high expectations

Our travels are going very well so far.  We are leaving our third hosts on Monday and again we have learnt an amazing amount about a wide variety of things.

Each place we go to has so much to give and quite often we feel that we are not able to repay the gift of their knowledge, time and inspiration by the work that we are able to do.

Last week I learnt to use a hedge trimmer and a grass strimmer and felled a 25 foot tree, amongst other things.  But the time talking to John was priceless.  We also learnt that Devon isn’t as warm as you might think.   We were in a frost pocket and had three morning frosts!   Neither is Cornwall, as tonight we nearly took the stove out but it is bitterly cold, so this post will be even shorter than planned.

This week V and I built a wood store and water collector.  I am also getting the hang of splitting wood rounds for firewood after several hours practice.

Splitting wood at Kennal Vale Farm

Natasha has a young Forest Garden and has already learnt so much and was making us aware of things which work and don’t work.  Their two children are also Home Ed and now receive some lessons at home.  This works very well for them and is now something I would consider for the girls, having seen the benefits.

Our first week at Lower Shaw Farm was different to anything I could have imagined.  The feeling of belonging to a family was nearly instantaneous and something we will never forget.

Lunch at Lower Shaw Farm

We now move to Tiverton in Devon, to a very low impact farm.  They say “leave all your expectations behind”.  All I expect is something new and again move on with an open mind.

It Begins

Vikki has had a great few days on her Spoon Carving course with Robin Wood.  On the first day she made some very nice tent pegs which did a good job with the strong winds we had.  I was sent out during the night to check things were in place after a couple of pegs were pulled forward and rain was blown in during the first night of strong winds.  The tent held up, despite our worries.  It really is not nice watching the pole and the chimney move around so much and hearing them creaking so loudly!

Her spoons and spatulas are very nice indeed, and she did different styles to those that I have made.

We did need a trip back to Huddersfield to pick up some things we forgot.  That was one of the reasons for starting at the Edale course, so if we forgot things it was a relatively short journey to get them.

I also forced my parents to come and visit on my dad’s birthday.  They had a terrible trip down, but had good fun with their grandchildren J

Our holiday finishes tomorrow though.  A visit to a play park and then Bletchley Park before going to our first WWOOF host, Lower Shaw farm.

Vikki and I are really looking forward to it now.  It has been so long in the planning and now it starts.  To quote my sister “Cool”!