Autumn, Leaf Mould and Toffee Apples.
As the Autumn rushes in and out, leaves all a-swirl, it reminds me what a wonderfully cleansing time this is. It is time to shed and let go. As I watch the ponies' coats thicken up in preparation for winter days out on the land, it makes me reassess and think about my own position in the field. Having recently celebrated a year of living here, it's a good time to reflect on our achievements and our failures.
We've had an excellent start to the Autumn, with Phase Two of fencing now complete. We are now over 50% fenced which means we can work the land in a much more organised and structured manner. Early autumn was all about intensive hedging. Not only siding up, but major bottoming out. Are you with me? Basically we thinned out the sides of the hedges and lifted the horizontal growing branches to make room for the fences to go in. The bottoming out was intense. Our North facing boundary has completely been cut to the bottom of the Devon bank. There were over fifty year old trees that had reached five or more meters in height - and it has yielded over 40 tonnes of wood. Wood that we'll slowly process over the winter, chopping and splitting to make firewood, to burn ourselves or perhaps sell to make some pennies back to cover our costs. As a result, from the north side of the farmhouse we look far and wide across the Devon countryside with Exmoor as our prize view (on a clear day of course.)
Once the chainsaws left the fencing contractor arrived and has now given us six new fields and paddocks to use for livestock. One thing we've gained in this process is more land. Where we've cleared back to the hedge we've gained a good three or four meters of usable grazing round each hedge line. It will take a season or three for the grass to re-establish itself but if we'd not persevered and made the effort we would never have made the gain. Effort it was, lugging and lifting and clearing after the chopping.
We have split up one or two fields to give us smaller and more useable paddocks. Gone are the days this farm had numerous acres of open pasture to graze and grow crops. We are in need of smaller paddocks that we can rotate livestock through seasonally. The ponies are delighted. They now have a choice of smaller paddocks that need grazing down over the winter. We have a growing flock of Zwartbles belonging to a nearby sheep farmer who are here as mobile meadow mowers, and finally a month ago we took delivery of our own sheep - store sheep, in other words - for the freezer.
I have been fulfilling a yearn this autumn that's been tugging at me for over ten years. Finally, I am making leaf mould. It might sound like a minor feat, however, any gardener will know that good leaf mould is worth more than gold.
A few months after we arrived here (over a year ago) a tree surgeon showed me what his leaf blower could do and I had huge envy. The Ologist took pity on my envy and we went together to purchase one. But this is no ordinary leaf blower. It straps to my back and looks like a jet pack suitable for Mission Control!
By the time we brought it back to the farm the autumn leaves were over and I had missed the boat. It has sat on the shelf for a year in the mower shed, unused, plucking on my guilt-strings. I found the manual a few weeks ago and have single-handedly not only started up the engine but put it to full use. It is a beast!
I made the Ologist groan the other day when I asked him if he could help me work something out to do with the leaf mould. I knew what I wanted to do, but couldn't quite figure out the logistics, or the location to do it in. After much discussion, we came up with a plan and put it into practise. I was able to say to him, "do you want to blow, or mow?" Corny, yes, but to my surprise he chose the mowing option. So, over the course of the autumn, on dry afternoons we have set off with our mower and blower and cleared the expansive lawns of autumn leaves. Collecting and chopping the leaves with the mower, not only saves on time and back breaking raking, but also accelerates the decomposition time. We found an area close to the lawns ideal to reverse the mower and dump the collected and chopped leaves, and with the help of a small girl, some big plastic leaf collecting hands and a lightweight shovel, we have filled four huge dumpy bags. As time goes on we can jump on the bags to compact our collected gold and continue to fill with leaves. I warn you now, in a year or two I will be more than smug about my leaf mould.
On the subject of autumn pursuits, we found only one field mushroom this year disappointingly. And it wasn't us that found it, it was brought to us by our woodman. He'd found it in a hedgerow. Nevertheless, we had a ceremonial meal and needless to say it was delicious.
The other thing that came around was Halloween. I must say I find it hard to understand the logic behind dressing up your young child in scary clothes, sending them out in the cold and dark on the streets to knock on doors and grab sweets from strangers.
A good friend of mine has a solution. She invites her children's friends and has a 'scary tea' with gruesome gory food and a few games thrown in for good measure. Such a great idea, but one that I failed to organise.
Luckily for the small girl, one of her local friends invited her out for a Halloween trick or treat and so she got to dress up and put on scary make up and fill a bucket full of sweets and chocolates from strangers.
We reciprocated by having said friend for a sleepover and a trip to the local RHS gardens where they had a pumpkin trail and a real witch in a grotto. She was excellent and had the children spellbound, literally.
We went to a bonfire party locally which was fun for kids and adults alike. I took a plate of toffee apples which were fun to make and apparently went down well with the children. Growing up overseas had many benefits, but a few traditional touches got lost along the way and it was grounding for me to make an effort at some seasonal fare.
The farm is rapidly becoming a war zone. The trenches are being cleared, and as a result the mud is spreading. I know it will get worse before it gets better, but to look around it really is a bomb site. The Ologist is thrilled with his recent ditch clearance. He has wrestled with willow roots that have spread like a mat across the ditches blocking the flow of water for decades.
As the winter approaches, allowing the rainwater to flow off the property efficiently has become his major project. Standing water is lethal. It erodes with such force. Our driveway suffers dreadfully if the water doesn't run off. It is almost worth us investing in a mini digger....another toy I would relish the use of! I can see the logic, but wish for more order and cleanliness. On the physical plain it won't happen for a while, but on paper plans are developing rapidly.
Our architect has been very busy behind the scenes putting out feelers and starting to collate data in readiness for presenting our development plan to the local planning authority. He has started to gather a team together of professionals who will be able to carry our project forward. We have many balls juggling and lots of ideas to condense. We have had the results of the first professional in: the Ecologist (she and her bat geeks spent a week of evenings carrying out dusk emergence surveys) and they came up trumps for the bats. Bummer for us as to comply with the law we must build the bats suitable accommodation - like for like - before we renovate their current dwelling. Thankfully, the cob barn where they are currently living can be 'recreated' elsewhere but with blockwork walls instead of cob (mud) and can be part of our development structure to house the biomass boiler and car port.
It all comes down to planning in the end. 'The Six P's.' A mantra with which the Ologist approaches his work, and life itself: Perfect Planning Prevents Pi** Poor Performance.
 |
| Bottoming out our Northern boundary |
Once the chainsaws left the fencing contractor arrived and has now given us six new fields and paddocks to use for livestock. One thing we've gained in this process is more land. Where we've cleared back to the hedge we've gained a good three or four meters of usable grazing round each hedge line. It will take a season or three for the grass to re-establish itself but if we'd not persevered and made the effort we would never have made the gain. Effort it was, lugging and lifting and clearing after the chopping. We have split up one or two fields to give us smaller and more useable paddocks. Gone are the days this farm had numerous acres of open pasture to graze and grow crops. We are in need of smaller paddocks that we can rotate livestock through seasonally. The ponies are delighted. They now have a choice of smaller paddocks that need grazing down over the winter. We have a growing flock of Zwartbles belonging to a nearby sheep farmer who are here as mobile meadow mowers, and finally a month ago we took delivery of our own sheep - store sheep, in other words - for the freezer.
A few months after we arrived here (over a year ago) a tree surgeon showed me what his leaf blower could do and I had huge envy. The Ologist took pity on my envy and we went together to purchase one. But this is no ordinary leaf blower. It straps to my back and looks like a jet pack suitable for Mission Control!
By the time we brought it back to the farm the autumn leaves were over and I had missed the boat. It has sat on the shelf for a year in the mower shed, unused, plucking on my guilt-strings. I found the manual a few weeks ago and have single-handedly not only started up the engine but put it to full use. It is a beast!
I made the Ologist groan the other day when I asked him if he could help me work something out to do with the leaf mould. I knew what I wanted to do, but couldn't quite figure out the logistics, or the location to do it in. After much discussion, we came up with a plan and put it into practise. I was able to say to him, "do you want to blow, or mow?" Corny, yes, but to my surprise he chose the mowing option. So, over the course of the autumn, on dry afternoons we have set off with our mower and blower and cleared the expansive lawns of autumn leaves. Collecting and chopping the leaves with the mower, not only saves on time and back breaking raking, but also accelerates the decomposition time. We found an area close to the lawns ideal to reverse the mower and dump the collected and chopped leaves, and with the help of a small girl, some big plastic leaf collecting hands and a lightweight shovel, we have filled four huge dumpy bags. As time goes on we can jump on the bags to compact our collected gold and continue to fill with leaves. I warn you now, in a year or two I will be more than smug about my leaf mould.
The other thing that came around was Halloween. I must say I find it hard to understand the logic behind dressing up your young child in scary clothes, sending them out in the cold and dark on the streets to knock on doors and grab sweets from strangers.
A good friend of mine has a solution. She invites her children's friends and has a 'scary tea' with gruesome gory food and a few games thrown in for good measure. Such a great idea, but one that I failed to organise.
Luckily for the small girl, one of her local friends invited her out for a Halloween trick or treat and so she got to dress up and put on scary make up and fill a bucket full of sweets and chocolates from strangers. We reciprocated by having said friend for a sleepover and a trip to the local RHS gardens where they had a pumpkin trail and a real witch in a grotto. She was excellent and had the children spellbound, literally.
We went to a bonfire party locally which was fun for kids and adults alike. I took a plate of toffee apples which were fun to make and apparently went down well with the children. Growing up overseas had many benefits, but a few traditional touches got lost along the way and it was grounding for me to make an effort at some seasonal fare. The farm is rapidly becoming a war zone. The trenches are being cleared, and as a result the mud is spreading. I know it will get worse before it gets better, but to look around it really is a bomb site. The Ologist is thrilled with his recent ditch clearance. He has wrestled with willow roots that have spread like a mat across the ditches blocking the flow of water for decades.
As the winter approaches, allowing the rainwater to flow off the property efficiently has become his major project. Standing water is lethal. It erodes with such force. Our driveway suffers dreadfully if the water doesn't run off. It is almost worth us investing in a mini digger....another toy I would relish the use of! I can see the logic, but wish for more order and cleanliness. On the physical plain it won't happen for a while, but on paper plans are developing rapidly.
Our architect has been very busy behind the scenes putting out feelers and starting to collate data in readiness for presenting our development plan to the local planning authority. He has started to gather a team together of professionals who will be able to carry our project forward. We have many balls juggling and lots of ideas to condense. We have had the results of the first professional in: the Ecologist (she and her bat geeks spent a week of evenings carrying out dusk emergence surveys) and they came up trumps for the bats. Bummer for us as to comply with the law we must build the bats suitable accommodation - like for like - before we renovate their current dwelling. Thankfully, the cob barn where they are currently living can be 'recreated' elsewhere but with blockwork walls instead of cob (mud) and can be part of our development structure to house the biomass boiler and car port.
It all comes down to planning in the end. 'The Six P's.' A mantra with which the Ologist approaches his work, and life itself: Perfect Planning Prevents Pi** Poor Performance.
 |
| the last of the trees to fall in the front garden |
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