Clare and John

August 31, 2018

August - a productive month

Clare and John

August 31, 2018

Last few days of July

Just to prove we did what we said we would do -

We rather wish we had taken a 'before' photo so you could see just what an improvement this is.

2nd August

We've put the trail camera back in the Scrub and clearly found a busy site, or perhaps the animals we captured on film were all off to Clare's sister's birthday celebrations. John says you can tell the doe is young because she has a baby face, a thin neck and her anal tush is not fully developed. Add that to your Liddells learning account.

4th August

John finished strimming huge lengths of path to enable our anniversary celebration guests to walk around Liddells and for them to sense what we have been up to in the last five years.

5th August

Robbie came and helped with logging. John repaired the fencing round the wet area in the Meadow. Tim sent us an identification challenge.

It's a Purple Hairstreak and a first for LIddells. Since these butterflies like to hang around the tops of oak trees, all credit to Tim for a) spotting it b) getting a photograph and also credit to Clare who guessed correctly

8th August

With the well-being of our guests and health and safety considerations in mind, John fixed the wobbly stile near the Pit Wood. Clare noted that her well-being had not prompted this repair before the party.

9th August

Several years ago John and Clare set up Rat Arts - regular meetings at their local pub, The Rat, which prioritise the human voice. Anyone is free to come and read, sing, recite, tell a story and/or listen. It's informal, great fun and well-supported. We have themes, which are open to individual interpretation, suggested by our regulars and the one for this day was Space. This was John's contribution:

The Available Space

The available space measures 11 feet 4 inches long by exactly 6 feet wide, and with a height of 7 feet 3 inches. This offers a cubic capacity of 492.95 cubic feet.

Given that an average adult, when resting, inhales and exhales about 7 to 8 litres of air per minute or 11,000 litres per day, this means that a person needs about 388 cubic feet of oxygen per day. So if a human was to take up residence in this available space they would be OK for about a day and a half, if not carrying out any strenuous exercise – which can be bad for a person at the best of times.

However, the available space is not sealed like an air lock. It has no roof and five, at present, unglazed windows and a door which will let in drafts, so a person could theoretically survive there indefinitely given that another person was to provide food and water – and ideally alcohol.

If the occupying person became bored with the available space – which might be a period of hours, days, weeks, months or years depending upon the psychological make up of the person – the space could be put to other uses.

For example, one Mini classic motor car could fit in quite easily and two could be squeezed in if the wheels were taken off both and the second rested on the roof of the first. If each mini was filled to record capacity with 28 females (see the Guinness Book of Records for details) this would mean an occupation of 56 human females. No estimates are available as to how long such a gathering might survive in the available space despite, as already advised, the availability of unlimited oxygen owing to the lack of roof, five unglazed windows and a door which lets in drafts.

If the available space were to be given over to non human occupation, it would suffice for one three-quarter grown African bull elephant or a fully grown female. In the absence of a step ladder the height of the elephant could easily be ascertained by measuring the length of its rear footprint, and in the case of the male multiplying by 5.8, and in the case of the female by 5.5. Having established that the creature would fit in terms of its height, it would need to craned into the available space as the door which lets in drafts is too narrow to allow entrance by that route. The elephant, whether male or female, would not enjoy the available space because although it would be able to amuse itself for a while waving its trunk through one of the five unglazed windows or above its head because of the lack of roof, it would be unable to turn round and to try the four remaining unglazed windows and the alternative views they offer. In any case an elephant is a stupid idea as they are probably the world’s most sociable creatures and keeping one, alone, in the available space would be cruel.

The same could be said for giraffes, although the lack of roof and the availability of foliage provided by the nearby trees to the south would offer some sustenance for a while. But a diet of sycamore leaves would prove alien to a creature used to a variety of tropical vegetation.

Given the difficulties of keeping such large animals in the available space it seems wise to consider smaller options. The floor area is big enough to accommodate fifteen National or Darlington beehives, both of which have a footprints of 292 square inches. However this would prevent the beekeeper from managing the apiary as there would be no room left to move around, so the ideal number of hives would be seven and a half, but since there are no half hives, the eventual number would be seven. The problem of having an apiary surrounded by walls would not necessarily be problematic as the bees would soon learn to navigate by using the five unglazed windows and the open roof space. Those of a particularly tenacious temperament might even try the door which lets in drafts so it might well let in bees also.

Those beekeepers addicted to the use of the Dadant and Langstroth Jumbo combination hives are advised to look elsewhere as they are just silly beehives and only used by those with gigantic beards who drive large 4x4’s with names like Wrangler, Renegade and Invincible.

Seven sensible National hives in the available space, each with a population of approximately 50,000 bees, would mean a home for 350,000 of these tiny but highly intelligent and important pollinators, without which it is argued the human race would soon perish – though Trump does not believe this evidence, calling it fake news.

If the available space were seeking record status in providing accommodation, it might consider ants. A single colony of wood ants can be 500,000 strong, but you wouldn’t go for wood ants as they have two bad habits. They can spray formic acid 12 times their own length, the equivalent of being tasered by an angry copper, and they have very poor diversity figures - namely a life expectancy for males of only a few weeks, whilst queens (females that is) can live fifteen years and spend nine hours a day sleeping. Also all wood ants are right-footed so the possibility of having a strong left midfield or a pacy left winger are nil.

The available space has thought long and hard about what might prove its best option in the long term and puts forward the following wish list: five glazed windows, a roof, a door which does not let in the drafts and a sign above which says Shepherds Hut – basic accommodation to let for two adults and a grand daughter.

11th August

The party - see separate blog post

12th August

Eilidh came to help with William and managed to pick out all four of his hooves. Next stop the foot trimmer. Eilidh also spent time leaning over William with as much weight as possible and tickling his sides where stirrups will hang - all to familiarise him with the sensations he will experience when he is ridden. As he passed all these tests with flying colours, Eilidh introduced him to the concept of trotting, which is a gait he has to learn. Rattling food in a bucket helped.

...and William says "Enough," and starts to walk off

13th August

Today was a Green Gym Day however several of our stalwarts were busy so John and Clare went up and John felled a tree and Clare started clearing brambles and ivy out of the roadside wall. Then the rain came in so they went home thereby missing the two volunteers who arrived a short time afterwards. Whoops! We will be better organised for next month's session.

14-18th August

John felled more trees in the Top Strip. He is planning a third pre-emptive strike on the winter's mud that tends to surround the sheds and results in the need for antigropelos. (We really hope we have converted all of you to OED Word of the Day fans.) We have plotted the first two strikes on our learning curve. John will make posts from the felled trees and eventually fence off a much larger area. Of course the felling produced more brash ready for the next time we hire the chipper. Clare and John repaired the roadside wall in the North-east Strip.

19th August

Robbie came again to help with logging. The Top Grazing offered us more forage.

Robbie would like us to point out that the photo was taken before he put on his helmet. So would John.

20-21st August

As Clare's walking is compromised this year (a hip replacement by Christmas with luck) John has undertaken the forage/jelly challenge. Clare spent a very sticky time with her honey. This is the first year she has had a good harvest and there is still a super - the box where the bees store the honey, and which sits above the brood box - to empty. A full super can yield between 35 to 40 lbs. The super Clare cleared was only half full.

...unlike Clare, who made do with what she could find!

21st August

Today was pony pedicure day. We are pleased to report that this time, only William's second with us, Stephen managed to trim all four of William's hooves. Many pieces of carrot were involved so he will be able to see excellently when he wanders round Liddells at night.

After this John turned to some hauling with Paul. Unfortunately just after Paul had started pulling the second bag of logs, he took fright and ran off, the bag trailing after him. We have no idea what spooked him. It was frightening for him and for us. He will need a period of recovery and we need to think deeply about where we go from here.

Clare has seen a Small Copper butterfly basking near the bee hives on several occasions lately. Tim said, "That's a fine photograph," - a photograph that was not easy to take while wearing a bee suit and rubber gloves - praise indeed!

23rd August

With Robert's (molecatcher) help, John continued with the anti-trench warfare project round the sheds.

25th - 28th August

Postal work continues. Clare completed this week's butterfly transect survey while Tim is away. En route she found fungi in abundance. Another opportunity to ascend the learning curve. Any of you out there with knowledge to contribute, feel free.

Could be Slippery Jack - 'edible rather than excellent'!

Clare and John

August 13, 2018

August - bonus anniversary post

Clare and John

August 13, 2018

On 7th August 2013 the sale of Liddells was completed. On 13th August 2013 we became the registered owners, Traditionally a fifth anniversary is marked with a gift of wood. What better excuse for a party and to light the huge bonfire Clare had built a while ago.

As the dry weather continued and as we heard about more wildfires, we decided to create a Plan B and invited friends to share a picnic on the Meadow instead. As soon as we had made that decision, it rained! However, discretion being the better part of Valerie, we stuck with Plan B.

No sooner had guests arrived than we sent them off with a map to have a walk around and see what we've been up to, and an I-spy test to keep their attention on the job in hand.

Everyone took this very seriously and almost left no time for their picnic! Several reported seeing deer in the Scrub and on the Top Grazing. We saw bats for the first time, which was exciting. We'd wondered if there were resident bats but had never seen any. New task for winter - make bat boxes. A Tawny owl hooted in the background late on in the evening and we were relieved that the rain held off till after 10. No spirits were dampened and our stalwart friends stayed on in spite of the weather.

Clare had been doing her accounts and shared the following:

5 Years’ worth:

Added -

425 yards of fencing

1700 yards of paths - chipped, strimmed, cleared

30 yards roadway

80 yards land drains

3 gateways

Built -

13 stiles

1 hurdle

1 gate

5 sheds

⅔ shepherd’s hut

36 bird boxes

Made -

24 bales + 8 dumpies of hay

200 bags of chip for paths

Planted -

155 hedging plants

260 trees

1000 bulbs

A meadow’s worth and more, wildflower plugs

Sown -

c 1 kg wildflower seeds

Felled -

40 trees

Removed -

4500 Creeping thistles

Been gifted -

26 trees

1 song

1 booklet of poems

2 Gaelic blessings

Cared for -

9 ponies

85 sheep

c 1000,000 honey bees

Seen -

Roe deer

Hares

Rabbits

Voles

Badgers

Foxes

Mice

Grey squirrels

Stoats

Frogs

Newts

Recorded -

29 Tree species

126 Wildflowers species

53 bird species

19 Butterfly species

Hosted -

15 Green Gym Days (the first pretty much 4 years ago to the day)

Lit -

6 bonfires (1 still to come)

Celebrated/acknowledged -

1 Naming

4 Fire Festivals

1 birth

4 marriages

2 deaths

1 Doctorate

1 5 year anniversary

Suffered -

1 fall; many cuts, bruises, scratches, prickles, bites, stings, sprains and strains

Read or read from -

41 relevant books

Innumerable websites

Attended -

2 conferences

1 advisory meeting

2 specialised talks

Applied for -

1 Forestry Commission grant

Developed -

1 website

Published -

70 blog posts

1 article on bee-keeping

Purchased -

I small trailer

1 flat bed trailer

Several power tools

Many hand tools

2 Riding hats, 1 pair breeches, 1 pair riding boots

2 sets of tack for ponies plus associated pony care products

1 set horse-logging equipment

Fence posts

Strainers

Wood for shuttering sheds

Wood for railings

Wire - barbed, high tensile, chicken, sheep proof, rabbit proof

Corrugated sheeting

Nails, screws, staples, nuts, bolts, hinges, locks, door furniture

1 bowser

Foraged -

Wild fruit for 60 jars of hedgerow and rowan jelly

Collected -

12 jars of honey with more to come this year

Received - advice or practical help from -

29 people who are experts, proficient or working in relevant areas

Welcomed - the physical labour from -

17 friends (and a son of one of said friends) and two (not our) grandchildren

Many in those last two categories are here this evening, however I want to mention Mel, Sally and Tim, who have each put in huge numbers of hours and who can’t be with us

And it all amounts to, at a very conservative estimate, at least 6000 hours of work

Thank you all for your support

John told the story of The Braunspath and held his audience entranced.

Clare and John

July 31, 2018

July - 'water, water everywhere' not

Clare and John

July 31, 2018

1st July

Clare had submitted her article on bee-keeping to the national bee-keeping association's magazine; it was accepted, and after quite a while, was published. She dreams of a book deal, though that would mean writing a book.

3rd July

Butterfly Tim sent updated news on the Peacock caterpillars, saying they had grown dramatically and are now 'more clearly Peacocks, notice the red prolegs (Tim's new word of the day).' Presumably these are paid more than amateurlegs.

Peacock Caterpillars - Liddells 2 Jul 2018.JPG

5th July

Mel and John logged and bagged up more of the fallen rowan and finished re-chipping the path in the Top Strip. Butterfly Tim came and had his first look inside a bee hive. Half an hour after he and Clare had finished, Clare saw bees swarming from the hive that had been in purdah awaiting emergence of a new queen. The most likely explanation is that the virgin queen had swarmed taking part of the colony with her, there is a faint chance that this was a mating flight. Clare suspected the former because the new queen was only just due to emerge and wouldn't yet be ready for mating, but kept her fingers crossed for the latter and decided to wait a few days to give the queen, if there was one, a chance to get laying.

7th July

You may have noticed that it's been a bit dry of late. The rainwater collection trough was nearly empty so construction began to create a platform for a bowser. In the longer term we will reinstate the plan to add guttering to the sheds which will fill the bowser. We had crossed this off the to-do list because we had never been short of water.

8th July

The weather forecast and a local farmer suggested we cut the Meadow as soon as possible as rain was predicted for the end of the week. It is traditional to wait until after July 17th, sometimes longer in the north-east, to allow most of the flowers time to set their seed. This year we have had phenomenal success with Yellow Rattle, however the downside of this is that there has been far less grass for hay. The extreme weather has also meant that there have been far fewer wildflowers. The hay was cut today and John started strimming the edges of the Meadow which the cutter could not reach. Below are some of the wildflowers that did appear.

Great Burnet with Yellow Rattle seedheads

Greater or Black Knapweed with pollen beetles

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare - echis is Greek for viper) "Bugloss" is derived from the Greek word bou (meaning cow or ox) and the Latin word glosso (meaning tongue). These refer to its leaves, which could be said to be shaped like … — Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare - echis is Greek for viper) "Bugloss" is derived from the Greek word *bou* (meaning cow or ox) and the Latin word *glosso* (meaning tongue). These refer to its leaves, which could be said to be shaped like an ox-tongue. Apparently in the language of flowers, the plant stands for falsehood.

9th July

Strimming finished and raking started. Courtesy of yet another helpful farmer, the full bowser arrived.

10th July

The hay was turned and declared 'made'.

12th July

Helpful farmer (see above 9th July), in spite of being hugely busy with combining, called in and baled our hay. All 5 bales of it - rather fewer than last year's 19!

Friday 13th July - Green Gym Day - lucky for some

Getting the hay in was the day's job. We succeeded. Gleaning yielded an extra two dumpies of hay. We managed to rake up 5 bags of Yellow Rattle and four of these were shaken over miscellaneous patches outside the Meadow; one bag went on its way to a helper's friend in Cumbria. All the hay was loaded and transported to the hay shed and as we sat down for a picnic lunch, the rain started. Perfect timing re hay, not so good re picnic however we stayed out enjoying the change from the heat.

Pat insisted she hadn't had her photo on the blog for too long

Not sure whether Clare is gleeful or gritting her teeth

15th - 18th July

Clare identified and John strimmed (guess which was harder) an area in the Pit Wood that Eilidh can use as a story-telling circle when she brings her pupils. John also strimmed a circle round the bonfire in the Orchard ready for our fifth birthday celebrations, although with the weather as it is, the bonfire might remain unlit for the time being. Eilidh rode Paul and John walked William with them. They were all very well behaved. Clare found a couple of self-seeded oaks in the Top Strip path and potted them up at home. Clare checked the swarmed hive and found a new queen cell from which the new queen should emerge in a few days. So it was a virgin queen swarming. Back into purdah they go.

24th July

Roof sheets for the shepherd's hut arrived today - John hasn't quite worked out where they should go. Clare suggests on top of the main structure.

25th July - 31st July

There will now be a pause in blog entries while John redecorates the porch at home and Clare makes clothes for granddaughter Juno!

See you in August.

Clare and John

June 30, 2018

June - 'I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June' L.M. Montgomery

Clare and John

June 30, 2018

1st June

We planted a bag full of English Bluebells donated by a friend with woodland. We planted them in the north-east area of the Pit Wood. Clare finished pulling out the last of the Sycamore seedlings from the Wildflower Meadow and found two thistles that had escaped her gaze. Thistles now removed.

2nd June

Shepherd hut progress - making crucial decisions on the design of the window frames. Our friend Stephen had read last month's blog and had been concerned about where we were going to find the necessary shepherd. First find your sheep. Keith, on the other hand, told us about wooden boxes, about the size of a chest freezer, that he had seen in Romania, that are for shepherds to sleep in overnight. A bit minimalist for us, however it would have been less work.

3rd June

Having put Paul's make-up on because he has had a louse infection (the same product that was recommended for infant eczema) we went for a stroll over the site. The first discovery was a fallen Rowan on the Wetland, a casualty of very strong winds. Water Avens and Aconite were out in the Pit Wood.

Water Avens - they remind Clare of the Flower Fairy books she read as a child

You can see why Aconite is also called Monkshood

3rd, 4th, 5th June - three days at Number 11

What follows is a selection from over 400 videos taken over three days. We apologise for failing to provide a Springwatch-like analysis of frequency of visits, division of labour between male and female, items on menu, and completed customer satisfaction forms.

10th June

Pony Pedicure Day. Steven made one of his regular visits. Paul nailed it and William (this was a first for him with us) helped with pony treats, emerged with trimmed fore hooves, but not yet four hooves. John started to grapple with the shepherd's hut door.

Caption competition - answers to liddellsreserve@gmail.com

Common Spotted Orchids on the Wildflower Meadow

Ragged Robin (one of Clare's favourites) on the Wetland

Great Tit chicks in their nestling down or neossoptiles (we hope you love the OED Word of the Day as much as we do)

11th June

Trail camera revelations - ballet pigeon and tod. John remembers one of his aunts reading Aesop's tale The Fox and the Crow to him in French

14th June - Green Gym Day

Having had to cancel a Green Gym Day last month, we were pleased this one went ahead. So clearly were our loyal supporters, one of whom, when told about the day, replied "Yippee!!!" The photos below would suggest Clare & John did no work at all.

15th-20th June

John goes strimming crazy on paths in the Pit Wood, Orchard and Top Strip.

21st June

Mel and John trailered all the chip from beside the Wildflower Meadow to the Top Strip and topped up the path at the east end before retiring to the pub for a pint and a game of pool (as is their wont).

Clare inspected her bees before going away for a week (Clare not the bees) and discovered one colony had hatched a new queen who had mated successfully and was laying new brood. The other had failed to follow this fine example and had developed laying workers. The colony cannot be saved. Their honey can.

Tim went to see the Solstice sunset from Liddells.

26th June

Tim issues a Peacock butterfly caterpillar alert

Clare and John

May 31, 2018

May - bearding bees and hut-building

Clare and John

May 31, 2018

1/2 May

John looked in all the small nest boxes and found 11 in use, fewer than in previous years. This will partly be due to the poor April weather and also reflects the decline in bird numbers nationally. We'll look again in a week or two and see what progress there might be.

3rd May

Friends of ours asked if we would contribute greenery to be used for decoration at the wedding of their oldest daughter. We were delighted to say yes.

This - mostly Larch, Wild Raspberry, Elder, Cow Parsley and Snowberry - was transformed into ....

3rd May

Clare realigned the trail camera so that, as she thought, it would show more of the nest box in front of it. Hmmm. Luckily the new position caught night time activity.

Foraging doe

Foraging badger

Doe losing winter coat

4th May

John has started work on the shepherd's hut - no Farrow and Ball products will be used in its decor. He is working on it almost daily. Tim has been walking the butterfly transect and in the absence of butterflies sent a lovely photograph of the Snake's Head Fritillaries on the Wildflower Meadow.

Also known as snake's head (the original English name), chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), Lazarus bell, chequer… — Also known as **snake's head** (the original English name), **chess flower**, **frog-cup**, **guinea-hen flower**, **guinea flower**, **leper lily** (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), **Lazarus bell**, **chequered lily**, **chequered daffodil**, **drooping tulip** or, in northern Europe, simply **fritillary**

5-8th May

Clare and Sally walked over the whole site and recorded wildflowers and birds heard and seen. They found three large cushions of primroses in the Pit Wood that had not been found before but which had obviously been there for a long time. The first of the year's bluebells had emerged in the Top Strip. John and Eilidh continue working on Paul's development. We find evidence that a Tawny Owl is still around.

Eilidh encouraging Paul to pick up his feet.

8th May

More evidence of a Tawny Owl in the Pit Wood.

9th May

John makes progress on the shepherd's hut and Clare finds more spring flowers appearing.

Lady's Smock (Cuckoo Flower) on the Wetland

10th May

John is a year older today. To celebrate he, Mel and Clare did some routine maintenance on the Top Strip path, weeding and laying more chip. They were so engrossed, no photograph records the activity. We saw a swallow apparently investigating the log shed, we'd like to think as a possible nesting site.

14th May

Progress on the hut. We walked round making a list of jobs that Green Gymners could help with. En route we saw what Clare initially thought was a hive preparing to swarm. This was confusing as, to the best of her knowledge, this colony had lost its queen. When the bees were still there the next day, further investigation suggested they were 'bearding'. This happen when the colony is too hot and large numbers of bees leave temporarily so that the house bees can be more effective in cooling the hive, which they do by fanning their wings. This is very different from this. John re-realigned the trail camera so that it focussed on the nest box, which he did beautifully, enabling a fine pheasant photo opportunity.

Posing pheasant

Equestrians among you will have heard of William Fox-Pitt, one of the greatest eventers. Here is our Pit fox taking the wall jump. He will henceforth be known as William.

Our Pit fox

18th May

Tim and Jane are paying particular attention to the bilberry of the Crag in the hope of seeing Green Hairstreaks. None have appeared so far, however Tim did photograph this rather splendid spider. We'd welcome an identification so arachnologists feel free to contact us.

19th May

The Adder's Tongue Fern on the Meadow is showing through. It is approximately 2cm high. It was registered as 'scarce' in Swan's Flora of Northumberland in 1993.

20th May

We are aware we don't have many photographs of the different birds on Liddells, so it's good to find the trail camera helping to address that gap. The Wood Pigeon came back to the same spot several times over two days, visiting about every twenty minutes.

20th May

After all her pedgilling (OED Word of the Day again - to work hard and painstakingly at) away at removing the Creeping Thistle on the Wildflower Meadow last year, Clare was delighted to barely fill one bag with them this year. So far a total of 442 pulled out - yes, she did count them, it helped with the sense of achievement - which would suggest she has pretty much decimated them. Result!

23rd May

John has been pedgilling away too. Clare is delighted he has found a use for the tool belt she gave him.

24th May

Keith helped us yet again with our annual breeding bird survey - he managed to find a window between taking a group bird-watching in Romania and spending a month offering nature tours in the Cevennes. We are very grateful for his generosity, both with the breadth of his knowledge and of his time. We saw fewer birds than in previous years, partly because the tree foliage is quite dense now and also it was pretty cold early morning. One addition to our usual list was hearing a raven flying over. You can see the results here.

25th May

Clare persisted with her work removing the Thistle and Sycamore seedlings which are prolific this year. This necessitated looking closely at the ground and Clare was thrilled to discover that not only has Yellow Rattle established itself in at least three-quarters of Meadow, but there are at least four more patches of Adder's Tongue Fern than we had realised on the western third of the Meadow - and a frog.

27th May

Eilidh came over and helped get Paul harnessed for some work and he pulled two bags of logs, one from the Wetland which is the longest he has been asked to do. As you can see, it seemed to cost him little effort. (We'd like to say that we know best practice would have Eilidh and John wearing hard hats and that it is only because they know Paul so well that they haven't put them on, however will endeavour to remember to do so in future.) Clare spotted more wildflowers emerging. A bit of footage from the trail camera showed a magpie in the Scrub. We've included it to add to our menagerie.

Water Forget-me-not, which we remember is on the Wetland

Tormentil, which is not in the least bit tormenting

Bugle, which does not play the Last Post

28th May

More Meadow work. Orchid leaves are appearing, the Yellow Rattle is beginning to flower and there is a particularly fine patch of Bistort. You can now see more clearly, if you have ever investigated a viper's mouth, why Adder's Tongue Fern is so called.

Yellow Rattle doing it's job and getting down to grass roots

30th May

A couple of photos to show how John is progressing with the Shepherd's Hut.

No, we haven't forgotten this month's fashion shoot. (Clare was asked why we kept including photographs of gorse. If you too are mystified, click here)

31st May

A final note - please consider supporting the Wildlife Trust's initiative to do something wild every day in June. It's the fourth year of 30 Days Wild. The purpose is to boost wellbeing by being more connected to nature. Even if it's too late to sign up, start straight away and let your imaginations work. If you live near enough to Liddells and want to do something wild there, let us know.

Clare and John

April 30, 2018

April - more here than we anticipated

Clare and John

April 30, 2018

1st April

As you can see, we have mastered the instructions for the new trail camera and it is proving its worth. Here you will see different beneficiaries of the nuts on the squirrel traps.

Investigation

Theft under cover of darkness

The camera has also captured deer eating near the gate into the Orchard, and you can see them nibbling at lichen and bark on the Hawthorns, and as a bonus, it has caught the arrival of the chiffchaffs on April 1st - or maybe it was a Starling indulging in some mimicry and an April Fool. Listen carefully to the second video. Some of you may remember the hospital comedy Green Wing, in which case you may remember this scene. For viewers of a sensitive disposition, the latter part of the scene could also be about birds. Spot the inquisitive deer!

April 4th

John has started filling the large holes left from the removal of Ash saplings in the Orchard.

April 6th

6 notches on John's squirrel belt. More work filling Ash Tree holes and tidying/bonfire building in the Orchard. John met Monica today and apparently since we found the dead Barn Owl, she has not been seeing any Barn Owls on her regular walks. John saw one hunting in the daytime today about a quarter of a mile away near the Military Road. It's possible that 'our' owl has moved away to new territory.

7th April

I hope you spotted the fox in the last video. Today was a great day for spotting and spots - we saw a Goldcrest, a Treecreeper, a Nuthatch on one of the squirrel traps and after much pursuing of its call, a Green Woodpecker. We'd heard a Green Woodpecker on the land before, however this was the first time we'd seen one, and unusually we saw it in a tree rather than on the ground. Technically the tree is on our neighbour's land, however the branch on which the woodpecker chose to perch was overhanging Liddells, so we think it counts as on our land. At one point the Green Woodpecker flew off to be replaced immediately by a Great Spotted Woodpecker which, in its turn, flew off as soon as the Green returned. Several Chiffchaffs heard and one seen calling from the top of a Silver Birch in the Scrub. We were also pleased to see our home grown Horse Chestnuts had produces sticky buds. Bank voles, a favoured food for owls, are making holes everywhere. We found Scarlet Elf Cap fungus, also called Scarlet Elf Cup, Moss Cup and Fairies' Baths - a guess it all depends on how fanciful you are.

Hare today

8th April

Two days ago the trail camera recorded an animal running through the Pit Wood at night. John was convinced it was a rabbit, Clare, seeing the dark tips to its ears, believed it was a hare. I think the above suggests Clare might have been right. John has destroyed the evidence (not the hare) which Clare thinks proves conclusively that he knew he was wrong.

11th April

John saw two deer on the Wetland.

12th April

We had thought there would be a two week holiday gap in the blog at this point, however we had to cancel the holiday and so there are rather more entries for the next two weeks than we had expected.

14th April

The camera caught a cock fight. We have seen Primroses, Dandelions, Celandines, Marsh Marigold, Daffodils all flowering and the Wild Garlic is spreading in the Top Strip. Clare happily anticipates making even more Wild Garlic, Rocket/Nettle and Walnut Pesto than usual next year.

We'd love to show the bank of Primroses however it's very hard to get a good photograph

All this Wild Garlic from a couple of bulbs two years ago

15th April

A new position for the trail camera overlooking the Verge shows a doe walking away. We expect you all to have remembered your deer anatomy and know the names for the large white patch on her backside and the white dangly bit. Clare saw another Goldcrest and saw and heard the first Willow Warbler and Blackcap of the returning migrants.

Typical male posturing says John

16th April

A first ever on Liddells, Clare heard then saw a Marsh Tit.

19th April

We planted several Martagon Lilies in the Pit Wood from bulbs we'd been given and managed to grow on. Technically they are an introduced species, however they are so lovely we decided to give them a place. We also planted two more Brooms on the Crag that have emerged from seeds sown at home. It was so sunny we had our first picnic lunch on the Wildflower Meadow and Clare found a spot in the Pit Wood to set up the pop-up bird-watching hide John had given her for Christmas. Apart from seeing three grey squirrels, she loved it and saw a Tawny Owl, Blackcap and Willow Warblers.

Hiding. Seen this way, it does look a bit like a sculpture of a helmet - hmm, maybe an art trail some time in the future....

21st April

The trail camera is back observing one of the squirrel feeders. One welcome recipient and one unwelcome. The second video shows a buck fraying the velvet from his antlers. Fraying is the major way deer cause damage in woodland.

Nuthatch finding nuts

Fraying in the dark

Why won't in go in the trap?

21st April

Finally we have managed to plant more of the Willows that survived over winter in the pond. Clare opened all three of her hives and all are doing well. One so well that she added a super (a shallower box than a brood box, filled with frames that the bees can use for honey storage, leaving more space in the lower box for the queen to lay. A queen excluder goes between the two which is a grid that allows the smaller worker bees through but not the queen). John filmed the bees bringing in pollen. The yellow pollen is from Gorse, the more orange pollen from Willows.

22nd April

The last of the Willows are in. Clare heard and saw a Marsh Tit in the Scrub so all digits crossed that there is more than one and that they will breed. At last there is nesting material appearing in some of the nest boxes. The second video below demonstrates how the frogspawn is developing - two sounds to note, Willow Warblers singing and John breathing heavily with cameraman's concentration. Ash - first to leave and last to arrive - is coming in to leaf.

Bees bringing in pollen

Teeming tadpoles

Ash emerging and looking rather like broccoli

23rd April

The Top Grazing had a harrowing experience today - harrowing levels the ground, distributes the manure and encourages the grass to grow. We find even more evidence of why we are not catching many squirrels in the traps. Clare, who is wondering about moving permanently into her hide as she is loving it so much, watched a Blue Tit making at least 30 visits to a nest box with moss - a visit every 30 - 45 seconds and about 20 seconds spent arranging the materials inside. She saw a Marsh Tit again, seeming to investigate a bit of stone wall and then, oh joy, that bird was joined by another and the two of them spent a long time picking insects from one of the brash piles/bug hotels. Maybe they were on a first date at a restaurant. According to the RSPB Marsh Tits will nest in an existing hole in a tree or wall.

No wonder we are failing to trap squirrels!

25th April

John decided to challenge William. It was a first move and he seemed not to mind at all (William not John).

26th April

More wildflowers are coming in to flower. There are lots of Dandelions on the Meadow providing pollen for the bees.

29th April

More nest boxes have nesting material. A Blue Tit has laid 3 eggs so far in Box 15. Clare's son planted a Hazel in the Pit Wood in memory of a good friend.

Clare and John

March 31, 2018

March - '...brings breezes loud and shrill' and worse besides*

Clare and John

March 31, 2018

* from The Months, Sara Coleridge (and no dancing daffodils have been stirred as yet either)

2nd March

We discovered just how hardy the ponies are. Going up to check on them today we were unable to negotiate the 4ft drifts down from the Military Road however managed to drive up as far as the local farm, park there and Wenceslassed our way along the cleared road up to a point where we could get over the wall to get on to Liddells. (Guess which one of us was Page and which Monarch...) The ponies were fine warm in their thick coats and Paul was showing off rather fetching snowball accessories on his feathers. We, however, were fundied: benumbed with cold; chilled.

You can see the snow and some icicles failing to penetrate the thickness of Paul's coat

William always leaves his vegetables till last

Snow bobble accessories - will they catch on? Are they subnivean - existing, living or carried out underneath the snow?

3rd March

Jane W walked up past Liddells and sent this photograph of the bottom entrance

4th March

Although the wind was an easterly, the drifting on the Wildflower Meadow was banked up on the west side of the wall. There was also a rather pleasing stile sculpture.

7th March

John was able to get back to what he loves doing best on LIddells, planting trees. We put 3 regenerated Ash trees into the Wetland. The sun was shining today and the bees were outside all three hives, so it looks as though they have all come through the winter.

You may have noticed the dearth of trail cam photographs recently - the original camera stopped working and after trying several ways to address that, John sent it back to the manufacturers who were wonderful; they found that the camera was faulty and promptly dispatched a new one; since the model we had has been superseded, they sent the new upgraded one! Once we have worked out how to use it, we'll set it up again.

10th March

You never know just what you are going to learn in Waitrose. Today Tim saw Clare at the cash desks and having been reading an article in New Scientist, checked out that she knew that rhododendron nectar was poisonous to honey bees. This was useful learning and backed up by tales of beekeepers keeping their hives closed until the plants have finished flowering. Not realistic up here, so the bees will have to rely on their considerable native intelligence as there are rhododendrons within bee-flying distance. However Waitrose as a seat of learning reminded Clare of an encounter she had had with fellow beekeeper and sheep keeper, Barry. In telling the story of how he had been trying to artificially inseminate some of his sheep and had lost the means of insemination inside one of the ewes, declared roundly, "Never sponge a virgin Shetland". Somehow that aperçu has stuck in Clare's mind and probably in the minds of several fellow shoppers, who may well have been somewhat alarmed having not heard the build up to the punchline. It never happens in Aldi.

11th March

8 Hazels planted in the cleared area of the Pit Wood where they will create understorey. We are pleased to see that regenerating Hollies are already appearing in this area. The OED Word of the Day provided another gift - quincunx: an arrangement of five objects with four at the corners of a square or rectangle and the fifth at the centre, used as a design for the five on a die or playing card, and in planting trees.

Regenerating Hollies benefitting from the increase in light and space

14th March

Planted 6 more Hazels into the Pit Wood.

Neighbour Monica has still been seeing a Barn Owl hunting pretty much every day recently - either very early morning or late afternoon. Today we were so pleased to see one fly out of the south-east corner of the Pit Wood, very near the Tawny Owl box (maybe our signage could be clearer), only to have our delight squashed within minutes when we came across the body of a very recently killed Barn Owl. Likely culprits - Buzzard, Peregrine (never seen one locally), Goshawk (now that would be something, however probably unlikely as their nearest known habitat is Kielder Forest). We felt so disheartened thinking that we might have had a pair of Barn Owls. We hope whichever has survived will stick around and find another mate. 'Red in tooth and claw' is not always the most comforting knowledge.

We had a quick check on most of the bird boxes and thus far can report no activity. The OED Word of the Day has clearly been monitoring the blog as it has come up with huh, as in 'all of a huh': awry, askew, aslant; lopsided. So reminiscent of John and bird box alignment!

16th March

The Top Grazing is in a pretty parlous state with nothing much for the ponies to go at and very muddy, so today John has given them access to the Crag, Scrub and Wetland. They will do a wonderful job of remaking paths and trimming some of the gorse.

17th March

Time to check on the incidence of varroa mites in the bee hives. One colony had no mites whatsoever, a second had two mites, the third needs rechecking in a few days as the varroa board had somehow blown out from underneath the hive. It's good news for the bees going into the new season. Varroa mite is inevitable these days, and a serious infestation can weaken a colony and leave it vulnerable to infection. (PS the third colony has not fared so well, so it has been treated against the mites. This may well knock back colony expansion for a while however that will mean they are less likely to swarm while we are on holiday next month!)

19th March

Friend Adele alerted Clare to today's edition of Start the Week on Radio 4. The whole programme is interesting, especially John Lewis-Stempel talking about his new book The Wood: The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood. He argues for the need to work woodland for biodiversity - it's not just enough to own woodland and do nothing. Maybe we need to resurrect the pigs plan. He also delights in words and used psithurism: the sound of wind whispering through trees. We challenge you to introduce that into your everyday conversation. His book is this week's Radio 4 Book of the Week - well worth five 15 minute listening slots. Some of you, maybe John as well, might see whether or not wrapping ivy leaves round the head does indeed prove to be a cure for baldness.

20th March

With an astonishing sense of timing, John produced the following photographs of part of a pond on the Wetland.

He really did not know until afterwards!

John also planted some of the willow cuttings in the Wetland

23rd March

John continues his war against the grey squirrels - 4 notches on his belt so far. Time to try Brunswick stew?

26th March

Grey squirrel tally up to 5

27th March

4 roe deer on the Wetland, 2 Pied Wagtails on the Top Grazing and best of all, a hare in the Verge!

31st March

We're hoping to hear arriving warblers any day now, but we haven't heard any singing yet on Liddells. Long-tailed tits in the Orchard today - always a delight. We have been touched by the support we have received for our work, however not everyone is so respectful. Clare hauled a bag of cans and bottles out of the Top Strip, thrown over by people parking on the road the other side of the wall. Give the amount of alcohol bottles, we assume they are not parking there to enjoy the view.

Happy Easter!

Alder - male catkins with tiny female flowers above. The flowers will produce the cones - you can see some of last year's

Hazel - again male catkins with tiny red female flowers above

Clare and John

February 28, 2018

February - Godwotterynot

Clare and John

February 28, 2018

5th February

John has made the most splendid nesting box for tree sparrows. They like communal living so he has produced a Tree Sparrow Terraced Living Facility. It's fixed to the back of the very first shed we put up.

6th February

Blog followers will know that Clare is rather fond of the OED Word of the Day. Today is not only special because it marks 100 years since women began to get the vote, but because she has coined her own new word. Today's OED word is 'godwottery', and can be used to describe an over-effected or elaborate style of gardening, and it comes from the line ‘A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!’, in T. E. Brown's poem My Garden (1876). So, what happens at Liddells is now officially 'godwotterynot'.

7th February

John saw a deer in the Pit Wood and a woodcock in the Scrub. Great excitement at home as the saddle for Eilidh to use with Paul arrived and with scarcely a pause, here she is setting off sitting on it and Paul. He seems to have made tyre tracks in the snow.

9th February

We're getting ready for February 14th, not with hearts and flowers but by making new nest boxes as 14th - 21st is National Nest Box Week. (Put it in your diary now and maybe put up a box next year.) John is planning two more speciality boxes for a tawny owl and for a kestrel.

17th February

Two delights: we were given a bag of snowdrops by our land neighbour Monica and planted them in the newly cleared area of the Pit Wood; Mathilda shared The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry with us.

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry

22nd February

Shoulder tendon damage (John), sore hip (Clare) and miscellaneous bugs (John and Clare) meant that we didn't quite manage to put up bird boxes by 21st as planned, however we're presuming the birds will be forgiving and grateful for new accommodation. We decided to put up the tawny owl box today and happily Tim happened along at just the right time and helped the job go really smoothly. Clare also had the treat of seeing a barn owl flying within the Pit Wood. We'd heard there was one around and are delighted it's using Liddells as part of its territory. We also planted 8 hazels in the north-east corner of the Pit Wood.

Note obedience to Health and Safety requirements - ladder tied to tree

Note obedience to Clare's insistence on straightening the box

Desirable residence to let. And yes, we do know the birds can fly into the box, the ladder was for construction purposes on;y

23rd February

After the tawny owl box success, we chose a site for the kestrel box. It needed to be at a height of at least 15ft, so we first had to work out how to get it up that high. Attempt 1 - haul up with a rope. Moderate success. Attempt 2 - haul up with two ropes. Better, though then the fixing panels came off. We called it a day.

25th February

We stiffened our sinews and went back for a third go. Bingo! Having seen the state of the Wildflower Meadow, we also engaged the 13 year old son of a local neighbour who has started a business called Molebusters.

...and eventually, you make it! Over to you kestrels...

Yesterday we forgot to take an illustrative photo of the extent of the molehills, so here are a few in the newly fallen snow on 27th. Clare has been told that it is the male mole that moves in a straight line, while the female is more creative in he… — Yesterday we forgot to take an illustrative photo of the extent of the molehills, so here are a few in the newly fallen snow on 27th. Clare has been told that it is the male mole that moves in a straight line, while the female is more creative in her travels. Sounds believable.

Clare and John

January 31, 2018

More January - making a splash, poles and dancing

Clare and John

January 31, 2018

11th January

John says there's not much going on at Liddells at the moment and then we reposition the trail camera and there are two deer. Educational opportunity - the photo shows clearly that the deer in the middle of the frame is a doe. Her 'target' (Clare only learnt this application of the word today - its the white patch on her backside) looks like a spade from a pack of playing cards. The buck's target looks more like a sideways-on kidney. You can also see the 'anal tush' - the tuft of white hair hanging below the target. This appears one the doe is about 18 months old and lengthens during the winter. I bet you all feel better for knowing all that.

12th January

Clare celebrated being discharged from physio by walking round Liddells with Sally. On the way an ermine ran across the road in front of the car - very lordly it looked too! We saw a kestrel hovering over the Top Grazing and a grey heron fly onto the land from the west. We were delighted to witness the tenacity of willows - a bundle of cuttings we'd been given in the autumn and had, in haste, stuck in a wet patch on the Wetland and then abandoned, were all sprouting. Clare was reminded of Judi Dench, in a programme about her love of trees, quoting a Chinese saying that the best time to plant a tree is fifty years ago; the next best time is today. Must get planting! A further educational opportunity arose when we spotted an owl pellet, and fox and deer droppings all very close together. So in what order did they appear and who ate what - answers on a postcard please...

You can probably make out the small vertebra that was part of the owl pellet.

John has been researching his mother's family, particularly the farming diaries she and her father kept. He has discovered this photo of his mother with the farm's working horses. So that's where it all began!

And Clare went to the Laing Art Gallery to see an exhibition of Paul Nash's work and liked that he 'tried to paint trees as though they were human beings' and found them to be 'dominating presences in nature with particular qualities' and distinct personalities. The Wikipedia page on him only shows his work as a war artist, the Tate's page on the exhibition does a bit more justice to his other work.

19th January

Liddells covered in snow and tracks everywhere.

20th January

John was on the land in the morning and saw two deer walking slowly towards him across the Top Grazing apparently unaware of his presence - a young buck in velvet and a doe - they jumped the fence into the Scrub.

24th January

Clare planted into pots 62 conkers that our land neighbour Monica had collected and donated.

25th January

Work continues with John, Eilidh, Paul and William - the humans took the ponies to the Military Road so William could meet the traffic. They returned via the field pond and Paul had a good splash. William is as yet only dipping his hoof in the water. Frustratingly hands full of ponies are not compatible with photography so please use your imagination.

A deer has jumped the fence and landed here

28th January

We planted 100 English bluebell bulbs in the Pit Wood in the area John and Mel have cleared. Signs of spring are evident.

Gorse about to burst into flower - kissing still in fashion

31st January

The first thing we saw on the Top Grazing was a mixed flock of fieldfares and redwings. We've often seen fieldfares on the land, however the redwings were welcome new visitors. Clare worked as official photographer for John and Eilidh's session with the ponies. William dared to make a splash for the first time and responded well to Eildih's encouragement for him to trot on the leading rein. It's all new for a young pony. Paul was encouraged to lift his feet over poles, however the ground was a bit too wet and slippy. John did rather well. Then Mel came and he John and Clare set to work on the west end of the Top Strip path and cleared off weedy chip (this is not a judgement, the chip was full of weeds) and replaced it with the chip we had made in the autumn.

Paul teaching William to stop, look and listen for traffic

John and Mel discussing the latest Strictly Come Dancing news - I kid you not

Clare and John

January 8, 2018

January 2018 - Happy New Website and welcome subscribers

Clare and John

January 8, 2018

1st January

We're live! We've had such lovely responses from recipients - it's been very encouraging and heart-warming.

John went up to see the ponies and Eilidh and her fiancé Tom came too.

John also photographed the ashes he and Mel had moved from the Orchard to the Wetland.

Eilidh and Tom with Paul and William and carrots

5th January

John and Mel finished clearing the north-east section of the Pit Wood. Luke, who had helped us with ideas and information right at the very start of our ownership, revisited and reassured us that we are working along the right lines. He was also very impressed by how much we had achieved, which was heartening. We don't always see our own progress.

6th January

The wall is mended! There was another of those photogenic mists over the valley when John arrived today.

...and from the road. We're pleased with the result.

The effect is as if looking out over water. Which I suppose it is really!

8th January

We'd like to say hello and thank you to all of you who have signed up for updates through the blog. A week on and we are still in receipt of affirming responses. Onwards.....

Clare and John

December 29, 2017

December 2017

Clare and John

December 29, 2017

2nd December

Paul has his hooves trimmed; William needs his doing so needs to be handled in a way that gets him ready.

4th December

John starts making a door for the shelter, not because the ponies have already bolted but to give William somewhere to be while Paul is put through his paces.

6th December

Eilidh joins John to work with Paul - Paul is like putty in her very competent hands and canters round on a lunging rein on the side he usually seeks to avoid. Eilidh takes William in hand/head collar too and begins some gentle training on the lead rein. John is thrilled to have such invaluable and experienced support.

The rest of the month

John continues to work on clearing the northern boundary in the Pit Wood.

Eilidh has been able to pick up William's feet and has been long-reining Paul.

We've had a bit of wall collapse on the Meadow/Road boundary - evidence that climbing a wall is not the best option when there is a gate and stile to use.

28th December

We are poised to launch the website. Mindful that we have used photographs taken of and by other people, surveys and creative contributions, we asked for permissions to include these. The responses have been interesting, to say the least. Phrases such as 'true colours are revealed', 'the mask slipping' and 'the shadow side of personalities' have been in our thoughts and we are left questioning the basis of some of our relationships. Thus far Clare's granddaughter's 'agent' has demanded a monthly payment of £1000 or childcare in perpetuity, Nick (he of the scything action) has replied: 'all proceeds from merchandising - sale of resin figurines of me in action, calendars featuring photos of me scything, me resting on my scythe, gazing, hand on chin, into the middle distance, wiping my brow etc - are paid to The Root Charitable Foundation, Cayman Islands.' And Neil (he who will usually be the first to offer help wherever it is needed) has said: 'Of course I am happy for you to use any material I might have provided! I'll enclose my bank details in a separate email for you to transfer the royalties...'. Keith does not ask for anything so obvious as money up front, however he does say: 'I suppose I should just mention that I have patented the terms "wildlife, environment, bird, plant, meadow, hay, butterfly, pond, deer, bee and volunteer." So as long as you avoid those it will be fine. If they are mentioned you will understand that I will, reluctantly, have to sue.'

We are redrafting our Christmas card list.

31st December

Clare paid an end of year visit to her bees and fed them sugar fondant - not individually you understand. She was very impressed by the clearing work John and Mel had done in the Pit Wood and in particular by the tidy log stacks!

Space offered for pregnant woman to give birth?

...and then another. They just need a pony to haul them.

Clare and John

November 30, 2017

November 2017 - stunning sunsets

Clare and John

November 30, 2017

1st November

A woodcock has returned - they are thought to return on the first full moon of November. Ours was three days early. John does his bit for Red Squirrel conservation. A grey bites the dust.

8th November

Clare and Barry remove two dozen Larches from the verge where they would have eventually obscured the view. They will be replanted at Barry's.

11th - 14th November

John worked on the fallen Ash in the Pit Wood. Sparrowhawk seen there. A second grey squirrel joins the first. Mel helps move 4 self-sown Ashes from the Orchard to the Wetland. Clare, resting an injured hip, misses out on some spectacular sunsets.

15th November

Ponies return to the Top Grazing.

16th - 30th November

John put up a new squirrel trap and fixed the trail camera to record what happens. He worked on clearing the north-west corner of the Pit Wood. He and Mel cleared and levelled the way into the Pit Wood from the Orchard. John adds to his power tool repertoire with a pole saw. No doubt he will be pole dancing with it soon.

29th November

Eilidh rides Paul - we hope this will be the start of a long relationship.

30th November

It snows!

Sally from Codlaw getting Paul ready for Eilidh's first ride on him

Clare and John

October 31, 2017

October 2017 - Funky fungi

Clare and John

October 31, 2017

9th October

The path in the Top Strip is a great environment for fungi.

14th October

Field mat installed in front of sheds in attempt to minimise mud. Not sure it will be up to the challenge. We walked round the whole site, heard jays and saw one or more of each of the following: wood pigeon, rooks, fieldfare, blackbird, robin, wren, chaffinch, bullfinch, goldcrest, nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, long-tailed tit (Clare wishes they were still known as bumbarrels), dunnock, pheasant.

15th October

Field Maple planted. John sowed about 40 Sweet Chestnut seeds at home. Eilidh, local teacher and the daughter of a friend from choir, visited with a view to starting Forest School work on Liddells.

20th October

8 Small Leaved Lime planted. Ponies moved to Meadow to graze it off.

23rd October

Juno, Clare's first grandchild, makes her first visit and meets Paul.

31st October

12 Juniper and 5 Small-leaved Lime planted.

A selection of  fungi... — A selection of fungi...

This may be oyster fungus, and it may not

We'd welcome identification help with these...

Clare and John

September 30, 2017

September 2017 - "Haul Paul!"

Clare and John

September 30, 2017

1st September

After a long pause, Paul returns to log-hauling training.

4th September

More path maintenance in Top Strip. Logs sawn and stacked in log shed ready for 2018.

6th September

Paul hauls some more. More path maintenance.

7th September

Clare and John set the bees from the unviable hive free on the Meadow. The queen travels up to the Top Grazing clinging on to the back bumper of the Land Rover. Having failed to spot her inside the hive, at least Clare could see that she was indeed smaller and thinner than expected and therefore likely to have been a drone-laying queen. Yet more path maintenance and work on the roadway by the top gate.

13th-16th September

Still more path maintenance; strimming in the Top Strip.

Paul hauling in fine style

This miniature forest was growing on the old path chip

16th September

We say goodbye to Snippets who leaves for Tarset pastures. Paul goes to Codlaw for pony boot camp while we go walking.

22nd September

46 Guelder Rose planted as hedging in the Orchard.

25th September

William the pony arrives.

27th September

Would you believe more path maintenance? It's a long path.

28th September

Site prepared for Field Maple Mel has grown and donated. Juniper maintenance on Crag.

Clare and John

August 31, 2017

31st August - Green Gym Day with Timberwolf and Groundhog

Clare and John

August 31, 2017

Clearly we have been depriving our friends this year in the Green Gym department - 7 turned up!

We had hired the chipper again and worked our way through mountains of brash from the Top Strip and then tackled moving another pile from the wetland so that too could be chipped. Barry brought his Groundhog and the combination of human effort and ingenuity, and machinery, was brilliantly effective. There was even time to delight in a Comma butterfly in the Scrub. Clare likes to think that her coconut and blackberry squares added to the energy and success of the day.

Barry apparently climbing into or emerging from a brash mountain

Breaks are allowed - Tim seems to be recommending the coconut and blackberry squares. Clare is guarding them at her feet.

More evidence of permitted breaks. Note that the ground is preferred over chairs. Or upturned waste paper bins.

Enjoying the view? Pointing out yet more brash that needs chipping?

Eventually John orders people back to work...

Back to work and tackling the problem of moving a pile of brash with the Groundhog

Mel practising for his part as Good King Wenceslas in the Christmas play

Jane texting Clare for another coconut and blackberry square

Clare and John

August 11, 2017

August 2017 - Proper use of the hay shed

Clare and John

August 11, 2017

2nd August

Hay shed completed!

4th August

Roadway finished and the trailer has new mudguards.

5th August

Path maintenance in Top Strip - weeding and strimming.

6th August

Same again.

7th August

More chip laid on Top Strip path; more strimming; area around sheds temporarily fenced and walkway into shelter started.

8th - 9th August

More work on walkway into shelter.

11th August

Chris Bates from Oakwood and Howden Recycling delivered a trailer load of gravel for the walkway and the hollow beside the new roadway. Walkway finished and fencing of that strip completed. Harebells found on Top Grazing right up close to the road boundary wall.

12th - 14th August

Posts and rails fixed for area in front of sheds.

15th August

The Great Leveller - all was going well in John's post and rail eyes until Clare came along with her spirit level and everything changed. Or rather she insisted everything had to be moved. We're both rather pleased with the result. We found a Horntail Wood Wasp in the log shed - an insect neither of us had seen before.

Horntail Wood Wasp. Photo by Billmcmillan (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

18th August

Railings round sheds complete. Clare not railing any more.

23rd August

Log clearing from Top Strip ready for Paul to haul. Brash removed and piled up ready for Green Gym Day

24th - 25th August

At last we had enough dry days in a row to cut the Wildflower Meadow. Tom came in with his tractor and cut and turned the hay, John strimmed and Clare resumed her Grim Reaper role for the occasion. John also strimmed in the Orchard in readiness for hedge planting.

The Grim Reaper reappears. Any improvement on last year's scythe action?

27th August

Tom turned the hay again. We cleared brash from the Top Strip ready for the chipper. More path maintenance in the Top Strip. Clare discovered that one of her four bee colonies had laying worker bees and was no longer viable. Roe deer seen moving from the Scrub to the Pit Wood at 3.30pm - so much for them being crepuscular.

To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn!

28th August

Hay in. Having rowed up the hay it was baled, transported and stored in the newly built hay shed.

So 1 cut meadow = 19 hay bales = 1 full hay shed +2 happy ponies + 2 very tired adults.

29th August

Liddells is a wonderful place to be when there's a great sunset, as there was today. Tim captured this one.

30th August

John fixed shuttering in place for the paths into the sheds. Clare failed to take a photograph of this momentous development in our attempt to upgrade the shed area.

Clare and John

July 31, 2017

July 2017 - make a hayshed while the sun shines

Clare and John

July 31, 2017

1st July

Rush removal completed for this year. Hay shed started. Yes, this is Shed No. 5.

2nd July

More work on hay shed frame; all logs taken home for the winter.

8th July

Improvements made to roadway through wet area on Top Grazing.

9th July

Trail camera moved to Orchard; Larch maintenance.

11th July

More soil moved from Andy and Kate's to roadway. Trailer over-filled leading to destruction of a tyre which we then discovered was a rally tyre!

15th July

Supporting timbers for roof now in place on hay shed and cladding started.

23rd July

Stone bed for roadway completed.

24th July

Hay shed cladding finished on 2 sides.

25th July

Roof on.

31st July

Shed complete apart from door furniture; membrane and pallets used for floor.

John thinks he might have made a mistake

The trailer needs a lie down after moving all the stone

The picture of slowing down - no more rush

Clare and John

June 30, 2017

May and June 2017 - 3 surveys and a new trail camera

Clare and John

June 30, 2017

2nd May

Squirrel trap set in Pit Wood. Paul bucked John off twice. John knows this was his own fault, having disregarded advice that he was using an unsuitable saddle which was causing Paul discomfort. The resulting injuries, including to pride, and especially to the fingers of his right hand, meant wearing a splint for two months and a severe reduction in working capacity. Clare was not amused.

6th May

Wildflower survey, tawny owl out in Pit Wood.

7th - 14th May

Time spent clearing spilt gravel from top grazing and setting up two new hive stands in apiary.

15th May

Bird box survey: 13/33 in use.

14th May - 28th June

Paths strimmed in Top Strip, Orchard to Pit Wood and Orchard to meadow; Thistles cut on Top Grazing (27th June); 3 Willows planted (from Sylvia) on Wetland in area of main pond; Rush released by digger all removed from Top Grazing and holes filled; arena strimmed.

19th May

Bird survey - John and Keith.

17th June

Rails for enclosing sheds area bought at Mart Sale.

20th June

One of the bee colonies swarmed into the middle of a Hawthorn and Clare and Barry faced the challenge of collecting it. Happily the bees are enjoying their new home with Barry.

23rd June

Trail camera placed S edge of Pit Wood; deer filmed 4.31am.

24th June

Violas and Scarlet Pimpernel planted on spoil heaps near Meadow; Field Poppy planted in Meadow.

John apparently enjoying the Bird Cherry blossom however that squirrel trap suggests he might have deadlier things in mind

The swarm is the dark patch in the top of the hawthorn

For your further education, these are roe deer droppings

Clare and John

June 30, 2017

Clare's Beekeeping - Beyond Beginner

Clare and John

June 30, 2017

I wrote the following for the Hexham Beekeepers Association (HBKA) publication Honeypress:

I love making frames. It’s an area of beekeeping in which, having learned from experience the consequences of putting the grooves on the outside, forgetting to put nails in the bottom bars and attempting to fix small strips of wax to the bottom edge of a Manley, I feel quite confident. I even brought transferable skills to the endeavour - I’d been an upholsterer in an earlier life so my hammering was quite well developed. So there I was at my third frame-making session and heard myself referred to as the Association’s ‘longest-standing beginner’. Hmmm. I thought about this on the way home and wondered…..

I’d read William Mayne’s A Swarm in May many years ago and it stayed with me as a wish to keep bees one day. I had responded to the mystery and charm of bees that Mayne captured in his story. Decades later, a move towards retirement and a new project to manage some land for biodiversity left me with time and space to make the wish a reality and I took the course at Kirkley Hall. By the end of the theoretical input I felt overwhelmed with information and very confused. Beekeeping remained mysterious and the idea of doing it had lost some of its charm. Fortunately the practical sessions translated some of that into a graspable possibility, though a lingering doubt about whether or not I could encompass all that was required stayed with me.

My next move, as recommended on the course, was to sign up to the HBKA, and through this I learned about the beginners’ sessions at their teaching apiary near Wylam. Slowly, frame by frame, some aspects of beekeeping began to make sense and with the patient generosity of the demonstrators, I began to believe that I might be able to do this. There were obstacles - being able to see eggs seemed pretty important. Look for things like grass seed, we’re told. Clearly my arms weren’t long enough, the angles were all wrong, the sun too bright or not bright enough, obviously there were no eggs to be seen - yet somehow the demonstrators always managed to see them. I thought maybe I could see something, maybe not and then - oh, I can see them, and they’re so small, much smaller than any grass seed I’ve seen. Maybe my arms are the right length after all - that’s a relief.

Then the HBKA established the Hive Loan Scheme. I cannot speak too highly of this. The scheme offered me a much needed stepping stone to keeping bees. I could have a go and if I didn’t take to it, I wouldn’t have wasted money on the outlay, I could back out without losing face, and I wouldn’t be on my own. I signed up. I arranged to buy a nucleus colony. I was about to become A Beginner.

Pause for modest drum roll.

I set up the hive in our garden, rather than at its planned destination, the theory being that I could spend time watching the bees from closer at hand. Yes, true, and I did. However at this stage I was still operating under some blissful illusion that à la William Mayne story, I would have a mystical connection to the bees and they to me and therefore would wish me no harm and therefore never sting me. Second pause for side-splitting laughter, knowing smirks and maybe just a tiny bit of identification. So my first sting was a rite of passage and very painful and punctured not only my skin but that cherished fantasy. I became a little more reluctant to do the gardening.

The first winter approached and the first of the challenges that face a beginner - Getting The Bees Through The Winter. I had heard that placing an empty brood box below the colony allowed the bees to cluster in that space for warmth - I liked the idea of them snuggling their way through the winter so that’s what I did. Unfortunately, I had heard no reference to, and didn’t think to ask, when to remove said box. When I first opened the hive in the Spring, they had already filled the empty box with wild comb. Help!!

Help of course duly arrived as it has continued to do in times of crisis and uncertainty. I have experienced laying workers, queens failing to mate well, swarming (for a long time ‘swarm control’ seemed to exist only in theory) and a complete absence of any spare honey. I decided in my own mind that as long as I hadn’t had a go at swarm control or tasted honey from my own hives, then a beginner I would remain. There was also another obstacle to my progress - I had failed time and again to spot a queen on my own. And I’m talking marked queens. Spotting a queen seemed to be the sine qua non of beekeeping and I had singularly failed to do so. Time and time again.

I’m talking three years here, and all this time I was listening to more and more information. Some of it I had heard before, some was new, and most of it fell into the ‘ask ten beekeepers, receive eleven replies’ category. I felt as if I was perpetually behind, permanently confused, and most of the time overwhelmed and without any clear sense of rhythm or pattern to what I was doing or attempting to do. I thought about giving up but my inner terrier decided otherwise.

The HBKA struck again - bee-buddying. That sounded like a good idea. I signed up. While waiting for the scheme to get under way, I approached someone keeping his bees near mine and we started. We began more as joint bee-keeping, working through our hives together while sharing ideas about what was happening, what we might do, the state of the world, etc.. I noticed that I was less anxious - chatting was helping to dispel some of the tension, and then one day, while not particularly looking, I saw one of his marked queens. (Another modest drum roll would not go amiss.) And then, on the same day, I saw the other. (Not so modest drum roll.) The trick both times seemed to be not to look for the queen and she sort of materialised into my vision. Flushed with success we moved on to my hives and (thunderous tympani) I saw one of my unmarked queens. I caught her and marked her. The other remained elusive. However, something had changed - I was no longer in the grip of that “I’ll never see a queen” belief that probably acts as an effective blinker. And I should probably mention that I had cataract surgery earlier this year. Trying to spot a queen bee through the optical equivalent of a net curtain might have proved a challenge too far. I have since spotted more queens, so it wasn’t an aberration.

Spotting queens has of course made swarm control - or rather undertaking the mechanics of swarm control - more possible. The bees, unsurprisingly, had other ideas about who was in control and one colony swarmed and my bee buddy experienced the same. And here’s an unexpected benefit of buddying - we helped catch each other’s swarms and then rehoused them in each other’s apiaries. Result!

I began to realise that I felt more up to date with my bee-keeping. I was beginning to anticipate what might happen next and what I might be able to do in response. I was more confidently knowledgeable about what a bee-keeping year looked like. I tidied all the notes and articles I had collected and sorted then into a file. I had a better sense of it all and more importantly for me, less afraid to ask questions and to ask for help.

So, it only remains for me to taste my own honey - and this year I have a super nearly full of the stuff. Yes, I still have to take it, however it seems to me that I can no longer shelter under the Beginner label. I texted my daughter about this, saying that moving to the next level felt a bit scary and maybe I could call myself an interginner. She pointed out that that looked as if I had an alcohol problem so I have chosen a different label. You heard it first here - I am proud to say that I am a begimediate bee-keeper. And I’ll probably be back at next year’s frame-making session.

Clare and John

April 30, 2017

April 2017 - the great (pony) escape

Clare and John

April 30, 2017

1st April

Electric fence activated, ponies moved down to Crag/Wetland/Scrub. Lots of chiffchaffs; long-tailed tits near Meadow; mallard drake on Wetland. A hare ran past us on the drive down from the bottom gate, heading west. Flower survey carried out. Tasks list compiled.

2nd April

Drama last night! Holly (field neighbour) called at home to tell us the ponies had managed to get through the electric fence and were racing up and down the Orchard. By the time we arrived they were feeding peacefully on the spoil heaps. This morning we added a second strand of tape to the fence, retrieved the ponies and we wait to see what happens.

First beehive inspection of the year and both hives queen right with eggs and larvae. Pat has given us some Holly seedlings. Mallard duck and drake on Wetland pond.

3rd April

Massive planning session in which we listed all the jobs we could think of that needed doing all over the site - it was very long and daunting! Horse Chestnut planted S edge of Pit Wood; wildflower seeds from conference sown in Meadow; drainage pipe removed from below spring; survey of northern boundary to assess work needed; partial logging of Christmas tree ends in Pit Wood; Rhododendron removed from Pit Wood.

12th April

Andrew came and harrowed the Top Grazing.

13th April

Heron seen flying onto and off the Wetland by the centre pond.

17th April

7 Crab Apple saplings planted in Orchard - all grown from local Crab Apple pips by Clare.

19th April

Spindle Trees now protected. Small bank of Violets in Wetland near Pit Wood edge. Treecreeper and Barn Owl spotted in Pit Wood. Bullfinches still around willow warblers arrived.

20th April

12 of Pat's Holly seedlings planted in Top Strip. Cowslips out in Top Strip and Violets in Wetland.

22nd April

3 Oaks (grown by Clare from acorns) and a Yew sapling from Pat planted in Pit Wood and some Opposite-leaved Saxifrage. Bonfire in Orchard now built and Orchard dead wood tidied up. Definite nesting activity in box on Orchard, in 2 and 3 in Scrub and in boxes in the Top Strip.

24th April - 2nd May

Digger delivered - land drains put in across top entrance and 2 in arena. Rush dug out all over top grazing.

Membrane and chip added to new section of path at west end of Top Strip and weeding completed. Heron on wetland middle pond.