Category: How did we get here?

Today, we need to get Monica to the chemist to fill a prescription, urgently. The bank holiday, yesterday, made her miss out on replenishing the tablets that allow her to balance. I think the weekend has been uncomfortable for her as she’s rationed too few tablets across the days. Every corner has been searched for spare tablets but none were found.

Karin is planning to call in at lunch time with some old Warlandians who lived at the gate end. She and Ralph stayed with them in Scotland a couple of years ago. Today, they’re walking along the top to Warland and stopping to see Ralph’s grave before returning along the canal.

My work for today is to complete the beehive roofs—the metalwork. Yesterday I annoyed myself by failing to think through the cover for the new nucleus hives. I should have gotten two out of one tin sheet and also messed up the one I was bending up. It’ll be OK but there have been too many errors on this project for my comfort. I’ve built, for Monica, two full hives, two nucleus hives, a feeder for each type of hive and four spare supers. She’d also like some bases, for transporting hive components, and a tote, to carry frames. I don’t have plans for these but there’s enough spare timber for their construction.

New beehives stacked in Monica’s shed

The hives are one of the last projects that need to be completed to a schedule. All of the trees are planted and fenced in on the farm and on t’Other Bit so we can hope to see them mature in our lifetimes. We need to set aside time to manage them but the big push is over. Now I can settle into the stream of projects that will result in the barns being converted into accommodation and better storage.

Here’s a picture of my greenhouse. Not ideal but I’ve had success in the past because it gets pretty warm with the slightest bit of sunshine on the Shippen roof. Most of the seeds are in 1cm soil blocks—120 to a tray. If they germinate, each of those will be planted into a 3cm soil block so I’ll have to find nine times the bench area with better light. I plan to fill all our window ledges and those of the neighbours if necessary.

Apart from getting that set up, I’m having a pretty crap day. I broke my camera by trying to insert the wrong sort of memory card to help a friend, the amp in the office is on the blink and I dropped and broke a portable motion alarm that I use to protect the Joinery. 

The first and nearest of the giant wind turbines has been erected on the moor opposite us. We knew they were planned when we bought the place so no one can accuse us of being NIMBYs. The question was, how much of them would we see? Turns out to be pretty minimal, from the farmhouse and yard: just a blade-tip behind the flagpole, if you’re sitting at the window.

Monica phoned from North Sydney, yesterday, all liquored up with a couple of girl-friends, giggling down the Internet. A few more sleeps there and she’ll be catching a flight to be home on Saturday. She’ll have got into the habit of talking continuously during her visits, while my life has become strangely quiet. More grumpiness is forecast.

Anyway, I haven’t broken anything for a couple of hours. Maybe the shadow has passed.

The seeds have been a bit of a trial because I felt I had to clear the studio bench, where all incoming junk collects, to make space for the sowing effort. A breakthrough occurred when I realised that I could sow the seeds in my nice warm office, downstairs, then just shove the junk back enough to get the trays under the roof lights. 

For your pleasure, I’ve copied my seed list below, including the descriptions from Martin Crawford’s catalogue. (I just scanned that list and realised  that I need to crack the olive seeds.) You’ll spot that I’m still bringing on a few trees even though Warland Farm’s canopy layer is practically full. Can’t resist them. The non-Crawford stock is yet to be sown. I have 200 rhubarb and 100 asparagus seeds, for use as ground cover in the coppice orchard, plus 300 lavender seeds with which we hope to put on a show in the front field, beyond the meadow. I do like a nice rhubarb crumble!

Treesponsibility came back to spend a day “beating up”, i.e. surveying their plantings and rescuing or replacing weaklings, but only after I got shirty with them. Today, they phoned to ask if I wanted all their left-over half packs of trees from this season: I had to say yes even though getting them in the ground is another urgent job I could do without. Maybe I can heel them in somewhere until next planting season.

Tony is making me a guitar and has sent pics of the lumber. He might like to look through my store, too, when he’s here. I have biggish lumps of steamed beech, hard maple and iroko that we can mill down for you, plus a few smaller bits of lignum vitae and african rosewood (bubinga). Oh, and some Whitby jet and other semi-preciousness for inlays?

From Agroforestry Research Trust
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Acca sellowiana Pineapple guava ND
(Syn. Feijoa sellowiana) Pineapple guava. Bushy evergreen shrub with grey-green leaves growing to 2 m (6 ft) high or more. Large flowers are white and purple in midsummer, and are followed by reddish-green edible fruits 5 cm (2”) long in hot summers. The fruits are delicious, being aromatic, with a pineapple-strawberry flavour. The flowers are also edible raw, being sweet crisp and delicious. Can be used for hedging in mild maritime areas – hardy to -12°C. Likes sun and a well-drained soil; good on walls in cooler climes.

Achillea millefolium Yarrow ND
Yarrow. Mat-forming perennial, spreading via rhizomes. Edible leaves, medicinal, bee plant, ground cover, accumulator. Likes sun and a well drained site; hardy to –40 °C

Actinidia chinensis Smooth Kiwi CS4
Smooth kiwi. Not to be confused with the better known and hairy skinned A.deliciosa, this is a smooth skinned climber with large smooth-skinned fruits of excellent flavour. The sap from stems can be used as a glue and the plant for facade insulation. Dioecious; hardy, to -15°C. NB Protect from cats who love to eat the plant!

Allium babingtonii Babington leek ND
Babington leek. Perennial leek species for edible bulbs or leeks.

Allium fistulosum Welsh onion ND
Welsh onion. A hardy perennial forming clumps of onion-flavoured bulbs, and rounded, hollow green leaves. A great perennial vegetable.

Alnus cordata Italian Alder CS8
Italian Alder. A medium sized tree from Italy, fast growing and very wind-hardy. Tolerates much drier conditions than most alders and one of the best temperate Nitrogen-fixing species for drier areas. Excellent in windbreaks, growing 50-100 cm per year. A source of pollen for bees in March. The sap is edible (tapped and processed), while the timber is used for furniture, charcoal and gunpowder, clogs, water pumps, turnery etc. Give full sun or part shade. Hardy to -20°C and excellent in Britain.

Althaea officinalis Marsh mallow ND
Marsh mallow. Hardy perennial growing 1.2m high in any soil. Young leaves are edible as are the starchy roots.

Amelanchier alnifolia Apple serviceberry WS4+CS16
Saskatoon, Regent serviceberry. One of the best North American Amelanchiers for fruit, the saskatoon is a large shrub reaching 5m (16 ft) with rounded leaves and tasty, sweet blue-black fruit about ½” (12 mm) across produced abundantly. Good in windbreaks and hedges, and sometimes used for erosion control. Source of pollen for bees in April. Likes a moist, sunny site but tolerates some shade. Growth 3m (10 ft) in 10 years; hardy to -25°C.

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Bearberry SC
Bearberry, Kinnikinnick. A prostrate, spreading evergreen shrub from Northern temperate regions; grows 30 cm (1 ft) high. The pea-sized fruits are edible, while the leaves are used medicinally, in teas, for tanning and dyeing. Good ground cover and bee plant. Likes an acid soil and a position in sun or part shade; hardy to -25°C.

Artemisia dracunculus Tarragon ND
Tarragon. Perennial plant from southern Russia, source of the familiar herb. As well as the edible leaves, the essential oil is used as a flavouring and the leaves are used medicinally. Likes a dry sunny site; hardy to -15°C. Watch out for slug predation.

Berberis vulgaris Common Barberry CS8 Hedging, fruit
Barberry, Pipperidge. The native British barberry, a deciduous shrub to 3m (10 ft) high bearing lots of clusters of bright red, egg-shaped edible fruits (very acid, lemony, used as a lemon substitute, to make a drink or for preserves). The flowers, leaves and shoot tips have also been eaten. Likes a sunny or part-shady site; very good in hedges. Source of nectar and pollen for honey and bumble bees in May. Several parts of the plant have been used for dyeing and medicinally. Hardy to -35°C.

Chaenomeles japonica Dwarf quince CS13
Japonica, Dwarf quince. A small shrub, reaching 1m (3 ft) high and across. Bright orange flowers are followed by yellow, fragrant, edible fruits 1½” (40 mm) across (best cooked), freely produced. Ground cover and bee plant. Hardy to -23°C.

Chenopdium bonus-henricus Good King Henry ND
Good king Henry. European perennial growing to 80 cm (32”) high. The leaves and young shoots make a good spinach when cooked. The plant is also used medicinally and as a ground cover. Gold and green dyes can be obtained from the plant. Likes a position in sun or part shade; hardy to -20°C.

Claytonia sibirica Siberian purslane ND
(Montia sibirica) Siberian purslane. Not from Siberia, this North American short-lived perennial grows 20 cm high in a any moist soil in sun or part or full shade. The leaves are edible, raw (an excellent salad plant – beet flavour) or cooked, and the plant can be used for ground cover – it self-seeds freely. Hardy to -35ºC.

Colutea arborescens Bladder senna SC
Bladder senna. A medium or large deciduous shrub from the Mediterranean region, growing up to 5 m (16 ft) high; naturalised in Britain. A nitrogen-fixing legume. A good hedging and bee plant; the leaves have been used medicinally, and the wood is used for implements, small furniture items and makes good fuel. Likes full sun and a well-drained soil; hardy to -20°C.

Cupressus macrocarpa Monterey cypress CS4 Windbreak, timber
Monterey cypress. A large, fast growing evergreen tree from California. In the west of Britain it makes one of the best windbreak and shelterbelt trees, especially near the coast. A good nurse tree for other species. The durable timber is valued for construction, joinery etc. Likes a sunny site; hardy to -15°C.

Filipendula ulmaria Meadowsweet CS13
Meadowsweet. European perennial growing to 2 m (7 ft) high when flowering. The leaves can be used for tea, the flowers for wine and the roots cooked and eaten; the aerial parts are medicinal, and all parts give dyes. A good mineral accumulator which attracts bees and beneficial insects. An essential oil from the plant is sometimes used in perfumery. Likes a part or fully shaded site and a moist soil; hardy to -30°C.

Fragaria vesca Wild strawberry CS4
Wild strawberry, woodland strawberry. A low growing semi-evergreen perennial plant, spreading and rooting as it goes. Most folk know the wild strawberry and its small but very tasty fruits. Strawberries make a good component of a ground cover layer beneath or around other plants. The fruits and leaves are used medicinally, and bees love the flowers. Grow in any soil in sun or part shade; hardy to -23ºC.

Glycyrrhiza glabra Liquorice SC
Liquorice. Perennial legume from Southern Europe, growing up to 1.2 m (4 ft) high. Sometimes cultivated as an annual. The roots are edible raw – they are the source of common liquorice. Also used medicinally, and a good ground cover. Deep rooted and an excellent mineral accumulator as well as fixing nitrogen. Likes a moist soil and part or full shade; hardy to -12°C. NB plants doesn’t start growing until late May or June – be patient!

Hypericum calycinum Rose of Sharon CS4 (probably should be H. perforatum, St Johns Wort)
A small trailing shrub to 30 cm (1 ft) high from the Mediterranean with grey-green leaves and deep yellow flowers in summer, loved by bees. Makes a good ground cover. Likes a well drained soil and sun; hardy to -20ºC.

Malva moschata Musk mallow ND
Musk mallow. A robust native upright perennial growing to 1 m (3 ft) tall, freely flowering in summer and autumn with pale pink or white flowers, will self-sow. The leaves are excellent in salads with a mild flavour; the flowers are also very good in salads. All parts are medicinal and a fibre has been made from the stems; various dyes are made from the plant; bees love the flowers. Grow in any soil in sun or part shade; hardy to -35ºC.

Mahonia repens Creeping barberry CS17
Creeping barberry, Creeping Oregon grape. A spreading evergreen shrub to 60 cm (2 ft) high, tolerating deep shade. Bloomy black fruits, 10 mm across, are edible. An excellent ground cover and understorey crop; also used for hedges. Hardy to -20°C.

Melissa officinalis Lemon balm ND
Lemon balm. The familiar perennial herb with lemon-scented leaves which are excellent as a flavouring, in salads and teas. Planted thickly, it is a useful ground cover plant; it self-seeds readily and spreads quickly if allowed. Bees love the flowers. A good mineral accumulator. Tolerates most soils in a sunny or partly shaded position; hardy to -25°C.

Mentha piperita Peppermint ND
Peppermint. The familiar hybrid mint used for flavouring, herb teas etc. It is a vigorous spreading perennial, growing to 90 cm (3 ft) high and forming a ground cover; likes sun or part shade and a moist soil. As well as being edible and medicinal, bees love the flowers and all aerial parts are useful for dyeing. Hardy to -35°C.

Mentha suaveolens Apple mint ND
Apple mint, Round-leaved mint. Another vigorous mint from Europe, this one a spreading perennial growing 1 m (3 ft) high which likes a moist soil and sun or part shade; hardy to -20°C. Leaves are used for flavouring, bees love the flowers, and forms a ground cover.

Monarda citriodora Lemon bergamot ND
Lemon bergamot. Perennial, likes a well drained soil, has wonderful flavoured leaves for making teas etc.

Myrrhis odorata Sweet Cicily CS20
Sweet Cicily. Great perennial herb with anise/liquorice flavoured leaves, stems and tap roots. Likes some shade.

Olea europaea Olive ND crack shell
Olive. Small evergreen tree from the Mediterranean region which hardy needs describing; grows to 6 m (20 ft) high. Source of the fruits which are usually pickled, and the oil from fruits used for all culinary purposes. The oil, leaves and bark are used medicinally. Likes a sunny site and well-drained soil; hardy to -10°C or so once established.

Oxyria digyna Mountain sorrel ND
Mountain sorrel. A perennial from Northern temperate regions, growing 50 cm high. The leaves are edible raw in salads, with an excellent lemony flavour and almost succulent texture. A dye is obtained from the flowers. Self-seeds readily. Likes a moist, slightly acid soil in sun or part shade; hardy to -40°C.

Phormium colensoi Mountain flax ND
Mountain flax. An evergreen shrub 1.2-2m (4-6 ft) high with sword-shaped leathery leaves. These leaves produce a strong fibre suitable for ropes, paper etc. They can also be used as twine merely by splitting and using fresh. Likes a sunny spot; tolerates exposure and suitable for hedging. Hardy to -12°C.

Pimpinella saxifraga Burnet saxifrage ND
Burnet saxifrage. A European perennial growing 1 m (3 ft) high which grows in most soils. The young leaves and shoots are eaten in salads, the seeds as a condiment and an essential oil is distilled from the root as a flavouring. The leaves and roots are medicinal. Good at attracting beneficial insects. Hardy to -25°C.

Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine CS4
Scots pine. Large evergreen tree from Scotland, growing to 36 m (120 ft) high – 6 m (20 ft) in 10 years. A major forestry tree in Europe, producing good quality timber used for all construction purposes etc. The young shoots and essential oil from them are used medicinally. Likes sun and a well drained soil; hardy to -30°C.

Rhus glabra Smooth sumach WS13+CS13
Smooth sumach. A shrub to 3m (10 ft) high, with fruit clusters which are soaked in water to make a lemonade-like drink; young shoots are also edible raw. Dyes, tannins and medicinal products are obtained from several parts. Tree used in hedging and for erosion control; good bee plant in summer. Growth 3m (10 ft) in 10 years; hardy to -40°C.

Rosa Rugosa Ramanas rose CS17
Ramanas rose. A vigorous medium bushy shrub, reaching 2.5 m (8 ft) high within a few years. Bears large edible hips (hairs around seeds must be removed), the flowers are used in teas and preserves. Excellent in hedges and windbreaks, also a good dune and soil stabiliser; also a bee plant. Many medicinal uses. Any reasonable soil in full sun; hardy to -40°C.

Sanguisorba minor Salad burnet ND
Salad burnet. An evergreen perennial growing some 60 cm (2 ft) high, flowering from spring to summer, with an extensive root system. The young leaves are available all year and are edible in salads with a mild flavour. The leaves & stems are used medicinally and the plant is a good mineral accumulator; bees like the flowers. Prefers a well-drained, calcareous soil, but will grow in most situations including in grass. Hardy to -23ºC.

Staphylea pinnata Bladder nut WS22+CS13
Bladder nut. A large vigorous shrub from Europe and Asia, growing 5 m (16 ft) high in 10 years. It produces edible seeds 1 cm across tasting rather like pistachio nuts. Likes a moist soil and sun or part shade; hardy to -20°C.

Tanacetum vulgare Tansy ND
Tansy. Perennial from Europe, growing to 1 m (3 ft) or more in height, which spreads aggressively. Likes a sunny or light shady location and a moist soil. Most useful in the garden for its ability to accumulate minerals from the subsoil, and to attract predators of a number of insect pests – good under fruit trees. It is also a bee plant, dyes are obtained from the aerial parts, and the leaves and flowers are medicinal (use with caution). Foliage is used as an insect repellent. Hardy to -25°C.

Viola odorata Sweet violet ND
Sweet violet. A tiny evergreen perennial from Europe, growing 20 cm (8”) high. The leaves, flower buds and flowers are all edible raw, and an oil distilled from the leaves and flowers in used in liqueurs and perfumery. The roots, leaves and flowers are used medicinally. Can be used as a ground cover plant. A woodland floor plant which likes a moist soil and part or full shade; hardy to -25°C.

Zanthoxylum schinifolium Szechuan pepper CS13
Szechuan pepper. A very aromatic shrub from China and Japan growing 2 m (6 ft) or more high. The leaves can be used as a flavouring, but the main use is the peppercorn-like black fruits, which are used a spice (peppery and fragrant) – grown commercially as a spice crop in Asia. Grows well in any reasonable soil in sun or light shade; hardy to -20ºC.

Other
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Rhubarb (soak before sowing in March; harden off; plant out in warm weather)
Asparagus (sow singly in February for June planting)
Yellow rattle for meadow
Lavender for beds in bottom field
Bog myrtle for FG

Stratification key
ND Not dormant, sow in spring
SI Not dormant, must be sown immediately
SC Scarify and sow in spring
CSn Cold stratify n weeks
WSn Warm stratify n weeks

The forecast for Sunday is pants: wet all day. I wish I hadn’t reenlisted to walk the Tod boundary with Al! I might still bail because he quickly got another mate to volunteer so one of us needs to sign in on the day which will be a big delay at the start.

Almost got the Shippen studio bench cleared today, in prep for sowing seeds. Maybe tommorow. Been mowing around the orchard trees between breakfast and coffee. Half an hour of exercise that gets me close to the plants.

I still find the spring greening a bit weird and painfully chartreuse. After all our efforts planting, the shoots seem painfully slow in emerging. How are the willows going to make their dash to ten feet in time? Such a different cycle to Australia.

We had six periods of laying snow over the winter and, quite recently, in early spring; we had that odd burst of heat at the end of April which had me worried about grass fires; then a sharp frost that blackened the new oak leaves; some hail that beat up the peach blossoms; and now some more expected temperatures, with variable winds and showers. I’m not sure what to consider normal any more. Fingers crossed for a healthy spring for our trees.

Monica is enjoying visiting our friends in South Australia and has concluded our pension business successfully. Her return flight is a week from next Saturday. She’s expecting quite a lot of new beehives and stands so it’s not a holiday for me!

I’m spending this evening with a bottle of whisky, watching English and Scottish politics become polarised. Oh, joy!

Lime burner at the Scottish Lime Centre

Temperatures have fallen and we’ve had hail and rain. Yesterday, we found some of the woodland’s early leaves had been blackened by the frost. Shouldn’t be a problem. Very different to last week.

Chris came around again today, as he said he would, to do chores. I reviewed my jobs list and there wasn’t a lot he could help with so, after putting some strings up the front wall for the hops to climb, we went for a walk.

I hoped to find a nicer way up onto the moors than Calflee, by coming down a different way than usual. We were well rewarded. After walking along Warland Reservoir path towards STOODLEY PIKE, we turned left just at the end of the wall, where the overflow channel starts. I’ve been wondering about this path since my first walk up there but always been on my way somewhere else. Once around the first corner, you see a good path across the flat moor, marked by posts, ending at a converted farmhouse that’s on the hilltop above Bottomley. Heading downhill, the vehicular track we thought was their driveway dead-ended at a lower cottage but the track carried on, level, to come out at the far end of Pippa’s fields, below Lodge Hall. We returned down Knowl Top’s road but you could easily cross a stile to get down to our Spring Field.

It was a very pretty walk, not difficult once up the hill, providing some unusual views along the valley and some other interesting sights, like the mystery in the picture attached. These odd walls are in the middle one of three small reservoirs. They don’t seem to be part of a building; perhaps they carried a water pipe? Chris thought they were left over from a Pink Floyd album cover shoot.

Jake’s just collected the truck to help sort out their yard, tomorrow. Maybe he’ll bring more firewood. Can’t have too much.

When a place is revisited, circumstances change perspectives. This was my third time at the Stank, Aunt Pauline’s home: the weather was dry and bright; I had new knowledge about stone walls; and I got to see all of the rooms for the first time (because Monica is more pushy than me). Monica, of course, was weighing up life there against Warland because it was the first place we considered and the one that made us consider moving at all. We had long discussions, at the Stank and on the way home: our conclusions were that the place and environs are lovely but we prefer where we have settled.

While I finish my coffee in the yard, Monica is probably just crossing the northern coast of Australia. All the first-time visitors will get excited and prepare themselves for landing soon but Monica will smile, knowing there are five more hours and two more movies before the dry brown changes to urban sprawl.

We were both reluctant to volunteer for the job of going over to sort out our pension and Monica drew the short straw. The trials of the journey are a known disincentive but I think our reluctance really stems from the danger of liking Australia too much. We scarpered out of there without much looking back but every view and every street in Adelaide and Sydney hold fond memories for us and it is bound to be painful to visit and leave it all again. Monica’s my hero, yet again, for taking on that challenge.

While she’s away, my projects continue, of course. Today is sowing seeds; tomorrow is building beehives; Treesponsibility are coming by to tend the woodland they planted. Everything is bulging as new growth braves the frosty mornings.

So: less blather and more action!

Here’s a picture of our latest composition, still in progress. You’re looking at 900 basket willow (under the sheet), 80 hazel, 120 red oak (the segment with incomplete mulch mats) and 80 small-leaved lime. 50 ghost gums will go into the next segment, once I’ve dragged that huge pile of bramble cuttings out of the way. These first five segments spell WHOLE, so I can remember them. Monica has planted 66 elder in a hedge along the inside of the fence and 50 creeping juniper on the outside, to control the brambles in the front wall. The remaining segments, defined by the rear fence poles with diagonal bracing, will be of alder, field maple and bird cherry. All except the willow and hazel will be coppices with standards so three or four of each species will be allowed to grow into a timber tree.

Watched the Horizon archive episode about Bucky the other day. It nicely gets home the point that his enquiries were about the fundamental practicalities of the universe, such as that two lines cannot pass through the same point. It shows how these enquiries lead him to contribute to many fields, with the domes as a by-product.

In the workspace at t’Other Bit, right in the middle, next to the gate, I’ll be making a living willow sculpture from next year’s withies. Despite what I just said, it will almost certainly be a dome, though we should try to imagine what BF would have made in this situation. The material constraints are: withies can be straight or bent and will grow to three or more yards; the main members need to have one end in the ground; replaceable members can be wicker-work; got to be able to prune enough to maintain the function (shelter).

This arrived today, in response to Jessica’s very negative reply to my suggestion for a welcome pack for new residents:

David, we’d like all to know Rachele and I love your ideas regarding an introduction letter/leaflet. It took me a while to get familiar with Warland when I moved here. I would have valued a letter or leaflet, it would have been good to know others were around in a friendly and supportive way. This place is idiosyncratic and we have faced some issues which may not be known to those moving in. I think it would be good for those moving in to know a few things about Warland, e.g.

1) the lane can link up with the reservoir overflow channel to form a destructive stream, that we need to ensure the reservoir owners fulfil their responsibilities which they are so keen to wriggle out of.

2) That Warland is now in essence surrounded by a forest garden and emerging woodland to replace the woods felled years ago. This means the land here is valuable and must be protected, especially from the unnecessary, destructive and expensive burns practiced nearby (it costs thousands of pounds to have fire engines called out for the burns and means less engines and fire people are available for emergencies).

3) That there are many other ways in which you and Monica, as custodians or Warland Farm, are assisting the sustainable management of land in the area, with support of many organisations, and have already gained (and wish to gain further) support from within and outside Warland. We feel you will have a significant and growing role in local educational projects with many benefits for this and the wider community.

3) That there is an ongoing risk of inappropriate development (with and without planning application) – e.g. The old mill which is soon to have new owners – (what about a collective buy-out of this to prevent future development).

4) That the lane is not a right of access for non-residents, and than heavy farm vehicles are especially problematic. That those owning land adjacent to the lane have some rights and responsibilities towards it.

5) That we have a unique and protected wetland habitat between canal and road, but this needs to have a careful eye kept over it.

6) That the Rochdale Road is an accident blackspot due to the central death lane, excessive speeding, reckless overtaking on the blind bend, refusal of Calderdale council to apply traffic calming measures despite deaths and injuries, that we need a pedestrian crossing to help us get safely to the bus stop.

We feel that the destruction of community is one of the reasons for much of the country’s malaise. Problems like social isolation, poor emotional and physical well-being and ability to work with shared needs and values could all be better addressed if we were able to develop more coherent and active communities. We don’t expect a leaflet to solve all of this though, but most important things start with a seed and grow with nurturance.

My truck’s clutch was reported as slipping by the guys who borrow it to deliver firewood. Afterwards, they admitted they’d been trying to tow their sawmill out of their yard when it went. Turns out Ford designed the Transit with a rubber flywheel, so that had to be replaced at the same time. More firewood deliveries caused a slave cylinder to fail soon after; no-one took any responsibility for that one, either. All better now. Had an extra battery wired in parallel so the chances of flattening it when using the crane are reduced.

I have just finished clearing t’Other Bit, the third of an acre we have over the road, next to the pub. There’s now a nice stack of willow poles which I can use to make hurdles necessary to block fence-holes as they appear. A couple of large piles of bramble shoots, too, though I haven’t discovered a use for those. Perhaps I could scatter them in areas where we need a bit of a thorny barrier; every one of them would take root, given half a chance. Pity the damned deer didn’t eat them while they were down, yesterday. 

Chris and I mounted an alpine-style expedition to extricate the blue, 100-litre plastic bucket that was wedged in a waterfall above this field, spoiling all of Warland’s view. Without the aid of oxygen (just) I got Chris two-thirds of the way up, to where I could use his recently-gained body weight to lever the stone-filled eyesore out of its crevice in the rocks. Many others have tried; I have one failed attempt, to my shame; but now the bucket is gone. It was such an established attraction to the eye that early reactions were not good. I have applied small dabs of blue enamel to the windows of those who complained too loudly. It was odd to be working in full view of the neighbours and Monica.

The builders are also renovating the pub, converting it into a dwelling. My delight has been to extract hundreds of cans and bottles from the brambles within the builder’s range. The whole field shows continual dumping of tyres, mysterious bags of stuff and dodgy builders’ waste from many years. When we have the fence up and the trees planted, I’m sure we’ll get complaints for ruining the natural look of the place. All is vanity!

Monica is crawling through our finances for a couple of weeks because the Tax Office has decided we should submit returns here as well as in Australia. She’s a hero for keeping those tasks away from me so that I can play lumberjack.

One of our more near-sighted neighbours couldn’t comprehend that Hunters doesn’t have Warland as its subject and insisted on trying to guess the work’s age from her memory of the changes since it was painted. I’ve printed her a copy so that she can continue puzzling over it. The ultimate trick would be to get a painter of Tony’s calibre to create a composite from the two pictures; wouldn’t that be fun?

Accidentally bought some wooden pattern-makers’ planes from Old Tools. Bastards keeping e-mailing me their latest findings and my finger refuses to press the Delete button. These items are from the collection of a guy who wrote a book about planes and they have his markings on them. I’m sure they’ll be a winning investment, one way or another.

I haven’t done much in the workshop while the planting season is upon us. On the truly inclement days, I have managed to clear the desks upstairs in the Shippen, mainly so that I can use the loft as a potting shed for the hundreds of seeds I bought from Martin Crawford in October. Being ignorant, I have failed to get their stratification onto a proper schedule and I’m months late with some. I hope I can keep the problem seedlings in pots over next winter and plant them out in 2016, inshAllah. If my ignorance doesn’t present further mishaps, this round of propagation should populate the shrub and herb layers of the old FG. A few bullaces have already gone in, based on the superb flavour of the one near Tony. I must lop off a few cuttings when we visit.

Trad Cotter’s book on Mushroom propagation is whetting my appetite for the sub-soil layer’s exploitation. Did you know that truffles’ scent is the plant’s way of ensuring animals dig it up, eat it and then spread its spores to better sites than aerial dispersal could achieve? Even mice and voles will seek them out, which has me thinking that just one or two truffle-inoculated hazels could start their spread. There were lots of interesting growths in the rotting willow on t’Other Bit. Ralph and Ashley cut it back decades ago and many of the logs are just fruiting. I must identify all those mushrooms to see if there’s anything local that I can eat. I munched some frozen Jew’s Ears this morning; he wasn’t happy about it, though.

We have the Drawing Room back in use. Monica hasn’t progressed with its renovation but I have moved my Quad 33/303/ELS stereo back in and the fire works well, so I’m happy enough. It’s lovely to be able to escape from the telly and the bad language Monica uses to get through the tax forms.

The Farm has become a staging post for stuff that can’t get up the icy hill. One of my benches is covered with abandoned parcels and there’s a Porsche Cayenne—the ultimate four-wheel-drive—loitering in the yard because the owner is too scared to take it any higher up the road. One of the hobby farmers has kindly driven his tractor up there, polishing the icy surface so that even he had to reverse down and leave his animals hungry this morning.

Last evening, we walked down to the road to meet Kevin who took us into the Beeb in Manchester to see a live production of the radio anti-quiz, “I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue”, with Barry Cryer, a couple of Goodies and the rest of the usual crew. We think it was a rehearsed repetition of some of their favourite radio moments with a few ad-lib sections. Fun, but it kind of detracted from the experience we enjoy on the radio. At least we understand the rules of the game Mornington Crescent, now. Still, it’s good to know we’re unlikely to ever get really cut off from such civilised entertainments. We can always walk down through the fields if our road is too icy.

We have new Warlandians moving in a in a couple of weeks. Five or six places are on sale and a couple of them have sold. My next job, today, is to start preparing some welcome packs. If we do this right, I hope we can persuade at least some of the new residents to join us in a bit of community spirit. When I mentioned this to Ralph, he said it might put people off the place if they thought there were Do-Gooders up the road. I’ll always remember his unique and final insult.