Practical Estate Skills

Back to uni today, so I'll tell you a little about what I'm up to!  Had a great day today, we've been green woodworking.  A little more on that later but first let me tell you about what else we've been up to previously.

Stock Fencing

Tree Felling

Tool Repair

Hedging

Tree Planting

Stile Making

Dry Stone Walling

Please excuse the odd formatting, I'm still getting my head around how this works!

Anyway, I've thoroughly enjoyed learning all these things, they are mostly definitely a skilled job and we've only touched the surface, but hopefully I've learnt some new skills which I can build on in the future.

Today we took fresh cut chestnut logs and split them down into rustic posts to make a gate.  Lots of hard work and no gate yet, hopefully we'll get to finish it soon.  We have to restore a footpath as a project for the semester, and this gate will be part of it.  I will obviously post an update when it is installed.

Green Woodworking

Back to normal lectures tomorrow, with kick off at 9am.  Three brand new modules to get stuck into, and no doubt some assignments soon! 

Just a starling!

I've been inspired to write a post about our very over-looked starling.  They are thought of as just a boring, common bird.  And to be honest, we rarely actually get the chance to look at them properly.  But our dear common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is in decline.  Hard to imagine when you are stood at Aberystwyth pier, watching them come in to roost in their thousands, but it is now considered a red list species!  Long term monitoring by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has shown a 66% decline since the 1970's!  The reason for the decline is unknown, but now has placed the boring old starling as a species of high conservation concern.

Before you write off the starling as unimpressive, take a look at these; (not my photos, just ones I have found on the net!)

Starlings are actually stunning!  They are one of the our most colourful birds. It's raining today, and there is lots of starlings about in the fields, along with redwing and fieldfare, sadly not the weather for it. But next time it's a sunny day, and you're out and about and you see starlings,  just take a minute, see if you can catch their colours in the sunshine.  They will take your breath away, I promise!

Kombucha - The Immortal Health Elixir!

I have a keen interest in Fungi, that should be obvious to you by now!  I am also investigating the possibility of self sufficiency (as self sufficient as sensibly possible, anyway), and love foraging etc.  I'm not hugely into alternative medicine, but I do like the idea, doctors are all to keen to hand out drugs, quite often unnecessarily.  I like the idea of a little self help.  OH has introduced me to Kombucha.  He used to have some years ago and use it on a regular basis.  So what is Kombucha?

Kombucha is an ancient Chinese tea, which dates back over 2000 years!  It is a sweet tea which has been fermented by a symbiotic bacteria and yeast colony.  Although it looks rather strange, it is said to have some incredible health benefits.  Russian scientists have claimed it appears to be why they have such low cancer rates in some areas of the country.  It is also good for the digestive system and joints, helping to improve arthritis.   The Chinese obviously hold it in high regard, as that is where the name Immortal Health Elixir comes from!

As the colony matures it splits off new pieces called 'scobys', these can then be separated to form new beverages.  The tradition is to give them away to someone new, but I have heard that you can make face packs from them! Anyway, we recently found a local lady, through the power of Facebook, who had some Kombucha scobys to give away, and we made the trip over to meet her.  She's a lovely lady, working hard on her own self sufficiency and permaculture model, and it was very interesting to meet her.  We collected a scoby from her and now have our own Kombucha tea brewing.  It will need a few days before it is ready, but I am looking forward to trying it.  

For more information about Kombucha, have a look here.

Stonechat

With OH and his cracked rib, it's been hard to get out and do stuff, but not over do it.  For someone who is usually up the mountains or exploring mines, it's incredibly difficult for him to rest.  He's also just got me a second hand Fitbit, as a late Christmas present, so I'm itching to go do stuff even more than normal!  But we had to make do with another gentle stroll today, up at the lakes and forestry at Clywedog.  (Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area!)  Here's my photo for the day.  Pity he's looking the other way though.

We had hoped to spot Kingfishers, but the water level of the lake has dropped about 6 feet, (it's a man made reservoir, with a dam, so the water level is controlled by human hands), so I think they must have moved fishing spot.  The perch we previously found is some way from the water now!  No fungus spotted today, but we did find otter footprints and fox scat full of bones!

Oyster Mushrooms

I'm having a go at growing Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus oystreatus).  I'm going to attempt a variety of methods and see what works best.  I have bought some Golden Oyster culture.  This is the one that's worrying me to be honest.  The culture is lab made under strict conditions to prevent contamination.  Scary stuff, and easy to infect with some other kind of mould.  Our house is quite damp so......

Anyway, I've inoculated three different substrates; wood pellets, teabags and cardboard loo rolls.  Both the (used) tea bags and the cardboard have been boiled off, to eliminate contamination.  These have been sealed in clean tubs and placed in the dark.  They will stay there for a week, then I will check to see if anything is happening.

I've also taken a chunk of mycelium from an old oyster growing kit and given it fresh fodder in the way of wood pellets.  I wonder if that will work?!

My next attempt is to harvest spores from a wild oyster mushroom, which I collected today, and make my own culture.  According to Paul Stamets (Mycelium Running, my new favourite book) these mushrooms, should I succeed will be the toughest and most useful, as they are already used to all kinds of bacteria and other moulds, and should do well outside.  

Who knows if any of this will work?  We will have to wait and see.  I do hope so, as growing, and hopefully selling, my own, home grown mushrooms is part of the master self sufficiency plan!  I'll let you know how I get on!

Still Room for Mushrooms

OH has cracked a rib and is lots of pain.  We were planning a walk up Cadair Idris yesterday, but he was unable to carry his pack, so we had to abort.  Today we managed a short walk in the woods.

At first it seemed that due to our climate there were no mushrooms left to find, but before long brackets of all types seemed to appear.  Then the more we looked, the more we found.  No Jelly Ears, to my disappointment, but a brand new find for me, Elf Cups!
Not sure if they are Scarlet or Ruby, but they are Elf Cups all the same.  The brand new ones were just mm across!  They grow to about a maximum of 7cm when fully expanded.  Just as well they are the colour they are, much easier to spot!  They grow on fallen hardwood and are often surrounded by moss, making them harder to see.

I also found plentiful Birch Polypore, and have learnt that although bitter, it can be brewed into a tea which is very good for the immune system.  I might have to make up a winter brew.  Maybe with some berries added to it for sweetness.

Plynlimon Fawr

A nice relaxing post exam blowout.  Not much of a view, but stunning anyway.

Revision Block

So, it's my last exam tomorrow, covering geology and its relation to human history.  And what have I been doing today?  Revising? Noooooo. Well, kind of, but not in the right area.  Instead of studying types of rock, glacial depositions and the Middle Ages, I've been researching sustainability and self sufficiency.  Learning about 'fedges' and preserves.  All really useful stuff in my master plan, but really helpful for my exam tomorrow.

I've even started a plan for the work that needs to be done, like clearing the fallen wood and felling dangerous trees.  Draining the dell into and hopefully expanding the pond, to eventually raise carp.  Tree planting and dry stones walls.  Where the polytunnel will go and what I will grow! It's time consuming and distracting, I love it!  But it won't help me pass my exam!  Wish me luck!

Woodland Revisted

After my Biology exam on Tuesday, I rewarded myself with a walk in the woodland that i so covert.  It is such a beautiful place, there is an old slate quarry with a proper little dingly dell at the foot.  It's such a surreal place, one where I could sit for hours just gazing upon the lichens and moss that grows there.

As yet, I don't know much about moss and lichen, only that lichen is such a complicated symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae!  I am getting pretty good with identification of fungus now, but I don't even know where to start with lichen!  I have invested in a book, but it in itself is very complicated, although supposedly a very good guide!


Here are some of the moss and lichen I found in my little retreat

I also found a wonderful patch of bilberries, which I've already made into Bilberry and Rowan jelly in my master plan for self sufficiency (in my head anyway)!  Once my exams are over, I really must crack on with packing up the house, and preparing it to sell.  My dream will never become a reality if I just sit there in the dell dreaming! And once it has happened, I can sit there all I like!

One Planet Development

As a student in conservation, I am fascinated by the Welsh Assembly One Planet Development.  It's a scheme that under very strict conditions, allows people to build sustainable off-grid lifestyles.  People who have the knowledge and understanding of what it means to live sustainably, and can prove that they can support themselves from their own land, are, most notably in Camarthenshire, being given planning permission to build eco-friendly homes in places where they would not normally get permission.   You can find out more about it here.

Of course, this is something I would love to do.  I've fallen in love with a piece of land, which contains woodland, and I think has true potential for an amazing way of life.  I have been investigating all sorts of avenues, including the growing of hemp (that comes with a price tag) mushrooms, and a variety of other crops.  I'd love to have a working horse, the land is quite steep, and a horse would be ideal for dealing with bracken and retrieving logs.

I've been looking into growing hemp for a variety of uses.  It can be used as a building material, oil to run vehicles on, and fuel.  All of these things would help towards a sustainable lifestyle.  However, a license to grow hemp costs around £600, regardless of the area you wish to grow.  Seems fair for a large scale producer, but for a couple of acres for self use would be totally unrealistic!

Still, I'm keen to keep investigating, and with a bit of luck will be able to make steps towards making it happen.  I would love to hear from other people with a similar mindset.  Anyway, I have an exam in Biology first thing in the morning, I should be revising!

Revision

Tomorrow marks the first of my exams.  Tourism; Principles and Impacts.  I thought it would be the easiest of my exams, after all most of it is common sense.  Looking at how tourism impacts on economy, culture and the environment, what tourism is and what people's needs are.  Fairly simple.

But then we learn that we have to be able to recite definitions, and to reference those definitions.  I'm not sure what relevance it is to be able to use other people's definitions of a subject.  Surely it would make more sense to be able to define it for yourself.  I am at the early stages of my degree, so I guess for the time being, none of my work is actually my own.  It is all sourced from somewhere.

Passed papers studied - check, definitions learnt - check, diagrams and models committed to memory - check.  Guess I'm ready then.  Until my mind goes completely blank in the morning!

Parachuting Beavers

OH messages me from Cadair Idris, asking why they parachuted beavers during the war! Interesting, I thought, so I googled it, as you do.

Well, it had nothing to do with the war, apart from the fact they used left over parachutes.  It turns out it was a relocation exercise, to remove beavers from over populated areas and put them out on uninhabited ground.

In 1948, the state trapped 76 beavers, and air lifted them in crates made of willow, which were designed to split open on impact with the ground.  They were then parachuted into an area called the Chamberlain Basin, in Idaho.  All but one of the beavers survived the exercise.  Apparently relocation still occurs in Idaho but although successful, they no longer use this method.

More on the story and a video can be found here.

Starlings at Aberystwyth

OH and I, went for a drive about over the hills to Nant y Moch, onto Borth Bog, then headed to Aberystwyth for sunset.  If you're local then you know about the starlings.  If not, then, if you're ever in the area, it's worth going down to the pier for a look.  Over the winter 1,000s of starlings roost under the pier over night.  

The birds come in in small groups, from all different directions. A few at first, then the numbers grow.  Soon the air is filled with the sound of thousands of starling voices as they cram under the pier.  The sky is full of clouds of birds almost like locusts.

Usually, we get a pint and view from on top of the pier, but following a small hurricane last year, the pier is currently closed due to a small amount of structural damage.  Never mind, it was just as exciting from a little way out on the rocks.

Flat Earth

So I've spent the last week or so following discussions on Flat Earth. It seems to be the in thing to believe in these days.  I am an open minded, kind hearted, non religious person, who loves to learn and is fascinated by how everything works. I do not own a TV, or trust the mainstream media.  Neither do I trust our government to have our best interests at heart.  I question everything.  So if the earth is flat, I'd be keen to learn about it.

I've spent hours watching YouTube videos, which apparently have 'woken people up', only to be fed blatant lies!  I got barely five minutes in to a two hour video, claiming to prove the world was flat, before I had been fed fact after fact, that with a small amount of brain power, can be proven false. The facts even contradict themselves!

 I was thrown out of a group for asking that God not be used as proof of flatearth. Religion is not fact, it is a system of belief. Believe what you want, it makes no odds to me, but a belief is not proof of anything. If the earth is flat, regardless of its origin, it should be proveable without resorting to quoting the bible as evidence.  Even that in itself doesn't hold up, considering there are so many different versions, each an individuals interpretation of what was originally written.

Ive been insulted and personally attacked, which to me is a  sure sign that the arguement has been lost and they have nothing constructive to say. So, for now, I've removed myself from these discussions. But it will continue to fascinate me, and I will undoubtedly write about it again!