talesfromfoxwood.blogspot.com
Tales From Fox Wood: February 2014
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Tales From Fox Wood. Monday, February 17, 2014. Work has been intermittent at Fox Wood over the last couple of months. The savage storms that have lashed southern Britain and Ireland since before Christmas have not allowed for much work to be done at all! Although you can't make it out from the image, there is a buoy between here and St Michael's Mount (the island) which recorded a number of almost 75 feet high waves (that's about 22 metres) last week. This is unprecedented and the entire coastline has s...
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Tales From Fox Wood: April 2014
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Tales From Fox Wood. Tuesday, April 1, 2014. The picture above shows one of the sweet chestnut stools in Fox Wood coming back to life. If you remember, I cut down these trees in early January - and now the sap is rising again and the trees are starting to produce new shoots as they come back to life. I have been busy! Some idiot dumped a load of old tyres in a hedge. I wish I had caught them . I would have thanked them and asked if they had any more. A silver birch coming to life again. A willow in bud.
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Tales From Fox Wood: February 2013
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Tales From Fox Wood. Saturday, February 9, 2013. Welcome to my new blog, Tales From Fox Wood. Fox Wood is a peaceful seven acre wood in the heart of deepest Cornwall. It's pretty hidden away, like a secret world, and it's hard to find even if you know where to look. On this blog there will be lots of pictures, a few thoughts, but not too many words. I'm letting the pictures speak for themselves. I want lots of people to read my blog and hopefully be inspired - everyone's welcome. First of all we'll be li...
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Tales From Fox Wood: November 2014
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Tales From Fox Wood. Sunday, November 2, 2014. Halloween at Fox Wood, or nos calan gwaf. As it's called in Cornish. The summer was long and hot. It didn't rain for weeks at a time (although Trev and Becky managed to pick the one day for their wedding when it bucketed down) meaning I had my work cut out watering the 300 or so trees I planted last winter. Luckily they have all survived and are thriving — especially the Italian alders I planted as windbreaks, which seem to be settling in well. This is the H...
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Tales From Fox Wood: May 2013
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Tales From Fox Wood. Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Down working at the wood today. Spring is begrudgingly arriving after the longest winter in memory. Wildflowers and bluebells are out, and the soil is still wet and sodden from the spectacular storm we had yesterday that blew in from the Atlantic and caused mayhem on the land. Walking around in the wood I'm overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done if I am to turn this into a working venture. Still, I won't be short of things to do. This pasture...
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Tales From Fox Wood: April 2015
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Tales From Fox Wood. Thursday, April 23, 2015. Magic Lakes and Mushrooms. Firstly, as you may notice by looking to the right, I have been busy writing and publishing a book. Yes, The Path to Odin's Lake. Secondly, partly as a result of that journey, I have been focusing my attention on growing mushrooms. Why? Research in all of these areas is ongoing, but at the forefront of this fungus revolution is the US mycologist Paul Stamets. Check out his short film below. Apart from that, I have planted up anothe...
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Tales From Fox Wood: June 2013
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Tales From Fox Wood. Saturday, June 22, 2013. Can you dig it? The basic shape of the pond. I figured out a while ago that if I was going to be growing produce in our field then I would need a source of irrigation water. I looked into the cost of getting a bore hole drilled, and although it would be in the region of a couple of thousand pounds (just for the hole, without any pumping equipment) I figured it was a necessary expense. Irrigation water for the fruit trees, poly tunnel and flowers. Six uses was...
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Tales From Fox Wood: June 2014
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Tales From Fox Wood. Wednesday, June 11, 2014. Part of the longer term vision for Fox Wood is to produce charcoal from any of the wood that doesn't have a primary use, so a couple of weeks ago I took the plunge and did my first charcoal burn. I did it under the tutorship of Greg Humphries, a friend who is also a woodsman and runs courses in Cornwall. The kiln needs to be propped up on blocks to keep it stable and to form the basis for channels for the air vents, and then soil is packed in around so that ...
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Tales From Fox Wood: March 2013
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Tales From Fox Wood. Monday, March 11, 2013. Signs of life - moss sending up tentacles. From the leaf litter in Fox Wood. A few days ago I returned to Fox Wood. It was a long journey to get there and I had to pass through six different countries - seven if you count Cornwall as its own land, and plenty do. When I finally got to Cornwall it was warmer - spring was on the way. Some trees had burst into blossom and many fields, including those surrounding Fox Wood, were yellow with early season daffodils.
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Tales From Fox Wood: January 2014
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Tales From Fox Wood. Thursday, January 16, 2014. A cleanly-cut stool with a ring of moss. Last week I cut the first section of coppice in the woodland. Having no experience of this before I employed the help of a friend who is a seasoned coppicer. To see me through the first season and make sure I was doing things correctly. A view of Fox Wood from above. The half acre has been clear cut to allow light in. A coppiced section of woodland in spring - image from www.wildgardens.co.uk. For example). And ...
