Using a Froe

I used my new froe to split some willow branches into strips that I will using in a project I have going on at the moment. The willow branches were quite thin and had some awkward knots which meant they do not split straight all the way down, this is not to much of a problem because I have cut them thicker than needed so I can correct the shape with a draw knife or spoke shave later.

Here are some photos of how a froe is used...

An Unusual Tool

I was lucky today to meet up with a blacksmith I know who makes tools from the Roman and Medieval periods, many cases the tool hasn't changed since the Roman or Medieval periods because they work so well. He makes tools by hand with hammer and tongs and also makes the ash handles himself. Today he had a tool I was thinking of trying to find just last week as we were taking good sized straight lengths of branch out of the hedge, he had a froe.

Orchard Hedge Laying. Part 2

The week's hedge laying is complete. We haven't laid the whole length of the hedge because the sap is rising and birds are looking to nest, now it's time to wait until autumn to do the rest. A team of people tackled the good hedge, a thick well grown row of hawthorn, myself and a young chap took on a straggly mess of twisted bushes, big gaps and weedy sticks of hedge with a large willow in it blocking the light and drinking the water.

Here are some photographs of the finished job:

Billhooks and other tools

Hedge laying has a specialist range of tools designed to the job well. These tools, like hedge laying styles, very in design around the country and from blacksmith to blacksmith. Here are some photos of the tools we used to lay a hawthorn hedge this week.

Some hedge laying tools

Orchard Tea Making

One of the things anyone needs when they are working hard, hedge laying for instance, is a drink. On a cold day, or even a warm day, a fresh cup of tea or coffee is just the ticket. We all have Thermos flasks but nothing beats the fresh brew, and what if you need hot water for another job like washing up? In the orchard we have a neat solution...

Orchard Hedge Laying. Part 1

A couple of posts ago I was talking about the sloe bush, blackthorn, this week is very much about it’s sister the May bush, hawthorn.  I will talk about May blossom and haws in May and autumn but now is the last chance to work with the May hedges before the sap has risen and the birds have nested. This week is hedge laying week in the orchard.

Hedge laying differs around the country and to suit the purpose of the hedge, here at the orchard we are using Midland Bullock because it is the local style and the hedge being laid is serving the correct purpose.  A Midland Bullock has a clean edge on one side and the brush (bushy tops of the thorn bushes) pointing outwards on the other; the side with the brush is the side where you keep your animals and the other side are your plant crops, paths or roads. Doing this prevents animals eating the new young shoots that will soon appear on the laid hedge. 

Photographs of the first day

Pussy Willow

The warmer days with their misty mornings and sunny afternoons have woken the pussy willow and now the little furry catkins (the male flowers) are bursting out of their buds.

Pussy Willow catkins, March 2012

Locking the water in the river

Another fishing trip today, this time on the Nene in Northamptonshire. The Nene is an interesting river because it has locks, these are not the same as canal locks with balance beam gates at each end, these are all guillotine locks with the exception of Ditchford Lock (no. 15) which is a radial lock, similar to a guillotine but the gate rotates upwards/downwards as opposed to rising straight up. These locks are all next to the weirs that regulate the flow of water in the river and are controlled by the Environment Agency.  It is very important that boat users reset the lock to how they first found it else the fields downstream will quickly flood and the river can drop by a couple feet upstream. During floods the Environment Agency "reserve" the locks which means they are locked to keep the water in the river or to allow it flow at a controllable speed. When locks are reserved they may not be used by boaters, this is known as Strong Stream Advice. These large pieces of civil engineering may not seem very "rural" but without them the Nene Valley would be a very different place with a lot less water in the river.

River Nene, 11th March 2012

An unusual opportunity arose this morning, the opportunity to see a lock with no water in it. The Upper Ringstead Lock (no. 18) is currently being worked on, so is being pumped dry.

Here are some photographs:

First Spring Blossoms and Winter Warmers

Early March may seem an odd time to be thinking of mid-winter but now is the time to pay special attention to hedgerows if you want to make an excellent traditional English winter drink; sloe gin.  The urban lifestyle is very instant, nip to the supermarket for anything you want but the rural mindset takes a longer view on things, we like to plan ahead and let things mature. Seeing the white blossom in a hedgerow in March is just such an example.

Today I woke before the dawn chorus, a fishing trip to a stretch of a brook where I have not fished in years was this morning's plan by invitation of my brother.  On my travels I noticed many of the blackthorn bushes in the hedgerows were in blossom, the leafless branches covered in white flowers like a blanket of fluffy snow. Their neighbours, the hawthorns, are not quite showing their leaves. This is an important difference between the two; the sloe bush flowers at the start of spring without leaves and the May bush flowers at the end of spring with leaves. Both of these traditional hedgerow bushes produce fruit that can be eaten but it is the sloe from the blackthorn that makes the boozy drink; sloe gin.

Blackthorn blossoms, 10th March 2012

Sloes should not be harvested until after the first frosts have hit and ripened them up, however each year it is a gamble as to whether the birds or your neighbour will have got to the fruit before you.  If you see your favourite bush being devoured by birds you best take a chance and pick some yourself! This is why we pay attention now, it is so much easier to spot a white blossom in the hedge when all the other trees and bushes are still waking up than look for the small blue dusty berries when everything is in full leaf.

To see the blossom lifts the spirits (quite literally come winter!) because spring has truly arrived, the winter snowdrops and cold loving crocus are nearing their end, now that explosion of flowers and green is only just around the corner. Winter clothes can be put away for another 6 or 7 months, we don't need them again until the sloes are ready.

How to make Sloe Gin

Introduction to English Oak & Willow

Why “English Oak & Willow”? These trees at ubiquitous with the English countryside and have been used extensively in rural building and crafts. The English Oak & Willow Blog explores the countryside where these magnificent trees grow and the buildings and crafts that use them as well as many other trees, plants, stones and all things traditionally English and rural.

A little about myself. I live in the rural English Midlands and often fish the rivers, streams and lakes. I work with an environmental and community group maintaining a large and old orchard as well as many other sites. I visit historic buildings and other sites of interest. This blog will bring the English countryside and crafts to you with information about how you can be involved or just enjoy seeing the old ways being kept alive.

Wilson's Orchard on St George's Day evening 2011