In the Bleak Midwinter

Christmas Eve trip out to the field with my folks. Cold, really cold, but clear and very beautiful. We had plans to plant some trees but the ground was very frozen. So had great lunch in The Greyhound at Warslow instead. Maybe next time.....

lots of animal tracks in the snow, hare, badger and foxes...

The lost Dovefest tapes

I have managed to track down all that film I made at Dovefest, prepare yourselves for Circus Sutton.....

Long time no Post

We had a great summer, lots of camping on the field, including the inaugural Dovefest. It was a great weekend of campfires, music, kite flying , face painting and more. Sutton's circus was a big highlight, headlining the main stage. Something for us all to aspire to next year. I took loads of digi-film and hoped to produce a short feature, maybe even a full on hour long rockumentary, but I have managed to lose all of it. Doh. So all I have is a few shots which don't do the weekend justice.

There was some great music played, Saturday night's folk jam from Becky (accordion) Liz (fiddle) and Gerry (guitar) and not forgetting Josh's special Lou Reed composition for Simon. I have great memories of kids running around in the dark with glow sticks, Saturday morning cricket match and Wilf Sutton stealing the show.

The trees look fabulous, some of them now 8ft tall, which seems remarkable considering we planted them as 18in youngsters only 3 years ago.

Now the field is covered in snow, the land hard and cold. This winter we plan to put in lots of bulbs and more trees once the ground allows. Hopefully plant some fruit trees and see how they get on.

Dads and Lads

" He that plants trees loves others besides himself " Thomas Fuller

Some male bonding last weekend with a lads and dads camping night. An epic footie match, Young versus Old, ending in a 16-16 draw, followed by campfire sparklers, chinese lantern and some fairly tuneless guitar playing.

Loo with a View

"The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Camping at the field has now become a much more luxurious affair after the primitive bog was installed. A spade, an old arm chair, some bits of wood and a loo seat and hey presto!

Spring time

" I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do" Willa Cather

There's been lots of sping time visits to the field. Philip had put 7 ewes and 13 lambs on to graze and we had great fun helping him herd them back into the trailer when it was time for them to move on. Lucas and Theo felt like proper shepherds.

Loads of dandelions appearing everywhere, somehow we need to work out how to encourage more interesting wild flowers to grow too. We've seen barn owls, rabbits, hares and a field mouse. And there's been some great nights staying over, with camp fires and star gazing.

a tree for Anya

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree long ago"- Warren Buffet

We had a trip to the field on Sunday. It was a lovely sunny but cold afternoon. We sat in the car, eating soup and sandwiches, before we ventured out to plant some more trees. We planted some hazel, hawthorn and plum cherry and most importantly Anya planted her own tree. She had chosen a Scot's pine and was very pleased with herself. There were still some snowdrops out, and lots of daffodils beginning to come through. We finished off with a game of football which Lucas and Theo won 10-8 in the final minute.....