Long overdue flock management

I knew what had to be done . . . but even so it wasn't easy or pleasant to do.

After losing two hens, the flock was down to four hens and three cockerels. It was time to stop agonising and organise.

So, this evening the deed was done; now the sole remaining senior under-gardener, Phoebe, and the Spice Girls (Saffron, Nutmeg and Ginger) can settle down with their head-boy, Cheep.

One day I'd like to add three new pullets, but I think that I'll leave that plan for the new year.

Celia x

. . . and the pumpkins weigh . . .

The two Galeux d'Eysines Squash weighed 11kg and 11.5kg - surprisingly heavy, but these are densely fleshy gourmet squash and not your bog standard jack o'lantern pumpkins!

Here's a chart of the guesses - as you can see most people under-estimated. Zoe's deductions were along the right lines but then she went to far over the top! And Debs Dust Bunny, I thought you'd were bang on target but you then said 'combined' - so you ended up way off target.

The closest guesses were Su (I thought she'd get close), Geiger (brilliant estimating) and best of all .... drum roll .....

Cat of Stripes - a kilo short of the mark but an excellent guess - if you email your address to me: studio at celiahart dot co dot uk I'll pop a small prize in the post.

Thanks for taking part
Celia
xx

Pumpkins!

You may remember that I was doubtful whether this year's squash would have time to mature - on 1 September there were 2 Galeux d'Eysines Squash about the size of grapefruit.

Well, here they are harvested and I'm impressed by the size and weight - probably the largest squash I've ever managed to grow in the 3 sisters bed.

They are roughly the same weight - can you guess how heavy they are?

Who's guess is the closest? 

Competition closes Sunday 28th October
at 6pm GMT

I might give a prize if someone is spot on ;-)

Celia
x

PS: the Tabby studio assistant weighs 4.5 kilos

Holiday souvenirs . . . what do you buy?

What do you buy when you're travelling? . . . things that remind you of your adventures but not too bulky and heavy or fragile . . . things that are small, inexpensive and useful . . .

With apologies for the rubbish photographs (we are shrouded in thick autumnal fog in Suffolk this week), these are some of the things that fell out of my bag when I unpacked after our travels through Oregon and North California . . .

 

But I've discovered a new favourite souvenir – not only is it light weight and unbreakable but you meet lovely people to chat to in gorgeous shops and when you get home you have hours of happiness making it into wearable things which reminds you of the places you went to on your adventures . . .

YARN!

Here's my holiday stash . . .

 

from left to right we have

• Miro 'Portland' by Abstract Fiber bought from Knit Purl in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon

• Royal Platinum Alpaca 'Spice Rack', Hand Dyed by Royal Fiber Spinnery bought from Brownsville Stitching Parlor in Brownsville, Oregon.

• Gombe Superfine Alpaca 'Desert Varnish' by Curious Creek Fibers bought from the Mendocino Yarn Shop in Mendocino, California

• Sonoma 'Chocolate Cherries' by Baah! bought from North Coast Knittery in Eureka, California

Knitting and yarn is BIG and COOL in the Pacific NW, the shops were overflowing with beautiful yarn (most of which is sourced from the UK, Ireland and Europe) and buzzing (click-clacking?) with enthusistic knitters. Just stepping through the doorway and whispering that you knit, is your passport to be welcomed like an old friend who speaks a common language.

Oh yes . . .  and thank you to Cliff for waiting patiently while I selected xx


Before I finish, I've got to show you this . . . it's my souvenir from Portland Saturday (& Sunday) Art Market . . . I couldn't resist buying a handbag from Mugwump, aka Suzanne Keolker. She makes funky accessories from upcycled books and stuff that is heading to landfill.

Celia
xx

Meeting giant trees

Hello! and thank you for the kind wishes in the comments after my last blogpost. This post is a bit long so settle down with a cuppa . . .

I'm now back in British Summer time, the post holiday washing is all done and I've answered all my emails and dealt with the post; I'm starting to remember what a wonderful adventure Cliff and I had on our long journey from Seattle down the Pacific North West coast of the USA to San Francisco.

One of the reasons for deciding to go back to the US west coast . . . well actually it was THE main reason . . . we both wanted to see the Coastal Redwood forests.

After a lovely train journey from Seattle, we spent a weekend in Portland - which was fabulous and fun; followed by a week in the Cascade Mountains before driving down the stunningly beautiful Oregon coast before we reached California and the Coastal Redwoods.

So far, the sun had shone every day of the trip (yes, even in Portland!) but as soon as we reached California the mornings were cool and foggy; we stopped at The Lady Bird Johnson Grove to meet our first giant trees . . .

We walked along a short trail into the forest and soon reached the Redwoods, their straight trunks like columns disappearing high above us into the mist.

These photographs remind me of the experience, but I'm not sure they really show you the sheer vastness of the trees that we saw here, and in the Redwood forests through Humbolt County over the following three days.

This photo may help you to grasp the scale . . . that teeny little toy-person propped against a tree is in fact really me standing against 'BIG TREE' one of the biggest of the ancient 'old stand' Redwoods still in existance.

This tree is 304 feet (92.6 metres) tall, that is roughly the same height as the Statue of Liberty in New York or Big Ben's Clock Tower (The Elizabeth Tower) in London.

The diametre of its trunk is 21.6ft (6.6 metres) and the circumference is 68 feet (20.7 metres).

The estimated age of BIG Tree is 1500 years.

For such huge trees the leaves and cones are surprisingly small scale, here are some leaves I picked up from the forest floor to stick into my travel diary - they are very similar to and not much larger than English Yew tree leaves. The tiny cones are about the size of acorns, and are full of hundreds of seeds.

But, although some Readwoods do grow from the scattered seeds, the more usual method of reproduction is by side shoots - which explains their scientific name: Sequoia sempervirons, meaning 'everlasting'.

The life cycle of the tree spans a millennium . . . one thousand years . . . new growth from the knobbly 'buds' around the base of the trunk is triggered when a mature tree becomes stressed - a severe drought or a lightning strike starting a forest fire is often the cause. The side-shoots grow fast and straight, it is the survival of the fittest and one, two or sometimes three eventually out-grow the others.

The side shoot has the same dna as the parent . . . in all respects it is the same tree with the same roots.

The parent tree often already weakened by fire damage, is gradually broken down by winter storms and the ring of new giant trees takes its place around the ancient stump.



Fire can burn away the dry heart-wood but this rarely kills the Redwwod - its thick bark holds a huge amount of water and protects the vital outer layer of the trunk - the tree survives until it's off-shoot is tall and strong. The ancient burnt out trees provide safe winter shelters for forest animals . . . cougar, bobcat and bear.



Eventually the biggest giants fall . . . the tree in the photo below was, until 1991 the biggest in this area of forest . . . a bigger and older neighbour of 'BIG TREE', it toppled over in a storm. The sound of it crashing onto the forest floor was heard miles away and people feared they had heard a train crash!

Twenty years later the fallen giant is providing nutrients for the ferns that have colonized its thick, soft bark; the succession of decomposing fern leaves make compost for various smaller shrubs and trees to colonise a 300ft long seed bed.

The legacy will eventually be a straight line of trees through the forest, and the vast trunk returned to the forest floor. 

The Redwood timber was prized by logging companies who had already felled almost 2 million acres before a few concerned people in the early 20th century woke up to the fact that the unique habitat was about to disappear for ever. Even so, the biggest of the giants had been felled - here is a slice of the largest tree felled in Medocina County with the saw that was used to cut through it's vast trunk.





It was estimated to have been 1900 years old when it was felled in 1943. By the early 1960s, about 95% of the original Californian Coastal Redwoods had gone, but thankfully the voices of those who fought for the protection of the remaining 100,000 acres were being heard and state parks were created around the last remaining pockets of the forests.

I can't find the right words to thank the sense and foresight of those who saved the trees, just being able to stand in the forest is a deeply moving experience and unforgettable.

These trees are as old as our written history and hopefully they will survive far into the future.





 
I hope you got an idea of what it's like to walk though the Coastal Redwood Forests . . . it really is magical.



Celia
x



A bumpy homecoming

Hi . . . I'm back!

Cliff and I went off on another long adventure, we arrived home on Tuesday afternoon and I'm still feeling muddled and exhausted.

We had a rough landing. No, not the plane! – in fact it was the gentlest, smoothest plane landing I've ever experienced – thank you Mr BA Pilot; it was the bit after we collected the car at the airport that shook us up – we found out that my Mum was in hospital, like mums do, she had ordered everyone not to contact us while we were away! So before going home we went straight there to see her.

We'd not long been home when my neighbour who had been caring for the studio assistants and the flock, called me to break the news that Pearl the little Araucana hen had been found dead :-( she had probably fallen into the duck-weed covered pond and although she managed to get out she had collapsed and died nearby. Poor little Pearl – and what a shock for my friend, who kindly buried Pearl in The Wild Wood.


Thankfully the hospital has got my Mum back to normal again and she's back home. But I'm still very jet-lagged and all shook up. Cliff and I went to so many places on our road trip and saw some amazing things . . . I will blog about some of them when I get sorted out and start to remember them!

I really will be back soon,
Celia
xx

A new woodcut: The watchful hare

  

The watchful hare
Woodcut on handmade Japanese Kitakata paper

edition of 10  •  hand burnished  •  6 colours  •  30cm x 40cm

A late summer evening on the edge of a Suffolk barleyfield,
among the Rest-Harrow and Shepherd’s Needle
a hare quietly watches.
 

There's nothing like a deadline to speed up productivity! I was very excited when Helen at the Church Street Gallery in Saffron Walden told me about exhibition titled 'Neo Bardfield' that she was planning as the first major event for the gallery's partnership with the Curwen Studio; and I knew at once that the print that had been simmering on the back-burner in my brain for over a year (I know! I'm into slow-cooking of ideas) had to be finished in time.

If you follow me on Twitter you probably noticed the sneek previews as this reduction woodcut evolved; and although it was a challenge to hold my nerve through the 'when it's carved it's gone' process, I enjoyed every step and want to do many more.

I took photographs to record the process, because each step destroys part of the previous carving and the block is gradually reduced to just the few lines that print the darkest colour.

 

As well as 'The watchful hare', the exhibition will include my latest linocut, 'Up with the lark'; some of my other linocuts and cards will also be for sale in the gallery.  I hope that some of you will be able to visit the exhibition, you can read more about it on my web site, here.

Celia

x

            

R.I.P. Sylvie

Sylvie 

November 2006 – 9th September 2012

Today one of our 'old lady' hens peacefully passed away. She was nearly 6 years old, she came to live in our garden just after I started this blog and she soon settled in. She was an enthusiastic gardener and always set about the task of turning over a pile of leaf mould with characteristic vigour!

 But, above all else,
we remember Sylvie for
her love of grapes!

We'll miss you Sylvie – a very fine hen.

Celia

x

The Three Sisters 2012 – an unexpected bonus veg

If you're a long time follower of PPPs you will know that each year I grow 'the three sisters' – squash, sweetcorn and climbing beans planted together on a circular mound of compost.

I tweak the arrangement each year, I've learnt that it's better to have a central tall bean support with the corn in blocks around it and just 4 squash plants in between, as the squash grow I spiral the vines around the mound.

I would normally make the mound before Easter and plant it up in May, but this year was so wet and so so cold and horrible that beans were rotting in the ground and the courgettes were looking sulky and sad so I delayed planting until late June. You can see pictures of the mound making and planting here on Pinterest.

Well, here we are in September and already a few days ago in the last week of August some parts of the Midlands and West Country had the first frosts of the Autumn! So, although the three sisters look fine and lusty, I'm worried that the frosts will come before I get any beans or squash to harvest; my fingers and toes are crossed for a lovely late season Indian Summer.

 Beans
The beautiful scarlet flowers of Salford Black Runner Beans
and the white flowered Lazy Housewife climbing French beans

 Sweetcorn

The variety is Sweet Nugget and it's looking good –
we'll soon be harvesting the cobs

 Squash

I planted two varieties: Waltham Butternut and this
is the largest of the Galeux d'Eysines – still very small
so I doubt that we'll have giant orange pumpkins for Hallowe'en!

To encourage growth to the fruit rather than the vines of the squash, I decided to cut back the growing tips. The squash plants are now putting out side shoots and they are threatening to take over the garden!

I remembered reading that the tender shoots of squash plants are edible, so I checked in my well-thumbed copy of 'Oriental Vegetables' by Joy Larkcom – sure enough, the shoot tips and young leaves can be used as 'greens'.

I cut a generous bunch of squash shoots to cook for supper – you can substitute them for any recipe that uses pak choi or similar tender green leafy vegetables. We ate ours in a pork and vegetable stir-fry with rice, I added the squash shoots last and after a stir around, covered and steamed until they were wilted and tender but the stalks still crunchy. If you plan to use chop-sticks, cut them up before cooking!

A delicious vegetable! Don't waste them!

Celia
x

The Three Sisters – the movie

We had noticed that the leaves of the squash plants in The Three Sisters bed, move and turn with the sun and heat. Today I set up our 'scouting camera' in the veg patch and set it to take a photograph every 10 minutes. I've put together all 123 photos to make this movie.

Celia
x

A skill-swap: willow-weaving / linocutting

A few weeks ago I received an email from someone who wanted to buy some of my prints and cards; I noticed that her email was from "SalixArts" and she noticed that my studio was only a few miles from hers! When we met a few days later we came up with an idea – a skill-swap :-D

SKILL-SWAP round one – Weaving a willow plant support

Two weeks ago, on a very very wet day, I went to Debbie Hall's workshop to learn some willow weaving techniques that would enable me to make my own plant supports (I was quite excited!)

Debbie grows her own materials and it was fascinating to learn how the different varieties of willow are suited to making different structures; weather conditions at different seasons also affect the willow's growth – for instance a late frost can kill the top bud and this results in growth being twiggy instead of long and straight

So, to work . . . Debbie showed me each stage, then I copied.

It was huge fun! I even forgot that it was chilly and tipping down with rain. By lunchtime I was two-thirds up my willow obelisk plant support. The design cleverly includes a range of techniques which can be used to make up all sorts of garden structures, supports and small fences.

In the afternoon I finished off the obelisk and learned how to fasten the top tightly with a clever Japanese basketry knot.

I was sent home with two big bundles of soaked willow and advice to make another before I had time to forget what I'd learnt. So the next day I spent a few hours creating this . . . which I'm very very pleased with!

SKILL-SWAP round two – Cutting a lino block and printing it by hand

Yesterday was my turn to teach Debbie how to cut and print a linocut, we had chatted about possible designs and she arrived with a sketchbook full of ideas. She selected a sketch of three floating feathers with the outline of a hedgerow silhouetted behind them – it had negative and positive shapes and textures.

We both spent the morning carving lino, I found it interesting to have to analyse exactly how I held the cutting tool and how I used my other hand to steady the block. There was a lot of discussion about using just the right amount of pressure. Of course we were so busy no photos got taken!

After lunch we moved on to mixing ink, rolling just the right amount of ink onto the block and hand burnishing the paper to make a print.  I found lots of different paper – so Debbie could see how they all take the ink differently.

Here are some of Debbie's finished prints hanging up to dry . . .

And I learned some teaching tips too, because you never know – they may come in useful.

You can look at more of Debbie's work on her web site or on her facebook page.
The list of her workshops for Autumn 2012 are here.

Celia
x

Walking under big Suffolk skies

I suspect the whole of Britain woke up smiling this morning!

And although is was tempting to watch more of the London 2012 Olympics on TV, we decided to get out in the fresh air – Cliff is leading another 15 mile walk for the local walking group at the end of the month and we had paths to check out.

The weather fore cast was correct and soon we were hurrying to shelter in a wood while the storm passed over (luckily we had some very nice Sausage and Mustard crisps with us, to munch while we waited).

Decisions about which way to go had to be made!

We met some magnificent trees in the woods . . .

. . . and stumbled upon this ornately exuberant gravestone in a churchyard. 

 

Yet another storm cloud passed in the distance over the valleys thick with ripe wheat.

We finished our walk in bright sunshine along field headlands spangled with purple Knapweed and mauve Scabious, although sadly lacking in butterflies.

We arrived home to see the final five minutes of the Olympic Tennis Men's Singles Final - Hurrah!!!!


Celia
x

Scented-leaf Geraniums displayed

My collection of Scented-leaf Geraniums (OK to be accurate they are 'pelargoniums') is now on display next to our back door. I'd been hunting around for something for them to sit on and then had a brain wave :-)

Two very long and cold winters had left me with just a couple of my collection of Scented-leaf Geraniums and I missed all those lovely leaves to touch and sniff; so at the end of June when I saw a special offer from a specialist nursery, I just couldn't resist! A few days later I received a package of little plants . . .

I had fun planting them in some old terracotta flowerpots (I retrieved these from next to a neighbour's bin, many years ago). And the wooden seed trays were from a another neighbour who was throwing them out!

The little plants are growing well, one needed repotting into a larger pot already, but the others can grow a little bigger first.

Now that they are on display they needed some nice labels, so I made some . . .

. . . did you guess that they are old venetian blind slats painted with acrylic paint? I wrote the names with a fine-tip silver marker pen.

There's just one little snag . . . someone says it's his favourite step-ladder. I'll let him have it back when the Scented-leaf Geraniums need bigger pots.


Celia
x