New Serama chicks.

Pearl today hatched out the last of the four fertile eggs so we now have chicks :)

Tudorville Community Centre Make Do and Mend cafe.

Today I spent some time participating in this event, with composting, chicken keeping and planting advice and some craft activities.

Make, Do & Mend Cafes

Moors Wood is at this event  Fri 20 May 2016  thanks to Herefordshire New Leaf :)

‘Make, Do and Mend Cafes’, a new project for Herefordshire:

Many people around the UK now benefit from ‘Repair Cafes’ – local events where it is possible to take along household items and find a friendly and skilled person to help mend them. In Herefordshire a collaboration between The Big Skill and New Leaf has just received funding from Awards 4 All for a variation on this theme. The two organisations are working with communities around the county to develop a series of café style events that will promote traditional skills whilst offering people a chance to have a go at a range of crafts, repair and recycling activities.

The ‘Make, Do & Mend Café’ project launches this Friday at Tudorville & District Community Centre in Ross on Wye. 

At Tudorville Community Centre on Friday afternoon from 2.30pm – 6.30pm local people can try out basket making, felting, clay work and stone carving with members of The Big Skill, as well as learning about compost making, seed planting and keeping chickens from Sarah Blenkinsop of Moors Wood, and cycle repair from the team at Hereford Cycle Hub. Shari Vandervelde, Activities Co-ordinator at Tudorville, has also recruited repairers from within the local community to come along and share their sewing repair skills.
At other venues around the county other skills will be made available, including recycled glass work, pottery, weaving, dry stone walling, hurdle making, foraging, bodging, woodworking and quilting. Marches Energy Agency have also said that they will be regular attenders of these events to provide energy information to skill local people in how to save money on their home fuel bills.

Big Skill and New Leaf are now working with communities in Leominster, Kington, Hereford and Bromyard to develop events around the county over the coming year. Full details will be available on the New Leaf and Big Skill websites.

Notes:
New Leaf Sustainable Development Ltd is a small not-for-profit co-operative & exempt charity working in Herefordshire. New Leaf works with people around the county to develop ways of saving energy and living more sustainably.Contact at New Leaf for the ‘Make Do & Mend’ project:Kate Gathercolekate@herefordshirenewleaf.org.uk / 07824426719

Orchard Champion volunteer training with Three Counties Traditional Orchard Project.

I have just finished a fantastic weekend of training as an Orchard Champion at Worcester Woods Country park venue, training provided by TCTOP Karen Humphries and Garden Organic's Alexandra Heelis. Really really great weekend. So good to connect up with some lovely people and I can't wait to start promoting the value of traditional orchards to the public and to landowners in particular :)

Full write up and lots of photos of the two days on The Compost Bin!

Moors Wood in May

Master Composter tells all!

Leominster Allotment Association obviously liked my Composting workshop! I have had a lovely letter from their chair, thanking me for the workshop and this is what they have to say about it on their website. under the title "Master Composter tells all"

Master Composter, Sarah Blenkinsop,  was at Ginhall Lane Allotments on Saturday afternoon. She shared her wide experience of composting and kept us entertained with lots of practical information about the best ways to go about making quality compost from ‘brown’ and ‘green’ waste. Sixteen people braved the chilly wind, and enjoyed some warm sunshine to listen and put questions to Sarah.
We covered:

• What can be composted

• The composting process

• Different types of composter

• Temperatures of composters

• Pests and health issues

Our thanks go to Sarah for setting us straight and taking a look at the new community composter that is taking shape and making some interesting observations and suggestions. Also thanks to those ladies who produced some wonderful home-made cake!

I agree about the cake and thank you for the kind words :)

The Big Apple Day 2

It was very wet and very cold again today.

But we got the stall set up and then I waited for people to come and play :)

I had Algy and Mrs Algy on the stall to help me talk about chicken keeping courses I run.

This shows the difference in size between my "big hen" eggs and the Serama eggs :)

 I did some crafts with children. Here is a small boy bashing cloth to make natural dyed flags

He was VERY pleased with the result!

Leominster Morris Men came and just before they started to dance, the rain stopped!

I also sold a lot of plants grown at Moors Wood in the polytunnel, and lots of cards and leaflets about Moors Wood were taken so it was a good day out. Also my local event so very well worth supporting :) The cider was very good, also!
smile emoticon>

the cider was, as always, excellent. ider was good as well smile emoticon

The Big Apple Day 1

Spent today at The Big Apple event at Putley. http://www.bigapple.org.uk/

This is just over the field and up the lane from me and I love doing it.
Weather was cold and wet and there were a few less people than previous years but despite that it went well. Algy and Mrs A the Seramas wowed the crowds as usual and sales of my tomato plants went well. I have repeat customers who come each year for unusual varieties. Lots of brochures for all the things I offer here at Moors Wood were taken away. I love local food events smile emoticon .

Hereford River Carnival

Excellent day at Hereford River Carnival today - weather could have been kinder but a lot of brochures were taken and many people made various craft items smile emoticon and Algy and Mrs the Serama chickens were admired 

The stall!

Stick weaving - this child was concentrating very hard :)

smile emoticon