week. The garden is transformed when the meadow is cut. For years all the fun has been in making big piles of hay for Zoe and Tivon to jump off but this year Tivon and Alfie found their fun in raking and cart pulling.

 The meadow today.

Oh yes, this was also today, in the lashing rain!

While Angus was cutting the meadow Tivon decided to get the push mower out to cut our little grass area near the house.

Tivon raking the meadow after it is cut.

Alfie pulling the cart, I use the meadow cuttings as mulch.

More little helpers!
 
I guess this looks as if the children are great workers and I just take photos! 
The pictures don't reflect the reality then!
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As this is my first year with a blog, here are a few photos of  what has been growing in the meadow through previous seasons.
Crocus in February.

Primroses in April.

 
Snake's head fritillary in the meadow in April.

 
White Snake's head fritillary in the meadow in April.

Wild native orchid appeared in the meadow all by itself one year!


Wild Orchid.

The purple flower is Knapweed.

Knapweed with Meadowsweet in the background in July.

The white flower is Meadowsweet.

Spiders eye view of the meadow on a September morning.
About time the meadow was cut!

01 November 2013

October Sky.

October was very wet with some torrential downpours, mild, less sunny than average and not very windy.