2 Magazine Articles This Month

 I'm not very good at posting all the articles I write on here, and I should do it each month. 

I've jut had the two regular ones I write for published (while currently writing two more), it's always great to seem them on paper, especially as they take a fair bit of effort to get out into the world (not just mine). 

The first is in Woodworking Crafts magazine, it's my three bay "rat Proof" composter. 

I've loved using this compost bin, although I must admit that I've not done as much gardening as I should have the last month as work wise I've been ridiculously busy. 

The second is...

Secondhand Beekeeping Equipment - Maybe I got carried away...

 So last week I ended up assembling a flat pack hive I bought really rather rapidly (more on that in another post and video). then I ordered a second cedar hive (that has also had some action today, but again more on that another time). I then saw a post on Whatsapp that in the village one beekeeper was selling up.

It was a guy I knew so I gave him a ring to see what he had for sale. I then, maybe, got a little carried away...

Hedgehog Rescue

So late on an evening last week my time was taken up with this little dude. Found on the road covered (and I mean covered) in maggot eggs, in his eyes, nose, ears, all between his spikes.

But he had a bit of life left in him. So I spent two hours picking off every single egg I could find, bathed him, got some fluids into him and gave him some food. The maggot eggs were even under his eye lids, luckily none had started to hatch. Reminded me very much of flystrike with sheep.
Good job my hands are tough as he was understandably spiky.
He went from near dead and lifeless when we found him, to snuffling around the box we'd put him in (on top of another box with a hot water bottle in for a bit of extra heat) once I'd done my bit. I was surprised how lively he was this morning.

Once he survived the night I managed to get him off to some specialist care. News is he's doing fine and eating lots now.
Cute little guy to be fair.

*no doubt I'm going to get criticism for not taking him somewhere the first night, but tried numerous numbers and couldn't get through to anyone, nearest place was an hour away, so just did the best I could.

Readyy Steady Cook! But For Scouts

 I can't take any credit for last nights scout session - but it was good fun.

The scouts were given a selection of ingredients, then split into their troops to make whatever they fancied. 

It was fun to see what they created. A few of the scouts really impressed me with how quickly they could make some very tasty food. It was fairly obvious which ones cook at home, they just had a feel for it even though they were cooking over an open flame. 

Going Viral On Instagram - 3.3 Million Views!

 So my short, 7 second clip, on Instagram went a little viral. I mentioned it before when talking about my gooseberry scoops. Since then it's just built momentum. 3.3million views so far and counting...

This has meant that I've sold lots of gooseberry scoops. As many as I could make really, which has been great as often June can be a pretty quiet month as far as sales are concerned. Although I'm not sure how many more I have left in me this week!

The Most Important Bit Of Beekeeping Equipment

So along with the beekeeping trainings course I've been going to every week, I've also been slowly acquiring what we need to actually keep bees. 

I've ordered a hive that I need to assemble (I'll also be making some), a smoker and feeder. But I've also got the most important thing - 

 

Some bee suits for the children. They're keen to get involved and I'm keen to have them help me. So I thought it should be one of the first things we got. That way if we do stumble upon a swam we'll be able to gather it up and give it a home. 

Both girls seem really keen with the beekeeping, the boy not so much! But it will be up to them if they get involved. The girls seem to have the idea of using any wax for making wax wraps to sell (which will go alongside what I do really nicely), and hopefully they'll come up with some other projects as well. 

Hopefully I'll get to assemble my hive soon, it's been a busy couple of weeks with orders and talks, but hopefully I'll get to do some smallholding jobs the next few days and this may be one of them. I think the children might like to assemble the hive with me as well. 
 

A Trip To Wales

Over half term we popped to Wales for a few days break. Always nice to get away as a family. 

 

Gooseberry Harvest Scoops

As you know I'm always making or tinkering with something, and my berry harvester I made last year is no exception. It was great for berries and currants, but for gooseberries the extra fingers were a little pointless.

So I decided to start designing it again, but like I'd never seen a normal berry harvester. 

So I went to the workshop with some design criteria and started making....

1Rat Proof 3-Bay Compost Bin

I've wanted some good compost bins ever since I ripped out my last lot that were rotting away. 

The last two years I've just made piles and let them rot down. Yes, you do get compost, but it's messy and not ideal. 

So this time I've decided to go all out. Meet my three bay, rat proof, compost bin. 

Curing Meat

 It's been a while since I've cured any meat. But now my wife and children seem to have sandwiches most days (and me) I want them to have the best lunch boxes possible. We already bake all our own bread, 4 loaves of sourdough for breakfast each week and about 28 rolls for lunch, but I get fed up with buying little packets of meat, with far too much plastic, cut far too thinly. 

I decided it was time to up my game.