Cycling Scout Camp

It's fair to say that since joining Scouts some 7 or 8 years ago it has become a constant in our lives. I help out in all sections when I can and I'm now moving from Beavers to Scouts (more on that in another post). 

This weekend just gone we had a scout camp. It was for their expedition badge. So they had to plan a route using their bikes from the scout hut to the local scout camp (which is 14 acres and an incredible space). 

Although my Middlest isn't quite old enough to be a scout, she's on the cusp of joining properly and as I'm a leader I said that if I was to come she should as well. Turned out to be a really good thing as my girls were the only girls out of the scouts so they could share a tent (especially important with the eldest's diabetes).

I didn't bike the ten miles. Instead I drove my truck with all their bags. We only had 9 scouts sleeping over, with 4 leaders it made for a really nice time. The truck was great as well as otherwise we would have had to carry stuff a long way! 

Tour of the coppice in May

Another video this week! A quick little tour of the coppice and I get to test out my new chipper! 

 As always let me know what you think. What would you do with this area? 

May Garden And Orchard Tour

So a little wonder around the garden. It's the usual mixed bag, some things are looking good and others aren't!  

Slugs and rabbits have been my biggest enemies this year, although trying to get more infrastructure up and running has slowed me down as well! 

So I filmed a little walk around video, going through the beds. I hope to get some more in fairly soon and get everything planted out that I've got as seedlings, May always seems so busy, fairly sure I could do just the garden and smallholding and still not have enough time! 

Give the video a watch and let me know what you think. How far on are your crops in comparison?

Second-Hand Greenhouse Build - Part 3 - The Bed!

I finished this a few weeks ago, but it's great to have the video to go with it. The second greenhouse is all ready to go and planted up. 

 In the end I built the beds out of some beams I had had left over from building my brother's porch five years ago. 

Beekeeping Lessons

 Last Thursday was the perfect evening for a beekeeping lesson. The day had been warm and sunny and the evening felt long, a perfect spring evening. 

The lesson started with them letting a captured swam "walk" up to their new hive. They shook out the skep and let the bees walk up a board into a national hive. It happened in a matter of minutes. apparently once the queen goes up they all follow. 

Putting Up A Second Hand Greenhouse

Although my "new" greenhouse has been up and running for a week or more now, I finally got around to putting the video together. 

 Hopefully this is a fun video showing me putting up the frame and glazing it.

5 Guinea Fowl Eggs

 I have a few smallholding friends who live locally. One of them is the head of a local private school that has a little smallholding attached. He's been great in getting a mini farm going for the children there (I wish every child could be so lucky), along with a polytunnel and veg garden. 

Last week he was going to borrow a broody hen from me to hatch out some guinea fowl eggs, but in the end he only managed to collect five eggs, so decided it probably wasn't worth moving the hen. I aid I'd give it a go here anyway. 

Super Early Cucumber!

 I love trying to get a super early crop of some of the veggies we grow and love. This year I thought I'd try and go for early cucumbers. The children are in love with the mini cucs you can buy from the supermarket. I'll get them as treats sometimes and they love them for their afternoon snack or to put in their lunchboxes. 

So I built a planter for... our bedroom! My wife is very understanding! If you read this blog much you've probably already worked that out to be fair!

Saw Horses In Massachusetts!

 I got a couple of messages on my YouTube channel the other day, one from Brasil and one from Franklin Massachusetts. Both said they'd built the saw horses in the video I made in September 2022. 

It really made my day. I was lucky as well as John, who made them in Franklin, also sent me some pictures of them in use!