Willow weaving workshops

The dates for the willow workshops are:-
Saturdays 16th Feb, 9th March, 16th march.
Please contact me if you would like to arrange a week day workshop.

We had a rare sunny day at Bungeons and cut right back the wild garden . It is a haven for birds and small creatures but we felt that most of the seeds have been eaten and a bit of control was needed.
it now looks like this :-

Roll on spring ,It is a bit bleak to look at.

House with land for sale

Well Bungeons Farm here in Suffolk is still for sale. We have had quite a few viewers but the people who want to make an offer are caught up in housing chains. Apart from the house being very tidy life carries on.We now have 2 calves and soon we will move all the cattle (except one who is staying in Suffolk) to Norfolk for the rest of the winter.We  have had a few very welcome frosts so hopefully  we can get on the land without causing too much damage. We had 59.75mm /2.35 inches of rain in November.  I can begin to harvest my willow and maybe return to other osier beds that I cut last year. If you are interested in willow to weave with, plant or create a living willow structure now is the time to get in touch.

Barn owl, bats and Fieldfares

The weather has changed and the animals are moving in for shelter,
We have had 104.5mm /4 inches of rain in October.
A barn owl has started roosting in the day in the pole barn, when disturbed it swoops round screeching.
I disturbed a bat in the timber barn it was incredible watching it fold itself in backwards back into its small gap in the beams,I watched a Jay behaving like a green woodpecker, very confusing until I learnt that they bury acorns for winter food. The field fares have arrived. I hope the starlings return to Lackford Lakes soon it is an amazing experience watching and listening to them come down to roost.

Suffolk smallholding for sale

This is where we are now and this is where we are going...

We have finally won planning permission after going to appeal to build a new Eco home on our farmland at Clayhill Lavenham. So we need to sell Bungeons Farm to enable us to build.
Until then Bungeons life carries on we have a new heifer calf- Angus x blonde d'aquitaine and another due soon. It is still very wet 49.5mm in September, 491mm  year total at end of Sept.
It is the time to make chutney, empty compost bins, deal with the previous years leaf mulch, and put the garden to bed for the winter.

Bungeons Farm Beeswax hand cream

I have finally got round to making some more hand cream. It is a great barrier cream as well as helping to heal  the inevitable nicks and knocks.
The hand cream is made from an infusion of marigold and lavender in oil, beeswax from our bees , and a small amount of honey.
The beeswax is either the the lovely white light bridge comb collected in the spring or the cappings saved  while extracting and put through my prototype small solar extractor (another use for a washing machine glass door)
The different oils and waxes give each batch of cream a different feel and purpose.

Poor mans capers

September for me is the kindest month of the year, Warm sunshine and so many rewards.
Nasturtiums are great in the garden, the flowers and leaves add colour and surprise to salads,  the seeds can be pickled then used as capers. Nasturtiums also help to control the cabbage white.
We have an abundance of blackberries a payback for a 3 winters spent coppicing. Blackberry wine is my favorite homemade wine and a winter without some would be grim.

We had a family morning sawing, stacking and carting wood , the bays are filling up and there is a stash in the dry we can process on a rainy day.

What has happened to the wasps ?

We have now finished feeding the bees , we just need to top and tail and treat for varroa and wish them luck for the winter.
There are no wasps anywhere, usually when feeding the bees we have to reduce the hive entrances and put out traps. There are also hardly any butterflies and not much fruit on the trees.
I have accepted I have no control over my Bantams , we have built them a large fox proof run, provided 2 cosy houses and still they roost in the trees, play chicken with the fox and lay where they want.

I can not bring myself to clip their wings. These are the latest additions to the colony , I thought the fox had taken her.
I am planning some more willow weaving workshops late September/October  so please contact me if interested.