April 30, 2019

April - we're no fools

April 30, 2019

1st April

John started the anti-algae campaign today. He added a net of barley straw to the water. Our thanks to local farmers Barry and Sheila for the straw. He also started to fish the algae out using a small fishing net - by small we mean the kind you buy for pond-dipping with children. We had it to remove leaves from the water trough. John’s first attempt to lengthen the handle with a bit of tree and gaffer tape was not up to the task, so he recycled the two canes that had arrived with Juno’s Aspen to make a longer handle. Even so he was faced with a somewhat Herculean task. We are also investigating native aquatic plants which will help starve the algae.

Further water works - the path from the spoil heaps down to the Orchard has a very wet patch crossing it. John has dug this out and found a small spring and he’s diverting this with a drainage pipe.

John and Clare started clearing logs out of the North-east Strip and gathering up piles of brash ready for the first Green Gym Day later this month.

Diverting the spring - digging a ditch and lining it with gravel…

2nd April

The Sweet Chestnuts planted at home are beginning to show shoots, as are two of the three Horse Chestnuts that Juno planted.

Marsh Marigolds in flower in the Pit Wood

4th April

Clare split the clump of Marsh Marigolds and transplanted some to the stream feeding the big pond. Then she did repair work on fencing, replacing missing fixings - Theresa May would no doubt love that it is all strong and stapled now. Mel came to help today and once again proved to be worth more than his weight in gold. He and John worked on clearing the northern boundary and while so doing, John took off his ear defenders which sucked out one of his hearing aids, which then flew off into the undergrowth. This was one of the very, very recently replaced hearing aids following John losing both on Liddells few weeks ago (don’t ask Clare about this as she has high blood pressure) and requiring a claim on the insurance. It was only after John and Mel had hunted on hands and knees in vain for quite a while that John dared to ring Clare, confess what had happened and ask for help. The three of them performed a fingertip search through leaf litter, moss and twigs, looking for an object that is about half the size of a shrimp and a similar colour. Eventually Mel, who deserves to beat John at pool for evermore, found it in an area that all three had, allegedly, already scoured. Clare hopes that John might learn from this experience.

Clare discovered that her bees were benefitting from the water diversion and were drinking from the damp earth next to it. Double whammy.

5th April

The tracks by both of the two larger ponds have become very muddy and lost their grass so John and Clare have decided to add some seed to help regrowth. They started that process today. Fishing algae out of the ponds (the second largest one has developed it too) has become a daily task. Stopping it taking over completely is a daunting challenge.

6th April

A while ago John and Clare were offered three Oak trees by David Oliver. Not just any old Oaks though - David had grown these from acorns from the Leper Oak on Hexham Golf Course. You can read the full story of the Leper Oak here. Clare and John prepared the sites for these Oaks on the western edge of the Pit Wood today.

Eilidh is busy growing a baby and therefore less available to help with the ponies for a while. Today Lucy, a friend’s daughter, came to see if she might like to help out. Both ponies were instantly at ease with her which augurs well.

Clare started recycling stones from the Crag to make the pathway round the pond at the bottom more walker friendly.

This involved many trips up and down the Crag, carrying stones

7th April

When John saw the deer scrape in the North-east Strip, it seemed a good place to leave the trail camera. Sure enough the camera picked up the roe buck using his interdigital glands on the scrape and his frontal glands on the sapling beside it.

Seeding the first of the two stretches of roadway was finished today and some Yellow Iris moved from the wet area on the Meadow to the banks of Pond No 2.

9th April

David Oliver came to plant his Oaks. Clare forgot to pick up her phone and David left his camera in the car so there is no record of this event. Clare had also made labels for David and his son and daughters to fix to the tree cages when the family all came up together to see the trees on site. She forgot to hand them over. Ah well, such is ageing. The Oliver Oaks look very fine and knots have been tied in handkerchiefs to help remember to take photographs when the labels are ceremoniously attached.

10th April

John and Clare have decided to be a bit belt and braces regarding the algae and have dosed the two larger ponds with barley straw extract. Apparently new ponds are particularly susceptible to algae as are ponds with little shade and spells of hot weather. That’s 3 out of 3 then. Keith-who-knows-everything-about-nature is convinced it will all sort itself out in time, which is reassuring. If it doesn’t, John and Clare will be having words with him.

11th April

John and Clare spent time preparing for the next Green Gym Day, hauling brash, spreading tarpaulins ready to receive chip, and making a supply of baked goods.

Clare added more stones to the path at the bottom of the Crag. John is concerned that she might be planning to crazy-pave the Wetland.

12th April - The first Green Gym Day of this year

It must have been the lure of marmalade cake and shortbread. Seven stalwart friends arrived with bucketloads of goodwill and staggering reserves of energy and worked their way through five piles of brash until every twig was chipped. This involved a lot of hauling, lifting and hurling. Jane E planted Ragged Robin seedlings around the big pond - appropriately so since she had collected and sown the seeds last autumn and generously given Clare a large number to pot up and grow on. It was universally claimed that a good time had been had. John and Clare think they were probably not alone in choosing to do very little the next day. They remain hugely appreciative of all the help.

Tim decided the first and most urgent task was to protect the fritillaries on the meadow. He nobly sacrificed his boots to the cause

…and then turning her hand to algae fishing

…stack in piles to await the chipping team…

Clare was clearly worried there wasn’t sufficient brash so set about making more - or she could have been clearing a space for the LandRover to back up closer to the brash. She is delighted to have some rare evidence of her working - not that it is … — Clare was clearly worried there wasn’t sufficient brash so set about making more - or she could have been clearing a space for the LandRover to back up closer to the brash. She is delighted to have some rare evidence of her working - not that it is rare for her to work

This photo does not do justice to the time it took to rehitch the chipper. Barry acting as foreman here

Breaks were allowed but only to test the sitting area in front of the shepherd’s hut

16th April

Clare heard and saw the first Willow Warbler of the year on Liddells. She was particularly pleased that she saw it make its way from a Silver Birch to a Willow. Bird lovers will know that Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs are similar in appearance, however their songs are very different. If you fancy knowing more, click here. While tracking down the Willow Warbler, Clare came across a clump of Wood Sorrell. Not so unusual until you see where it was growing.

17th April

All is not lost to the algae - there are tadpoles in the big pond. Although it dived too quickly for a photograph, a Great Diving Beetle had arrived there too.

19th April - Good Friday

It was indeed a good Friday for Clare - it was warm enough to open the hives. Both colonies are doing well and are expanding in the brood boxes. Clare added supers (shallower boxes placed on top of the brood box with a grid that is too narrow for the queen. The bees use the frames for their stores leaving the queen more space for egg laying below). Lack of space is one of the factors prompting the bees to create a new queen and swarm. The bees are benefitting from early flowering oil seed rape in a neighbouring field this year, as well as from all the gorse on Liddells, so there is plenty of forage nearby.

Clare heard several Blackcaps singing for the first time this year, managed to see one, and so began her annual challenge to distinguish their song from that of the Garden Warbler. Not as easy as it sounds.

We have eggs in the box in the Orchard - probably a Blue Tit.

20th April

John finished the bridge on the Wetland and has named it the Alphabet Bridge.

21st April

Pond life is on the increase. There are tadpoles in the second biggest pond; Lesser Water Boatmen on one of the smaller ponds; and Pond Skippers (also known as Water Striders, Water Skeeters, Water Bugs, Pond Skaters, Water Skippers, or Jesus Bugs) are visible on all the ponds. The latter seem to be camera shy as each time Clare tried to film them, they ceased all movement. Patience was rewarded however, as yours will be if you stick with the video. There also seem to be a monster that surfaces briefly from the deep. Feel free to submit suggestions as to its identity. It is neither Clare nor John. The bird singing in the background is a Willow Warbler.

On our return home John and Clare learned that David Oliver had taken his family to label the oaks. They are waiting to see if his knotted handkerchief reminded him to take photos. They may appear in next month’s blog post.

25th April

The first Bluebells are out and Clare spotted three more small patches of them in places where she had not planted any. It’s good to know that Liddells has had its own Bluebells all along. They are all English Bluebells, which is excellent news. John added more seats to the story-telling circle. All it needs now is a seat for the story-teller. The Bird Cherry has produced lots of blossom this year, which is just emerging.

27th April

No sooner said than done. All that is needed now is a story-teller…

28th April

Clare saw a female mallard taking off from the big pond and three swallows flying low over it. John and Clare are rather hoping that the swallows make the link between the food supply on the pond and the excellent housing potential of the hay shed. Many butterflies around today including a Speckled Wood that settled obligingly still enough in the Pit Wood to photograph. Sadly the eggs in the nesting box in the Orchard have disappeared, however there is a Great Tit sitting on eight eggs in a box in the Pit Wood.

29th April

A high maintenance day - Clare weeded about half of the path in the Top Strip accompanied the whole time by birdsong, including that of a Garden Warbler, which Clare managed to glimpse so reassuring herself that it wasn’t a Blackcap. She also saw that there are now at least thirteen patches of English Bluebells established at the east end of the Top Strip from the very first ones Clare and John planted there before Liddells officially became theirs, thanks to Mike’s generosity. John strimmed large patches of rush on the Wetland, hoping to reduce its impact and thus allow other growth to come through. He also tightened and refixed fencing all along the Verge and around the arena - ‘arena’ sounds grander than it is, which is an area dedicated to schooling the ponies.

30th April

With the butterfly season well underway and Tim and Jane walking round regularly recording sightings, John strimmed the path they (Tim and Jane, not the butterflies) use through the Top Strip. John also started work on fixing gutters to the hay shed and part of the log shed in order to collect rain water for the bowser. Last year the rain water collection trough proved insufficient for the ponies needs through the long dry spell.

A final thought - the Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Day Wild begins on 1st June. You may like to start thinking about how you could have your own wild 30 days.

Clare and John

March 31, 2019

March - Beware the Ides

Clare and John

March 31, 2019

We begin with an apology if this month’s blog is briefer and/or less illustrated than usual - on 15th, after a period of intermittent failures and resurrections, Clare’s computer died. Conclusively. She then had a bit of a wait for a new one to arrive and a further period of gathering the necessary courage to set it up on her own and discover what might, or might not have been lost photos-wise in the period between the last backup and the computer’s demise.

Here is some trail camera footage from the end of last month which we retrieved after we had published February’s blogpost. The Barn Owl that was captured by the trail camera last month has been frequenting Liddells ever since. It seems to favour hunting over the Wetland and also flies through the Pit Wood. Sadly no bats were captured on the trail camera we’d put near the bat box; we’d put it up just before Storm Gareth arrived and consequently we had several clips of howling wind and madly waving branches. We’ll try again later in the year.

1st March

John cut the logs necessary for the bridge treads; he and Robbie finished brashing the trees north of the story-telling circle. Sadly for us, Robbie leaves on Monday for a period of travelling. We wish him well on his ventures and we’ll miss the superb help he gives us.

4th March

John started work on the bridge treads. We were thrilled to find that the biggest pond has a large amount of frogspawn. The frogs have adapted to the change in the depth of the water and laid at the southern edge where the water is shallowest. Bright things frogs. Perhaps we could say that they have transcended the change in their environment in which case we could call them Frogpondians. (Clare has been saving that ever since it was the OED Word of the Day on January 19th.)

John surveying his handiwork. The treads will eventually span the whole bridge and be secured in place. In case you were wondering.

7th March

John has been keen to return to strimming and started today by creating a new path within the Pit Wood. While he was working he heard a clunk that didn’t sound like wood or stone and when he hunted around found a roe antler. In all his decades of stalking, this is the first he has ever found.

We rather like the three videos of movement in the Pit Wood.

The new path going downhill from the south side of the Pit Wood towards the north side

The new path on the north side of the Pit Wood, heading back towards the Orchard

8th March

It’s not often the trail camera captures footage of small birds however we are delighted to have this visual evidence of a Thrush in the Pit Wood. We have been hearing them singing and from the Scrub as well.

10th March

The bees in one of Clare’s hives had finished their box of fondant and had started building comb in the empty space. Clare removed it because if they had continued, and filled the box, it would have been very difficult to remove the crown board when the time comes to inspect the bees. On her way down to the bees she heard starlings singing and chattering away in the oak tree nearby. She has no idea what was so exciting them, other than that it was a beautifully sunny day and worth singing about. Our molecatcher has had more success. He reckons he has caught the principal offenders now so has flattened all the molehills ready for the wildflower season. We have decided to replace the tapes that were supposed to keep the ponies away from the bees and out of the Pit Wood. We had stopped running a current through the tapes since the ponies had learnt not to touch them, however we hadn’t realised that Paul and William had obviously worked out that the current was off, and they had been lifting the top tape with their heads and holding the bottom tape down with their feet, and making their way through. We wondered how come the bottom tape was so dirty. We have decided to replace the tapes with wires. John started work on this today.

There is some nectar in the cells so the bees are starting to build their own stores

They look as if they’ve been hung out to dry

11th - 17th March

John has continued working on the new fencing. On the 14th he noticed a Heron flying away from the largest pond. No doubt there is slightly less frogspawn in there now. We have seen the Barn Owl several times. Yet more videos of a hare on the trail camera. We have included one because we love the way its ears twitch, apparently just when a Great Tit starts calling.

New fence nearly finished. The wires need a final tightening and the staples hammered home

The new fence looking towards the bottom gate

21st March

The day after the first day of Spring, and Clare and Sally had a walk around to see what flowers might be out and to listen for newly arrived migrant birds. They found Dandelion, Common Daisy, Native Daffodils, White Violet, Primrose and some very small, low-growing white flowers which could be Whitlow Grass (we’ll need to take advice) but heard no migrants. They did however see and hear a Woodpecker (Great Spotted) drumming on the dead top boughs of an oak, which seemed to attract a Mistle Thrush which flew in and joined it. Probably not the companion for which the Woodpecker was hoping. Clare and Sally, though largely Sally, spotted frogspawn in the three other ponds. Clare noticed that one of the newer Willows on the Wetland was bearing catkins.

23rd March

We moved one of the open-fronted nesting boxes to a tree in the Pit Wood which has plenty of ivy as cover. Fingers crossed our newly acquired understanding of the likely users and their needs will pay off. The trail camera captured a buck and a doe moving through the Top Strip.

25th March

Clare heard a Chiffchaff singing in the Scrub. Apparently Wheatears are usually the first to arrive (although we have never seen these birds on Liddells, we have seen them on crags a few hundred yards away), followed by Chiffchaffs. We hope to see and hear Willow Warblers nearer the end of next month.

28th March

We are dismayed to have discovered that the big pond has developed an algae infestation. Sadly, left unaddressed, this will kill off any aquatic life; indeed it may already have done for the frogspawn. We are investigating treatments - so far barley straw seems to be the least invasive.

On a happier note, Clare has now seen and heard several Chiffchaffs, mainly in the Scrub and the Pit Wood.

29th March

John extended the new path in the Pit Wood. Clare spotted a Peacock butterfly on a Willow that is in flower at the top of the Scrub, and when she got closer to photograph it, saw and heard that the tree was covered in honey bees also collecting the pollen. By a happy accident she took a very short video of this rather than a still photograph. She also discovered that there is new moss in some of the bird boxes.

30th March

John added the last post to the new fence. Hooray - a tick on the to-do list and a job that shouldn’t have to be done again, unlike the path maintenance that requires regular sessions every year. Clare has made a start in the Top Strip.

31st March

Clearing up in the North-east Strip - moving logs and making brash heaps ready for the chipper. This was the very first area we worked on at Liddells and we’ve done nothing since until recently when John and Robbie did some felling and brashing. John identified a patch of ground that he thinks is a deer bed. It has scrape marks and is the right shape and size.

Clare and John

February 28, 2019

February

Clare and John

February 28, 2019

1st February

Snow arrived today providing a good opportunity to think about next year’s Christmas cards.

2nd February

John had seen so many tracks in the snow yesterday we hoped the trail camera would have captured images of the track makers. Of the dozens of clips recorded, only one was not showing the ponies, however the one was well worth it. The ponies deserve an appearance on the blog too. It would seem as though a fox too has been testing the ice on the big pond.

3rd February

An exciting day for Clare - she saw one male and three female Redpolls at home then in the afternoon went to Liddells for the first time this year, to say hello to the ponies and check her bees. One colony has eaten almost a whole box of fondant, the other hardly any. It is strange how colony behaviours can differ under what appear to be similar circumstances.

4th February

Clare’s bird-watching at home is going some way to making up for all that she is missing elsewhere - today the Redpolls were joined by several Siskins. We saw them in the garden a couple of times a few years ago, but none for a long time now. All these birds are proving to be a significant part of Clare’s recovery.

The trail camera may well have captured the fox that was testing the ice. It is walking away from the big pond and is at the southern edge of the Pit Wood, heading north.

John and Robbie worked on the seating for the story-telling circle (which should probably be called the story-telling semi-circle). The large logs will be turned over and sit on supports between the uprights.

We were delighted that amongst the numerous videos of pheasants feeding - we’ll spare you those - we found two clips that are worth putting on the blog. On the first one, watch the top right section of the frame. The first clip was recorded at 16.20, the second about half an hour later.

6th February

John worked on the seating for the story-telling circle. We’re just waiting on a story-teller now. And the story-teller’s seat….

7th February

The trail camera has triumphed again. John is sure this is a youngster as it has a ‘chubby babyface’, and he reckons that it is a buck - if you look closely you can see the beginning of two buttons on the top of its head which will become antlers.

8th February

As well as felling more trees in the Pit Wood, John and Robbie dismantled and removed an old covered pheasant feeder from that area.

10th February

There are buds on one of the Small leaved lime that we planted on the Wetland and Snowdrops are out on the Meadow. We usually include a photo of Hazel catkins in the Spring and have had to use the same old established tree each year. This year we are delighted to see catkins on one of the new hazels for the first time.

12th February

We are fortunate that Robbie’s trip to New Zealand has been delayed so he is currently available to help out. We are also fortunate that he loves helping. We reckon one hour of Robbie’s work equates to at least four of ours. John put different fronts on some of the open fronted bird boxes which had never been used. Any homeless robins, wrens and spotted flycatchers will know to whom to complain. Robbie logged, brashed and worked on a bridge over the channel into the big pond.

Letting light in and opening the view in the Pit Wood

Maybe walking across the poles would be a bridge too far.

13th February

The trail camera is not ideal for picking up small birds, however we are pleased that it has captured a Yellowhammer near the pheasant feeder, and thus provided another opportunity to draw on the charms of BBC Radio 4’s Tweet of the Day. It’s always a delight to see images of a hare.

14th February

John and Robbie opted for a non-romantic way to spend St Valentine’s Day - chain-sawing and road-building. They have made more potential seats, not just for the story-telling circle but to use in different places on Liddells.

We are not entirely without a romantic streak - here is gorse in flower on 14th February

15th February

We don’t know about ‘Nature red in tooth and claw’, this all looks a bit black and white to us.

18th February

Juno’s second birthday. A fox appears to be about in the early hours. Hal, Beth and Juno came over to fulfil a long held plan to plant a tree for Juno. We chose an Aspen, which comes into flower in February. Its botanical name is Populus tremula because the leaves are forever trembling. Some of you may know the line from Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott, ‘Willows whiten, aspens quiver’; the tree was favoured by sufferers from “shivering disease”, who would pin locks of their hair to the trees in the hope that one shivering would cure the other. This is a new tree to introduce on Liddells. If you would like to see more photos of this event, you will find them on the Celebrations page.

Make sure the tree is upright and tamp down the soil (John is either bowing to the tree or practising for a knighthood)

20th February

John and Robbie felled some of the Spruces behind the shepherd’s hut.

22nd February

Wall repair along the road. Another Corsican Pine felled in the North East Strip. Tim and Jane saw two Peacock butterflies out on Liddells - this is unprecedentedly early.

26th February

John worked on the bridge on the Wetland and is particularly proud of his half-lap joints. So proud that he clearly took time off to be artistic with the camera. He also altered another open-fronted nesting box.

…and assembled. What a fine half-lap joint

27th February

John noticed droppings underneath the entrance to the bat box today. We will move the trail camera so that it will pick up any movement in and out. We leave you with the cliff hanger (which in the case of bats will of course be upside down) - are we bats to think bats might have taken up residence……

Clare and John

January 31, 2019

January 2019 - in Clare’s absence

Clare and John

January 31, 2019

5th January

Robert displays his next trophy in traditional manner

6th January

John saw the hare running from the Orchard into the Top Strip. It’s good to know it’s still around.

7th January

Although the horses of the local hunt don’t go through Liddells any more, the hunt clearly wasn’t far away. Here is a splinter group of hounds going through the Pit Wood. And a splinter hound from the splinter group.

11th January

John has obviously been missing his post-Liddells-work aches and pains, so set off today to buy gate-making equipment. There are two gates awaiting construction - one giving access from the Meadow into the North-East Strip (necessary if we are one day to go through with our plan to keep pigs there); the other will go through the taped off line by the spoil heaps and head up the path down to the Orchard. We hope all will go smoothly and that there will be no Gategate.

13th January

We heard from our land neighbour that the ponies were in his bottom field. They had obviously intuited the blog and staged a pre-Gategate. They must have trampled the tape (now re-electrified) which prohibited access to the Orchard and thus the Pit Wood. How they got from there on to Mike’s land remains a mystery. Paul had the grace to look sheepish - no bad feat for a pony - when he was led back.

14th January

Gate-making at progress at home. Clare listening to the sound of power tools and hammering. Perhaps not the most sensitive reminder of experiences undergone by one of us recently.

The trail camera has provided us with a mystery. Clare, perhaps a little bored at home, is convinced dark deeds are afoot in the Orchard.

19th January

John has finished hanging the new gate that leads down to the Orchard. It awaits a catch. He has also started digging post holes for the gate into the North East Strip.

20th January

The OED Word of the Day is Pluviose - the fifth month of the French Revolutionary calendar which began on 20th January and the name was chosen for the rain in this month. Vive La Révolution! No rain fell today.

23rd January

John accompanied a Canadian visitor round Liddells on a frosty morning. The lengths we go to to make visitors feel at home. Graham has been planting trees in a patch of land near to Ottawa and was interested to see what we were doing. Unfortunately the photo John took of Graham by the top gate has inexplicably vanished from the camera memory. Clare suspects this could be related to the mysterious goings on in the Orchard. Or Graham may be a vampire.

25th January

Robbie came to help John today and together they worked on the new gate and fence in the North East Strip and also did some logging there.

This is a strainer taking the strain and you can see that we are using wood from felling wherever we can

These logs are intended as the piles for a bridge over the grip which feeds into the big pond. Watch this space for construction details…..

28th January

Very exciting (for one of us) to see the Barn Owl over the Wetland and perched in one of our Oaks near the Orchard. Clare had her own excitement at home while taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch yesterday - she saw a Lesser Redpoll on one of the niger seed feeders in the garden. We had seen one on the verge opposite the house several years ago however never one in the garden, and none since. She spotted it again today and could confirm that it was a female.

29th January

John reported to Clare from Liddells that it was snowing. Clare asked for a photograph. The snow stopped. And melted. What is it with John and photos. John managed to clean out all the nesting boxes in the Top Strip, firm up some tree stakes and erect the new bat box in the North East Strip. He spotted a Heron leaving the big pond. Clare has been saving ‘ranivorous’ for just this occasion (of an animal, especially a bird, that feeds on frogs). Smarty Pants John pointed out that the family name for frogs is ranidae. Clare thought it was Fisher.

31st January

Another cold day at Liddells. Too cold to work however pleasing to the eye. John did splendidly with the cameras. The ponies had double helpings of hay - two nets in the shelter and extra on the ground. You will notice how Paul stands over most of the hay while William has only managed to secure a small heap at his feet. Off camera William high-tailed it into the shelter to get first go at the nets. He’s a bright little thing.

Top Strip from the Top Grazing, looking west

Clare and John

December 30, 2018

December - the not so bleak midwinter

Clare and John

December 30, 2018

First of all, a big thank you to all blog supporters. We understand that some of you come from far flung places like the USA and Cumbria. We love the idea that we are connecting with you all and hope that you feel free to invite other interested parties to follow us.

We have put a selection of our favourite photographs from this year on a new Gallery page.

1st December

DEFRA have sent us the necessary form today to complete the Sheep and Goats Annual inventory. First of course we have to find some goats, then make sure they are on the left hand, borrow the sheep back again keeping them on the right and then count. We wonder if DEFRA will accept yan, tan, tethera, pimp…. Sounds like a challenge for One Man and His God.

4th December

John reinstated the tapes that keeps the area round the bee hives clear, and then gave Paul and William access to the Scrub, Wetland and Crag. There is still plenty for them to eat here and it will mean that we can keep our hay for when/if the weather gets worse later in the winter.

You can see how this part of Liddells holds the frost as it is largely north facing

Hal has had the great good fortune to spot a Woodcock Pilot and to share his sighting with us!

10th December

We started marking out the planting sites for the Alder and Wych Elm that have arrived

There will be 3 Wych Elm in the Top Strip

3 Alders on the Wetland (if you look very closely you can see the other two tubes in the distance!

16th December

While John and Eilidh were long-reining Paul, Clare decided to tidy up the roadway edge by one of the ponds. Nothing more fun that heaving heavy stones around in the slippery mud. Mole-catcher Robert had his first success with the traps on the Meadow.

Robert with corpse and business associate Sky

17-20th December

We planted the rest of the Alder and Wych Elm, introducing 3 Alder and 4 Wych Elm to the Pit Wood.

You may have been concerned for a while at the status of your amorous gestures. Fear not, you are back in fashion.

28th December

Tim has kindly produced this annual report on the butterflies on Liddells. You can also find this here where his graphs and tables are included.

Liddells Butterflies – 2018

A hot and dry summer across the country played havoc with all nature, maybe less so in the north than down south. At Liddells, the meadow turned very dry, some plants flowered early, some not at all, and some late, which is tough on the caterpillars & butterflies who have to appear at the same time as the flowers. As a few examples, Red Campion flowered late in the summer, Birdsfoot trefoil seemed to give up completely, thistles went to seed early, but then I saw one in flower in early December. I’m confused, so pity the poor butterflies, never mind Clare’s bees.

By way of comparison 1976, a hot and dry year, was a good year for butterflies, but not for their offspring. 1977 proved very disappointing, many caterpillars and eggs did not survive to the following spring, and some butterflies took many years to recover. To some extent this is just a natural cycle, butterfly numbers go up and down, but there a few concerns and next year will be interesting.

At Liddells, we had two significant positives, 23 Small Copper were seen, and a real surprise, a Purple Hairstreak on a south facing oak tree. And Large Skippers were also seen, but not on the Liddells Butterfly transect.

Sadly, for unknown reasons Small Tortoiseshells are suffering across the country, and at Liddells they and Meadow Browns are well down on the long term average.

30th December

A last walk round Liddells for a while for Clare this morning. We checked on the bees and they are beginning to take the fondant feed that they have over the winter. They digest this directly rather than store it in frames. It was good to see some of the bees on the fondant (which is in upturned plastic boxes placed over holes in the crown board which covers the frames, leaving a space under the roof for feed and insulation) as Clare had neither sight nor sound of them in weeks. It’s always a leap of faith at this time of year that they are ok. We were pleased to see that there are still large numbers of Fieldfares in residence. The ponies are warm in their winter coats and looking a bit trimmer (which is no bad thing, particularly in William’s case). John is under instruction to provide blog material over the next couple of months while Clare recovers from the hip replacement op she is due to have tomorrow.

A Happy New Year to you all and a Happy Hippy one for Clare

Clare and John

November 30, 2018

November

Clare and John

November 30, 2018

2nd November

We planted 18 Sweet Chestnut seeds at home. We had to buy these in as our local Sweet Chestnut trees provided no fertilised fruit. Paul managed, with considerable nervousness, to haul a log or two. In spite of our failure to angle the trail camera on the apples we provided, we were delighted to capture images that give an idea of the numbers of fieldfares as well as some close-ish-up detail of the birds. We also have evidence of the big pond being enjoyed.

3rd November

John sets up in competition with a local firm for the title ‘north-east’s leading glaziologist’. First window pane fixed in the shepherd’s hut

6th November

All the large windows are glazed and the hut cleaned out.

11th November

John secured the last pane of glass into the door and we fixed a lock. Close observers might notice that John’s Workmate (not Clare) has given up its supportive role. Many people at this stage would buy a new one. John is working out how to mend it. It’s been a long relationship between the two of them. Clare is wondering if there are deeper implications for her.

14th November

Mel came to help and he and John went for heavy work, moving logs for seating to the Story-telling Circle, levelling one of the entrances to the Pit Wood from the Orchard and excavating huge rocks from paths in the Pit Wood.

15th November

John started work on providing a more accessible route than the Workmate into the shepherds hut. Clare sowed wildflower seeds in part of the area round the hut. Could both of these be considered as accessorising.

18th November

The trail camera recorded a hare in the Pit Wood at night.

18th - 20th November

John continued his work on the steps into the shepherd’s hut until two days of rain and a cold caused a temporary halt.

24th November

Clare was keen to see the state of the ponds after the most rain we’ve had since they were dug. She was not disappointed however realised at least one adjustment might have to be made.

As fine a set of steps as you are likely to see - well they will be when they’re finished

One of those stepping stones proves to be a snare and delusion. Now we’ll have to wait for the pond to dry out before we can raise it. Or get very wet.

Clare had thought this one might not fill to any great extent. She is delighted, unusually in this regard, to be proved wrong.

When we first had Liddells, this was where we thought of digging a pond - the land was usually muddy and there was a small gully running away from it into the Pit Wood. We have been surprised that it isn’t filling as well as we had expected. We migh… — When we first had Liddells, this was where we thought of digging a pond - the land was usually muddy and there was a small gully running away from it into the Pit Wood. We have been surprised that it isn’t filling as well as we had expected. We might have to think about lining it and/or clearing some of the ditches that run towards it.

The largest pond is as full as it can get and water is pouring out of the overflow.

28th November

We’ve been wondering if Woodcock will return to Liddells this year. The first November full moon is referred to as the Woodcock Moon as it coincides with the arrival of these birds, which are of course piloted by Goldcrests. Is anyone else immediately seeing Goldcrests in flying helmet, goggles and with a silk scarf streaming out behind them. Clare is. We are delighted that today Tim saw a Woodcock in the Top Strip. The moon was full on 23rd.

29th November

Shepherd’s hut steps very nearly finished. John is snatching whatever gaps he can in the wild weather.

The steps in the shadow of the step-maker

There have been some wonderful rainbows in the last few days. William considers grass much more important.

Clare and John

November 7, 2018

November 1st - Forest Schooling comes to Liddells

Clare and John

November 7, 2018

Eilidh approached us a while ago with the possibility of running Forest Schooling on Liddells. This chimed with our desire to offer the land to children so that they could experience nature and the outdoors.

This very first opportunity was for Eilidh to bring a focus group of children she knew so that she could try out ideas and test what might be possible.

The day was brilliant! Eilidh had obviously worked tremendously hard in the morning, bringing in equipment and preparing the site.

She arrived in the afternoon with five children (aged between two and eleven) and two supporting adults.

We met the party at the bottom gate. Clare said that she would love them to ask as many questions as possible and that there were no silly questions however they might be given silly answers.

The children were given maps and invited to find out where they were and then were asked to make their own way to the bee hives. A pause to guesstimate how many bees might be in the hives - far more than they first guessed!

On to the Pit Wood and a challenge to find objects that they wouldn’t expect to find in woodland. Eilidh had imaginatively chosen a collection including a candle, a plastic bottle, a light switch and a paint brush. She then invited them to think about what they had found and the implications of their findings.

Next they went off in pairs with a colour chart and a bag, and an invitation to find things that matched the colours. No paint brushes needed. The children had little difficulty in foraging items that fitted. Ethan managed to find a ladybird which was obligingly red.

Next everyone joined in the task of filling a trug full to the brim with leaves within a limited time.

Then it was time for a walk and explore. Almost immediately we saw one of the purposes of Forest Education fulfilled as each child in turn found a way of climbing on to a fallen sycamore trunk that straddles the path through the valley. The delight was in seeing children free to challenge themselves and try out an activity that, in other circumstances, might have been considered too risky. Not one of the adults had suggested they climb on to the trunk. John has captured the event in his video which is at the end of this post.

From the bridge to the spring and a bit of history about that. Up through the wood into the Orchard, noticing some wildflowers still hanging on on the way - Pink Campion and Herb Robert. On the way the children noticed the buzzard’s nest, the squirrel traps, and we pointed out the dead Silver Birch that is a favourite of the Nuthatches and Woodpeckers. It appeared compulsory to insert a finger into some of the holes. Just before the Orchard Clare pointed out the thrush anvil where there were several empty snail shells.

Up to the Spoil Heaps and one eagle pair of eyes spotted a frog on the path. Returning to the Pit Wood and the Story-telling Circle, it was time for refreshments.

Back to work and pictures and collages to be made from the colour collections, caterpillars to be made by threading some of the gathered leaves on to pipe cleaners. The rest of the leaves were used to bury Eilidh, which seemed a tad unfair after the lovely time she had created.

Then the fire had to be built in the pit Eilidh had prepared. She sent the children off to collect kindling which prompted a new interpretation of Green Gym as some of them discovered that a pile of brash made an excellent trampoline. They each had a practice using a flint spark ignitor and then it was time to light the fire. It was soon hot enough to toast the marshmallows.

After quite a sticky few minutes, it was time to douse the fire, clear up and make sure there was not a trace left behind.

The last part of the adventure was a walk past the ponds, over the stepping stones, up the Crag and an opportunity to meet and feed the ponies. At this point John went off to get the car and Anna was prompted to enquire, “Where has the farmer gone?” Back to the gate and before saying our goodbyes, Clare told the story she had promised on arrival of why we had called the land Liddells.

Anna has a better idea of using the stepping stones than Eilidh!

Who are very pleased to be met with minty treats

Clare and John

October 31, 2018

October - preparation for pond life

Clare and John

October 31, 2018

First of all a big thank you to those who have bought honey, hedgerow and rowanberry jellies from us. We were delighted that our produce proved so popular and have put the money towards digger hire, Alder and Wych Elm trees, and Sweet Chestnut seeds to pot up at home.

1st October

Have digger, will dig. John started to make more of the wet area at the base of the Crag, on the west boundary. This is an area in which the water comes and goes, which, habitat-wise , is as important as standing water. He also worked on levelling and extending the roadway in from the bottom gate. We are thrilled that even within 24 hours, we can see the large pond filling up. Our resident Pond Inspector has apparently been to examine the workings.

Extended roadway. This is near the spoil heaps and you can see the spoil on the surface

We trust that after assiduous study of the website, you all recognise these as Roe Deer tracks.

2nd October

Another day, another pond. Clare arrived as John was declaring the third pond, at the base of the Crag, finished. Clare saw it and thought, “Stepping stones would be nice.” He had added a large stone in the middle so it was his own fault. The first pond is definitely filling up.

Pond No 3 - with soon-to-be stepping stone

3rd October

Would you believe there is now a fourth pond on Liddells?! Nul ponds to quatre ponds in five days. John dug the rush out of a small pond we created about three years ago. As with the one at the bottom of the Crag, it may be one in which the water comes and goes. We also hope that with this amount of choice, frogs and newts will be able to coexist.

John used the digger’s remaining day to dig two sets of post holes - one for a gate that will open on to the path down to the Orchard; the second gate will be into the North-east Strip from the Meadow, and will enable the movement of pigs. Should we ever get them. On his way to dig these post holes, John found a magnificent mushroom on the Meadow, and thanks to pool-playing Lloyd who has lent us a comprehensive mushroom guide, we are confident we can eat it. If you don’t hear from us again, please would someone return the book to Lloyd.

4th October

Paul is now confident with his hauling collar so today John and Eilidh decided to add more of his harness. William added moral support. Eilidh started by laying the harness on the ground and putting some apple pieces on it. With such an incentive, the rest was easy and John and Paul walked up and down the field. John jangled the chains occasionally to reacquaint Paul with the sounds of working.

We promise not to give you a daily pond levels update, however, since we had the first rain for days overnight and this morning we were quite excited to see how they had filled up. We were not disappointed.

Pond 1 The island is very nearly an island

Pond 2 The terracotta pieces right of centre are part of an old field drain, which augurs well for the pond

Pond 3 Go on John, you know you want to play on the stepping stones

And last but not least, though it is the smallest, let’s hear it for Pond 4

9th October

John, having fixed the panels between the roof and the walls, began painting the windows. We still have to finish levelling the site where the hut will go, and fence this off, however it’s lovely to see the hut facing the right way at last.

10th October

John started painting the body of the shepherd’s hut. One end finished.

Rather tasteful don’t you think, and not a Farrow & Ball paint chart in sight.

13th October

On our way to inspect the pond levels, we both heard and saw a large flock of fieldfares, about 40-50, moving from the Scrub towards the Pit Wood. These are likely to be winter visitors, come from breeding in Continental Europe and Scandinavia in the summer months. We were also delighted to see a hare on the Meadow, although it had run down into the south-west corner and couldn’t get out until we had moved closer and beyond the hurdle, and that agitated it somewhat. It eventually ran out of the Meadow and through the bottom gate.

14th October

John noticed that pond 1 is now full and surplus water running through the overflow pipe. It looks very impressive. John fixed gateposts into the holes by the Spoil Heaps and we both managed to get two coats of paint onto the other end of the shepherd’s hut.

The smeary look is the paint being absorbed and drying, not ineptitude on our part

18th October

First post in for the gateway out of the Meadow into the North-east Strip. Back of the shepherd’s hut painted.

Post in and logs for stacking. The tree stump will be taken down to nearer ground level at some point

“Here’s Johnny!” (thanks to Jane E for this photo)

Hard to know from where to photograph this, however you get the picture

19th October

Shepherd’s hut painting done! Clare spent a happy few minutes watching a Goldcrest in the Pit Wood. It was hopping about in an Elder and so close that getting a camera out would probably have frightened it away. It could either be resident or a migrant from Scandinavia - timing would be right for that; also exhausted migrants are typically less afraid of humans, which might account for Clare being able to be so close. Apparently early ornithologists could not believe that such a tiny bird could fly across the North Sea unaided and therefore thought the birds must ride on the backs of other birds such as Woodcock or Short-eared Owls. This gave rise to the old country name of Woodcock Pilot.

20th October

Eilidh, John and Tom all worked together to put Paul in his harness again and, with William’s faithful companionship (or William spotting the opportunity to nibble at some fresh grass) they walked down the log hauling route onto the Wetland. While there Paul inspected the new ponds. He was anxious however did not bolt, so we reckoned the expedition was a success.

22nd October

John started creating an platform for the shepherd’s hut, making a wooden frame and with the intention of covering it with membrane and chip.

23rd October

Platform complete and hut in position (with Chris Bates’ help)!

From this….. (with thanks to Lesley for this reminder of the very start of the positioning process)

…to this! And very fine it looks too. Glazing and interior next on the to-do list.

25th October

We’ve been seeing more grey squirrel activity recently, particularly on a couple of oaks at the north end of the Pit Wood. John had his suspicions about this and discovered that the Tawny Owl box is in use, though not as we had hoped. He’s redoubled his squirrel control with some effect. We are going to do whatever we can to keep the site free for red squirrels, which apparently have recently returned to Gosforth Park Nature Reserve after a ten year absence. They are hanging on in the area in small pockets (not of clothing) as a result of diligent work by many volunteers.

24th - 29th October

With no pressing work at the moment, we’ve been taking more time to walk round and enjoy Liddells. We both read an article about over-wintering Redwings on the 26th and lo and behold, while John was checking for squirrel activity the next morning, Clare saw a flock of about 20 Redwings feeding on hawthorn berries near the Orchard. They must have read the article too. We read that they will often feed on windfall apples so we have left some from our garden and placed the trail camera to see if we can record any feeding activity. We saw lots of Nuthatches and a Treecreeper that same day, as well as many of the more common woodland and hedgerow birds.

30th October

Unfortunately the trail camera was angled above the apples, however it did capture a young roe buck several times. We have included one clip which shows the deer’s agility as it leaves the Orchard for the Pit Wood.

After much debate, measuring, considering and reconsidering, we have finally decided on the size, shape and extent of the area that will be fenced off round the shepherd’s hut. It has proved a surprisingly difficult task working out with which of the markers to align the fencing. We are pleased with our decision, and you can see the beginning of the work below.

Clare went up to document this development and walking round was delighted that there were large mixed flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares just about everywhere; she saw a flock of at least 8 Bullfinches in the Pit Wood and then another group of 3 near the Crag; there is a marked increase in the numbers of Blackbirds around, so the winter visitors have arrived from Scandinavia; she also saw a Marsh Tit in the Pit Wood, which is the first time one has been seen since the Spring. We assumed they had moved on, however it seems possible that they have stayed after all. Clare is endeavouring to add the song and call to the small list of birdsongs she can recognise. Kate and Andy have been enjoying walking their dog on Liddells recently and have seen a hare both times, once on the Wetland and once on the Crag.

31st October

More ticks on the shepherd’s hut to-do list - John collected the glazing bars and glass for the windows. We have also chosen the flooring. It’s exciting to be considering the interior at last.

Clare and John

September 30, 2018

September - the earth moves for John and Clare

Clare and John

September 30, 2018

1st September

John was rather taken with the sight of a large patch of Creeping Thistle that had gone to seed. Clare enjoyed them too as they were outside the Meadow. This patch is a favourite one for butterflies. More fungi are appearing as autumn gets closer. Clare has heard that all fungi are edible, but some of them only once. John has made a new gate to give access through the mud barricades, which are now finished.

Please feel free to contribute identification info

4th September

Clare helped John raise the first roof panel for the shepherd’s hut to see how it will look. He realised the main supporting beam needs to be slightly raised. Clare continued her fungi discoveries.

The Turin Shroud fungus (this is not a real type of fungus, however Clare was taken by the face she could see), or possibly Larch Bolete…

…which appears to have a smiley face on the underside

6th September

Barry kindly lent us his ATV so that we could collect logs from the Wetland and the Pit Wood, while Paul recovers his confidence with hauling. To this end, Eilidh and John managed to persuade him to wear his collar again and walk round with it on.

8th September

Robbie cut logs and started felling conifers in the Pit Wood; he also removed the two trees that were inside the story-telling circle. Robert helped to haul dumpies of logs out to where we can load them into the trailer.

9th September

We borrowed some sheep again to graze off the meadow. Having brought the logs home, we filled the second shed, with a little help.

Yan tan tethera pethera pimp…no we haven’t lost our mind, just trying to count the sheep. This old method may still be used by some shepherds. After a dispute because of fidgety sheep, we settled on twenty-five, which is figgot (20) and pimp

10th September

We returned the Groundhog. Clare spotted a trio of tree stumps on the Wetland, each of which was sporting a crop of fungi.

11th September

John raised the roof beam on the shepherd’s hut and managed to cut his finger rather badly.

12th September

More fungi

There is a particularly fine crop of Fly Agaric in the Scrub

This looks likely to be Turkey Tail or Coriolus Versicolor — This looks likely to be Turkey Tail or *Coriolus Versicolor*

14th September

The trail camera caught a fox in the Orchard by the bonfire.

One of the bee colonies has been much beset by robber bees. Clare has followed all the advice available - blocking the entrance so only one bee can get in at a time (the guard bees have more time to deal with invaders), putting a glass sheet in front of the entrance (presumably the robbing bees bash their heads against it while the resident bees can reroute around it), sticking leafy branches in front of the hive (to confuse the robbers - “This doesn’t look like Kansas anymore”), covering the whole hive with a wet sheet for a couple of days (the robbers then think the hive has disappeared or become ghostly and give up); all of these were to no avail. What worked? Would you believe smearing the hive liberally with Vicks Vaporub. The robbers gave up. They can, however, breathe more easily. As of course can the bees who are no longer under threat.

15th September

We are planning to dig out a couple of ponds on the Wetland, so we spent some time marking them out. We are going to use two areas that are already wet, remove some of the rush and dam one edge of each.

One of the Spindle Trees is looking particularly autumnal.

Yet more fungi.

The underside would suggest this is a waxcap of some kind

16th September

Mike arrived to help John fix the first of the roof panels on the shepherd’s hut. Both were pleased with the result. Clare is in awe of what John is doing - he hates heights. The proliferation of fungi this year extended to the inside of one of the sheds.

Inside the shed. Possibly a Tawny Grisette

17th September

Clare helped with the fixing of the last three roof panels with a certain amount of lifting and a lot of encouraging.

18th September

All the panels are now firmly fixed in place. We moved the ponies to the Meadow for 48 hours so that their hooves would chop up the sward a bit, in preparation for sowing wildflower seeds. We started stacking logs in the log shed at Liddells which we had emptied over last winter.

Clare is concerned that John might have misunderstood her request for steps to get into the hut

20th September - Green Gym Day

We were delighted to welcome eight volunteers today, including three new recruits. Many thanks to Mark and Gill, John W, Tim, Barry, Sally, Jane E and Pat, and apologies to all for the paucity of photographs recording all the stupendous effort that went into the day. Clare was engrossed in seed sowing and rather forgot her role as recorder. By 3pm we had ticked all our tasks off the list - wall repair, adjusting the tubing to trees in the Top Strip, felling and logging after some of the damage in the wake of Storm Aileen, path weeding, clearing brambles and ivy out of the roadside wall and sowing wildflower seeds on the Meadow. Within seconds of tidying away at the end, the rain set in.

John, John and Sally seem to have an opinion about Barry’s lunch

The discerning amongst you might spot that the stakes are now secured outside the tubes rather than inside as we had done mistakenly before

The painstaking work of making small holes in the meadow and inserting pinches of seed

While we were all working, these ladybirds were indulging in their own choice of exercise. This gave rise to a question in the group as to the collective noun for ladybirds. Barry came up with ‘a Bangkok’! **

Bramble and ivy free wall, and this only shows a small section of the whole length that was cleared

A large limb off a dead tree in the Pit Wood. It’s good to leave dead trees as a habitat for insects and birds

** If you don’t get Barry’s joke, try saying the name of the insect with a Bronx accent

21st September

Eilidh began to prepare William for receiving a bit - she coated a stick with molasses. Once William realised he liked the taste, Eilidh managed to position the stick in his mouth to replicate how the bit will be. Both ended up very sticky.

There are still butterflies around. This Comma is on Purple Loosestrife in the Meadow

22nd - 26th September

John has been working on the panels that will fill the spaces below the roof on the shepherd’s hut. John and Clare finished sowing the last of the seeds on the Meadow; this included introducing our own Yellow Rattle seeds to the top quarter where the plant has yet to get established.

27th September

The first day of a week’s machinery hire. John is creating his own version of two radical movements from the Civil War and seeking to make an even platform for the hut. The first job was to make a drain behind where the hut will go.

Clare spotted this Red Admiral enjoying the late summer sun while she was on her way to reposition the trail camera

Our very own version of the Lambton Worm

Not quite a red carpet for the ponies, however we added the final touch to the extended mud barricades

28/29th September

Clare had spotted a lot of acorns in the Pit Wood and set the trail camera hoping to catch either a badger and/or a jay collecting or eating them. The camera picked up lots of activity, sadly most of it by grey squirrels although the very first capture was of a badger, even if you don’t get to see much of it. The sound is quite striking! We think the bird darting behind the tree in the fourth video, is a Jay.

29th September

Robbie arrived to dig out the first of the ponds. On the way he dug a trench for a new land drain near the spoil heaps by the Meadow. He also cleared some of the grips leading in to the pond to help with the water flow. John cut down and logged a couple of trees at the top of the Pit Wood.

30th September

Robbie finished the larger of the two ponds, adding an island with a Heron perching stone. He then moved on to work on the second pond, excavating this, creating another small island with Heron perch and establishing a roadway at the dammed end and had this all finished by early afternoon. And this from someone who was out carousing the night before - pretty impressive! John cut down more trees at the top of the Pit Wood to let light and space in for the younger planting. He also finished the drain Robbie had dug yesterday, making a French drain that is filled with gravel.

Looking north; Heron island left of centre

Looking south with opened up grips allowing for easier water flow

The spindly looking trees will not need to put on so much growth to reach the light

The smaller pond with Heron perch and opened grip

Finished! This shows the new roadway with the Meadow in the distance. Delightfully for us, Robbie is as excited about the new ponds as we are. All we need now is quite a lot of rain.

Clare and John

August 31, 2018

August - a productive month

Clare and John

August 31, 2018

Last few days of July

Just to prove we did what we said we would do -

We rather wish we had taken a 'before' photo so you could see just what an improvement this is.

2nd August

We've put the trail camera back in the Scrub and clearly found a busy site, or perhaps the animals we captured on film were all off to Clare's sister's birthday celebrations. John says you can tell the doe is young because she has a baby face, a thin neck and her anal tush is not fully developed. Add that to your Liddells learning account.

4th August

John finished strimming huge lengths of path to enable our anniversary celebration guests to walk around Liddells and for them to sense what we have been up to in the last five years.

5th August

Robbie came and helped with logging. John repaired the fencing round the wet area in the Meadow. Tim sent us an identification challenge.

It's a Purple Hairstreak and a first for LIddells. Since these butterflies like to hang around the tops of oak trees, all credit to Tim for a) spotting it b) getting a photograph and also credit to Clare who guessed correctly

8th August

With the well-being of our guests and health and safety considerations in mind, John fixed the wobbly stile near the Pit Wood. Clare noted that her well-being had not prompted this repair before the party.

9th August

Several years ago John and Clare set up Rat Arts - regular meetings at their local pub, The Rat, which prioritise the human voice. Anyone is free to come and read, sing, recite, tell a story and/or listen. It's informal, great fun and well-supported. We have themes, which are open to individual interpretation, suggested by our regulars and the one for this day was Space. This was John's contribution:

The Available Space

The available space measures 11 feet 4 inches long by exactly 6 feet wide, and with a height of 7 feet 3 inches. This offers a cubic capacity of 492.95 cubic feet.

Given that an average adult, when resting, inhales and exhales about 7 to 8 litres of air per minute or 11,000 litres per day, this means that a person needs about 388 cubic feet of oxygen per day. So if a human was to take up residence in this available space they would be OK for about a day and a half, if not carrying out any strenuous exercise – which can be bad for a person at the best of times.

However, the available space is not sealed like an air lock. It has no roof and five, at present, unglazed windows and a door which will let in drafts, so a person could theoretically survive there indefinitely given that another person was to provide food and water – and ideally alcohol.

If the occupying person became bored with the available space – which might be a period of hours, days, weeks, months or years depending upon the psychological make up of the person – the space could be put to other uses.

For example, one Mini classic motor car could fit in quite easily and two could be squeezed in if the wheels were taken off both and the second rested on the roof of the first. If each mini was filled to record capacity with 28 females (see the Guinness Book of Records for details) this would mean an occupation of 56 human females. No estimates are available as to how long such a gathering might survive in the available space despite, as already advised, the availability of unlimited oxygen owing to the lack of roof, five unglazed windows and a door which lets in drafts.

If the available space were to be given over to non human occupation, it would suffice for one three-quarter grown African bull elephant or a fully grown female. In the absence of a step ladder the height of the elephant could easily be ascertained by measuring the length of its rear footprint, and in the case of the male multiplying by 5.8, and in the case of the female by 5.5. Having established that the creature would fit in terms of its height, it would need to craned into the available space as the door which lets in drafts is too narrow to allow entrance by that route. The elephant, whether male or female, would not enjoy the available space because although it would be able to amuse itself for a while waving its trunk through one of the five unglazed windows or above its head because of the lack of roof, it would be unable to turn round and to try the four remaining unglazed windows and the alternative views they offer. In any case an elephant is a stupid idea as they are probably the world’s most sociable creatures and keeping one, alone, in the available space would be cruel.

The same could be said for giraffes, although the lack of roof and the availability of foliage provided by the nearby trees to the south would offer some sustenance for a while. But a diet of sycamore leaves would prove alien to a creature used to a variety of tropical vegetation.

Given the difficulties of keeping such large animals in the available space it seems wise to consider smaller options. The floor area is big enough to accommodate fifteen National or Darlington beehives, both of which have a footprints of 292 square inches. However this would prevent the beekeeper from managing the apiary as there would be no room left to move around, so the ideal number of hives would be seven and a half, but since there are no half hives, the eventual number would be seven. The problem of having an apiary surrounded by walls would not necessarily be problematic as the bees would soon learn to navigate by using the five unglazed windows and the open roof space. Those of a particularly tenacious temperament might even try the door which lets in drafts so it might well let in bees also.

Those beekeepers addicted to the use of the Dadant and Langstroth Jumbo combination hives are advised to look elsewhere as they are just silly beehives and only used by those with gigantic beards who drive large 4x4’s with names like Wrangler, Renegade and Invincible.

Seven sensible National hives in the available space, each with a population of approximately 50,000 bees, would mean a home for 350,000 of these tiny but highly intelligent and important pollinators, without which it is argued the human race would soon perish – though Trump does not believe this evidence, calling it fake news.

If the available space were seeking record status in providing accommodation, it might consider ants. A single colony of wood ants can be 500,000 strong, but you wouldn’t go for wood ants as they have two bad habits. They can spray formic acid 12 times their own length, the equivalent of being tasered by an angry copper, and they have very poor diversity figures - namely a life expectancy for males of only a few weeks, whilst queens (females that is) can live fifteen years and spend nine hours a day sleeping. Also all wood ants are right-footed so the possibility of having a strong left midfield or a pacy left winger are nil.

The available space has thought long and hard about what might prove its best option in the long term and puts forward the following wish list: five glazed windows, a roof, a door which does not let in the drafts and a sign above which says Shepherds Hut – basic accommodation to let for two adults and a grand daughter.

11th August

The party - see separate blog post

12th August

Eilidh came to help with William and managed to pick out all four of his hooves. Next stop the foot trimmer. Eilidh also spent time leaning over William with as much weight as possible and tickling his sides where stirrups will hang - all to familiarise him with the sensations he will experience when he is ridden. As he passed all these tests with flying colours, Eilidh introduced him to the concept of trotting, which is a gait he has to learn. Rattling food in a bucket helped.

...and William says "Enough," and starts to walk off

13th August

Today was a Green Gym Day however several of our stalwarts were busy so John and Clare went up and John felled a tree and Clare started clearing brambles and ivy out of the roadside wall. Then the rain came in so they went home thereby missing the two volunteers who arrived a short time afterwards. Whoops! We will be better organised for next month's session.

14-18th August

John felled more trees in the Top Strip. He is planning a third pre-emptive strike on the winter's mud that tends to surround the sheds and results in the need for antigropelos. (We really hope we have converted all of you to OED Word of the Day fans.) We have plotted the first two strikes on our learning curve. John will make posts from the felled trees and eventually fence off a much larger area. Of course the felling produced more brash ready for the next time we hire the chipper. Clare and John repaired the roadside wall in the North-east Strip.

19th August

Robbie came again to help with logging. The Top Grazing offered us more forage.

Robbie would like us to point out that the photo was taken before he put on his helmet. So would John.

20-21st August

As Clare's walking is compromised this year (a hip replacement by Christmas with luck) John has undertaken the forage/jelly challenge. Clare spent a very sticky time with her honey. This is the first year she has had a good harvest and there is still a super - the box where the bees store the honey, and which sits above the brood box - to empty. A full super can yield between 35 to 40 lbs. The super Clare cleared was only half full.

...unlike Clare, who made do with what she could find!

21st August

Today was pony pedicure day. We are pleased to report that this time, only William's second with us, Stephen managed to trim all four of William's hooves. Many pieces of carrot were involved so he will be able to see excellently when he wanders round Liddells at night.

After this John turned to some hauling with Paul. Unfortunately just after Paul had started pulling the second bag of logs, he took fright and ran off, the bag trailing after him. We have no idea what spooked him. It was frightening for him and for us. He will need a period of recovery and we need to think deeply about where we go from here.

Clare has seen a Small Copper butterfly basking near the bee hives on several occasions lately. Tim said, "That's a fine photograph," - a photograph that was not easy to take while wearing a bee suit and rubber gloves - praise indeed!

23rd August

With Robert's (molecatcher) help, John continued with the anti-trench warfare project round the sheds.

25th - 28th August

Postal work continues. Clare completed this week's butterfly transect survey while Tim is away. En route she found fungi in abundance. Another opportunity to ascend the learning curve. Any of you out there with knowledge to contribute, feel free.

Could be Slippery Jack - 'edible rather than excellent'!

Clare and John

August 13, 2018

August - bonus anniversary post

Clare and John

August 13, 2018

On 7th August 2013 the sale of Liddells was completed. On 13th August 2013 we became the registered owners, Traditionally a fifth anniversary is marked with a gift of wood. What better excuse for a party and to light the huge bonfire Clare had built a while ago.

As the dry weather continued and as we heard about more wildfires, we decided to create a Plan B and invited friends to share a picnic on the Meadow instead. As soon as we had made that decision, it rained! However, discretion being the better part of Valerie, we stuck with Plan B.

No sooner had guests arrived than we sent them off with a map to have a walk around and see what we've been up to, and an I-spy test to keep their attention on the job in hand.

Everyone took this very seriously and almost left no time for their picnic! Several reported seeing deer in the Scrub and on the Top Grazing. We saw bats for the first time, which was exciting. We'd wondered if there were resident bats but had never seen any. New task for winter - make bat boxes. A Tawny owl hooted in the background late on in the evening and we were relieved that the rain held off till after 10. No spirits were dampened and our stalwart friends stayed on in spite of the weather.

Clare had been doing her accounts and shared the following:

5 Years’ worth:

Added -

425 yards of fencing

1700 yards of paths - chipped, strimmed, cleared

30 yards roadway

80 yards land drains

3 gateways

Built -

13 stiles

1 hurdle

1 gate

5 sheds

⅔ shepherd’s hut

36 bird boxes

Made -

24 bales + 8 dumpies of hay

200 bags of chip for paths

Planted -

155 hedging plants

260 trees

1000 bulbs

A meadow’s worth and more, wildflower plugs

Sown -

c 1 kg wildflower seeds

Felled -

40 trees

Removed -

4500 Creeping thistles

Been gifted -

26 trees

1 song

1 booklet of poems

2 Gaelic blessings

Cared for -

9 ponies

85 sheep

c 1000,000 honey bees

Seen -

Roe deer

Hares

Rabbits

Voles

Badgers

Foxes

Mice

Grey squirrels

Stoats

Frogs

Newts

Recorded -

29 Tree species

126 Wildflowers species

53 bird species

19 Butterfly species

Hosted -

15 Green Gym Days (the first pretty much 4 years ago to the day)

Lit -

6 bonfires (1 still to come)

Celebrated/acknowledged -

1 Naming

4 Fire Festivals

1 birth

4 marriages

2 deaths

1 Doctorate

1 5 year anniversary

Suffered -

1 fall; many cuts, bruises, scratches, prickles, bites, stings, sprains and strains

Read or read from -

41 relevant books

Innumerable websites

Attended -

2 conferences

1 advisory meeting

2 specialised talks

Applied for -

1 Forestry Commission grant

Developed -

1 website

Published -

70 blog posts

1 article on bee-keeping

Purchased -

I small trailer

1 flat bed trailer

Several power tools

Many hand tools

2 Riding hats, 1 pair breeches, 1 pair riding boots

2 sets of tack for ponies plus associated pony care products

1 set horse-logging equipment

Fence posts

Strainers

Wood for shuttering sheds

Wood for railings

Wire - barbed, high tensile, chicken, sheep proof, rabbit proof

Corrugated sheeting

Nails, screws, staples, nuts, bolts, hinges, locks, door furniture

1 bowser

Foraged -

Wild fruit for 60 jars of hedgerow and rowan jelly

Collected -

12 jars of honey with more to come this year

Received - advice or practical help from -

29 people who are experts, proficient or working in relevant areas

Welcomed - the physical labour from -

17 friends (and a son of one of said friends) and two (not our) grandchildren

Many in those last two categories are here this evening, however I want to mention Mel, Sally and Tim, who have each put in huge numbers of hours and who can’t be with us

And it all amounts to, at a very conservative estimate, at least 6000 hours of work

Thank you all for your support

John told the story of The Braunspath and held his audience entranced.

Clare and John

July 31, 2018

July - 'water, water everywhere' not

Clare and John

July 31, 2018

1st July

Clare had submitted her article on bee-keeping to the national bee-keeping association's magazine; it was accepted, and after quite a while, was published. She dreams of a book deal, though that would mean writing a book.

3rd July

Butterfly Tim sent updated news on the Peacock caterpillars, saying they had grown dramatically and are now 'more clearly Peacocks, notice the red prolegs (Tim's new word of the day).' Presumably these are paid more than amateurlegs.

Peacock Caterpillars - Liddells 2 Jul 2018.JPG

5th July

Mel and John logged and bagged up more of the fallen rowan and finished re-chipping the path in the Top Strip. Butterfly Tim came and had his first look inside a bee hive. Half an hour after he and Clare had finished, Clare saw bees swarming from the hive that had been in purdah awaiting emergence of a new queen. The most likely explanation is that the virgin queen had swarmed taking part of the colony with her, there is a faint chance that this was a mating flight. Clare suspected the former because the new queen was only just due to emerge and wouldn't yet be ready for mating, but kept her fingers crossed for the latter and decided to wait a few days to give the queen, if there was one, a chance to get laying.

7th July

You may have noticed that it's been a bit dry of late. The rainwater collection trough was nearly empty so construction began to create a platform for a bowser. In the longer term we will reinstate the plan to add guttering to the sheds which will fill the bowser. We had crossed this off the to-do list because we had never been short of water.

8th July

The weather forecast and a local farmer suggested we cut the Meadow as soon as possible as rain was predicted for the end of the week. It is traditional to wait until after July 17th, sometimes longer in the north-east, to allow most of the flowers time to set their seed. This year we have had phenomenal success with Yellow Rattle, however the downside of this is that there has been far less grass for hay. The extreme weather has also meant that there have been far fewer wildflowers. The hay was cut today and John started strimming the edges of the Meadow which the cutter could not reach. Below are some of the wildflowers that did appear.

Great Burnet with Yellow Rattle seedheads

Greater or Black Knapweed with pollen beetles

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare - echis is Greek for viper) "Bugloss" is derived from the Greek word bou (meaning cow or ox) and the Latin word glosso (meaning tongue). These refer to its leaves, which could be said to be shaped like … — Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare - echis is Greek for viper) "Bugloss" is derived from the Greek word *bou* (meaning cow or ox) and the Latin word *glosso* (meaning tongue). These refer to its leaves, which could be said to be shaped like an ox-tongue. Apparently in the language of flowers, the plant stands for falsehood.

9th July

Strimming finished and raking started. Courtesy of yet another helpful farmer, the full bowser arrived.

10th July

The hay was turned and declared 'made'.

12th July

Helpful farmer (see above 9th July), in spite of being hugely busy with combining, called in and baled our hay. All 5 bales of it - rather fewer than last year's 19!

Friday 13th July - Green Gym Day - lucky for some

Getting the hay in was the day's job. We succeeded. Gleaning yielded an extra two dumpies of hay. We managed to rake up 5 bags of Yellow Rattle and four of these were shaken over miscellaneous patches outside the Meadow; one bag went on its way to a helper's friend in Cumbria. All the hay was loaded and transported to the hay shed and as we sat down for a picnic lunch, the rain started. Perfect timing re hay, not so good re picnic however we stayed out enjoying the change from the heat.

Pat insisted she hadn't had her photo on the blog for too long

Not sure whether Clare is gleeful or gritting her teeth

15th - 18th July

Clare identified and John strimmed (guess which was harder) an area in the Pit Wood that Eilidh can use as a story-telling circle when she brings her pupils. John also strimmed a circle round the bonfire in the Orchard ready for our fifth birthday celebrations, although with the weather as it is, the bonfire might remain unlit for the time being. Eilidh rode Paul and John walked William with them. They were all very well behaved. Clare found a couple of self-seeded oaks in the Top Strip path and potted them up at home. Clare checked the swarmed hive and found a new queen cell from which the new queen should emerge in a few days. So it was a virgin queen swarming. Back into purdah they go.

24th July

Roof sheets for the shepherd's hut arrived today - John hasn't quite worked out where they should go. Clare suggests on top of the main structure.

25th July - 31st July

There will now be a pause in blog entries while John redecorates the porch at home and Clare makes clothes for granddaughter Juno!

See you in August.

Clare and John

June 30, 2018

June - 'I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June' L.M. Montgomery

Clare and John

June 30, 2018

1st June

We planted a bag full of English Bluebells donated by a friend with woodland. We planted them in the north-east area of the Pit Wood. Clare finished pulling out the last of the Sycamore seedlings from the Wildflower Meadow and found two thistles that had escaped her gaze. Thistles now removed.

2nd June

Shepherd hut progress - making crucial decisions on the design of the window frames. Our friend Stephen had read last month's blog and had been concerned about where we were going to find the necessary shepherd. First find your sheep. Keith, on the other hand, told us about wooden boxes, about the size of a chest freezer, that he had seen in Romania, that are for shepherds to sleep in overnight. A bit minimalist for us, however it would have been less work.

3rd June

Having put Paul's make-up on because he has had a louse infection (the same product that was recommended for infant eczema) we went for a stroll over the site. The first discovery was a fallen Rowan on the Wetland, a casualty of very strong winds. Water Avens and Aconite were out in the Pit Wood.

Water Avens - they remind Clare of the Flower Fairy books she read as a child

You can see why Aconite is also called Monkshood

3rd, 4th, 5th June - three days at Number 11

What follows is a selection from over 400 videos taken over three days. We apologise for failing to provide a Springwatch-like analysis of frequency of visits, division of labour between male and female, items on menu, and completed customer satisfaction forms.

10th June

Pony Pedicure Day. Steven made one of his regular visits. Paul nailed it and William (this was a first for him with us) helped with pony treats, emerged with trimmed fore hooves, but not yet four hooves. John started to grapple with the shepherd's hut door.

Caption competition - answers to liddellsreserve@gmail.com

Common Spotted Orchids on the Wildflower Meadow

Ragged Robin (one of Clare's favourites) on the Wetland

Great Tit chicks in their nestling down or neossoptiles (we hope you love the OED Word of the Day as much as we do)

11th June

Trail camera revelations - ballet pigeon and tod. John remembers one of his aunts reading Aesop's tale The Fox and the Crow to him in French

14th June - Green Gym Day

Having had to cancel a Green Gym Day last month, we were pleased this one went ahead. So clearly were our loyal supporters, one of whom, when told about the day, replied "Yippee!!!" The photos below would suggest Clare & John did no work at all.

15th-20th June

John goes strimming crazy on paths in the Pit Wood, Orchard and Top Strip.

21st June

Mel and John trailered all the chip from beside the Wildflower Meadow to the Top Strip and topped up the path at the east end before retiring to the pub for a pint and a game of pool (as is their wont).

Clare inspected her bees before going away for a week (Clare not the bees) and discovered one colony had hatched a new queen who had mated successfully and was laying new brood. The other had failed to follow this fine example and had developed laying workers. The colony cannot be saved. Their honey can.

Tim went to see the Solstice sunset from Liddells.

26th June

Tim issues a Peacock butterfly caterpillar alert

Clare and John

May 31, 2018

May - bearding bees and hut-building

Clare and John

May 31, 2018

1/2 May

John looked in all the small nest boxes and found 11 in use, fewer than in previous years. This will partly be due to the poor April weather and also reflects the decline in bird numbers nationally. We'll look again in a week or two and see what progress there might be.

3rd May

Friends of ours asked if we would contribute greenery to be used for decoration at the wedding of their oldest daughter. We were delighted to say yes.

This - mostly Larch, Wild Raspberry, Elder, Cow Parsley and Snowberry - was transformed into ....

3rd May

Clare realigned the trail camera so that, as she thought, it would show more of the nest box in front of it. Hmmm. Luckily the new position caught night time activity.

Foraging doe

Foraging badger

Doe losing winter coat

4th May

John has started work on the shepherd's hut - no Farrow and Ball products will be used in its decor. He is working on it almost daily. Tim has been walking the butterfly transect and in the absence of butterflies sent a lovely photograph of the Snake's Head Fritillaries on the Wildflower Meadow.

Also known as snake's head (the original English name), chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, leper lily (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), Lazarus bell, chequer… — Also known as **snake's head** (the original English name), **chess flower**, **frog-cup**, **guinea-hen flower**, **guinea flower**, **leper lily** (because its shape resembled the bell once carried by lepers), **Lazarus bell**, **chequered lily**, **chequered daffodil**, **drooping tulip** or, in northern Europe, simply **fritillary**

5-8th May

Clare and Sally walked over the whole site and recorded wildflowers and birds heard and seen. They found three large cushions of primroses in the Pit Wood that had not been found before but which had obviously been there for a long time. The first of the year's bluebells had emerged in the Top Strip. John and Eilidh continue working on Paul's development. We find evidence that a Tawny Owl is still around.

Eilidh encouraging Paul to pick up his feet.

8th May

More evidence of a Tawny Owl in the Pit Wood.

9th May

John makes progress on the shepherd's hut and Clare finds more spring flowers appearing.

Lady's Smock (Cuckoo Flower) on the Wetland

10th May

John is a year older today. To celebrate he, Mel and Clare did some routine maintenance on the Top Strip path, weeding and laying more chip. They were so engrossed, no photograph records the activity. We saw a swallow apparently investigating the log shed, we'd like to think as a possible nesting site.

14th May

Progress on the hut. We walked round making a list of jobs that Green Gymners could help with. En route we saw what Clare initially thought was a hive preparing to swarm. This was confusing as, to the best of her knowledge, this colony had lost its queen. When the bees were still there the next day, further investigation suggested they were 'bearding'. This happen when the colony is too hot and large numbers of bees leave temporarily so that the house bees can be more effective in cooling the hive, which they do by fanning their wings. This is very different from this. John re-realigned the trail camera so that it focussed on the nest box, which he did beautifully, enabling a fine pheasant photo opportunity.

Posing pheasant

Equestrians among you will have heard of William Fox-Pitt, one of the greatest eventers. Here is our Pit fox taking the wall jump. He will henceforth be known as William.

Our Pit fox

18th May

Tim and Jane are paying particular attention to the bilberry of the Crag in the hope of seeing Green Hairstreaks. None have appeared so far, however Tim did photograph this rather splendid spider. We'd welcome an identification so arachnologists feel free to contact us.

19th May

The Adder's Tongue Fern on the Meadow is showing through. It is approximately 2cm high. It was registered as 'scarce' in Swan's Flora of Northumberland in 1993.

20th May

We are aware we don't have many photographs of the different birds on Liddells, so it's good to find the trail camera helping to address that gap. The Wood Pigeon came back to the same spot several times over two days, visiting about every twenty minutes.

20th May

After all her pedgilling (OED Word of the Day again - to work hard and painstakingly at) away at removing the Creeping Thistle on the Wildflower Meadow last year, Clare was delighted to barely fill one bag with them this year. So far a total of 442 pulled out - yes, she did count them, it helped with the sense of achievement - which would suggest she has pretty much decimated them. Result!

23rd May

John has been pedgilling away too. Clare is delighted he has found a use for the tool belt she gave him.

24th May

Keith helped us yet again with our annual breeding bird survey - he managed to find a window between taking a group bird-watching in Romania and spending a month offering nature tours in the Cevennes. We are very grateful for his generosity, both with the breadth of his knowledge and of his time. We saw fewer birds than in previous years, partly because the tree foliage is quite dense now and also it was pretty cold early morning. One addition to our usual list was hearing a raven flying over. You can see the results here.

25th May

Clare persisted with her work removing the Thistle and Sycamore seedlings which are prolific this year. This necessitated looking closely at the ground and Clare was thrilled to discover that not only has Yellow Rattle established itself in at least three-quarters of Meadow, but there are at least four more patches of Adder's Tongue Fern than we had realised on the western third of the Meadow - and a frog.

27th May

Eilidh came over and helped get Paul harnessed for some work and he pulled two bags of logs, one from the Wetland which is the longest he has been asked to do. As you can see, it seemed to cost him little effort. (We'd like to say that we know best practice would have Eilidh and John wearing hard hats and that it is only because they know Paul so well that they haven't put them on, however will endeavour to remember to do so in future.) Clare spotted more wildflowers emerging. A bit of footage from the trail camera showed a magpie in the Scrub. We've included it to add to our menagerie.

Water Forget-me-not, which we remember is on the Wetland

Tormentil, which is not in the least bit tormenting

Bugle, which does not play the Last Post

28th May

More Meadow work. Orchid leaves are appearing, the Yellow Rattle is beginning to flower and there is a particularly fine patch of Bistort. You can now see more clearly, if you have ever investigated a viper's mouth, why Adder's Tongue Fern is so called.

Yellow Rattle doing it's job and getting down to grass roots

30th May

A couple of photos to show how John is progressing with the Shepherd's Hut.

No, we haven't forgotten this month's fashion shoot. (Clare was asked why we kept including photographs of gorse. If you too are mystified, click here)

31st May

A final note - please consider supporting the Wildlife Trust's initiative to do something wild every day in June. It's the fourth year of 30 Days Wild. The purpose is to boost wellbeing by being more connected to nature. Even if it's too late to sign up, start straight away and let your imaginations work. If you live near enough to Liddells and want to do something wild there, let us know.

Clare and John

April 30, 2018

April - more here than we anticipated

Clare and John

April 30, 2018

1st April

As you can see, we have mastered the instructions for the new trail camera and it is proving its worth. Here you will see different beneficiaries of the nuts on the squirrel traps.

Investigation

Theft under cover of darkness

The camera has also captured deer eating near the gate into the Orchard, and you can see them nibbling at lichen and bark on the Hawthorns, and as a bonus, it has caught the arrival of the chiffchaffs on April 1st - or maybe it was a Starling indulging in some mimicry and an April Fool. Listen carefully to the second video. Some of you may remember the hospital comedy Green Wing, in which case you may remember this scene. For viewers of a sensitive disposition, the latter part of the scene could also be about birds. Spot the inquisitive deer!

April 4th

John has started filling the large holes left from the removal of Ash saplings in the Orchard.

April 6th

6 notches on John's squirrel belt. More work filling Ash Tree holes and tidying/bonfire building in the Orchard. John met Monica today and apparently since we found the dead Barn Owl, she has not been seeing any Barn Owls on her regular walks. John saw one hunting in the daytime today about a quarter of a mile away near the Military Road. It's possible that 'our' owl has moved away to new territory.

7th April

I hope you spotted the fox in the last video. Today was a great day for spotting and spots - we saw a Goldcrest, a Treecreeper, a Nuthatch on one of the squirrel traps and after much pursuing of its call, a Green Woodpecker. We'd heard a Green Woodpecker on the land before, however this was the first time we'd seen one, and unusually we saw it in a tree rather than on the ground. Technically the tree is on our neighbour's land, however the branch on which the woodpecker chose to perch was overhanging Liddells, so we think it counts as on our land. At one point the Green Woodpecker flew off to be replaced immediately by a Great Spotted Woodpecker which, in its turn, flew off as soon as the Green returned. Several Chiffchaffs heard and one seen calling from the top of a Silver Birch in the Scrub. We were also pleased to see our home grown Horse Chestnuts had produces sticky buds. Bank voles, a favoured food for owls, are making holes everywhere. We found Scarlet Elf Cap fungus, also called Scarlet Elf Cup, Moss Cup and Fairies' Baths - a guess it all depends on how fanciful you are.

Hare today

8th April

Two days ago the trail camera recorded an animal running through the Pit Wood at night. John was convinced it was a rabbit, Clare, seeing the dark tips to its ears, believed it was a hare. I think the above suggests Clare might have been right. John has destroyed the evidence (not the hare) which Clare thinks proves conclusively that he knew he was wrong.

11th April

John saw two deer on the Wetland.

12th April

We had thought there would be a two week holiday gap in the blog at this point, however we had to cancel the holiday and so there are rather more entries for the next two weeks than we had expected.

14th April

The camera caught a cock fight. We have seen Primroses, Dandelions, Celandines, Marsh Marigold, Daffodils all flowering and the Wild Garlic is spreading in the Top Strip. Clare happily anticipates making even more Wild Garlic, Rocket/Nettle and Walnut Pesto than usual next year.

We'd love to show the bank of Primroses however it's very hard to get a good photograph

All this Wild Garlic from a couple of bulbs two years ago

15th April

A new position for the trail camera overlooking the Verge shows a doe walking away. We expect you all to have remembered your deer anatomy and know the names for the large white patch on her backside and the white dangly bit. Clare saw another Goldcrest and saw and heard the first Willow Warbler and Blackcap of the returning migrants.

Typical male posturing says John

16th April

A first ever on Liddells, Clare heard then saw a Marsh Tit.

19th April

We planted several Martagon Lilies in the Pit Wood from bulbs we'd been given and managed to grow on. Technically they are an introduced species, however they are so lovely we decided to give them a place. We also planted two more Brooms on the Crag that have emerged from seeds sown at home. It was so sunny we had our first picnic lunch on the Wildflower Meadow and Clare found a spot in the Pit Wood to set up the pop-up bird-watching hide John had given her for Christmas. Apart from seeing three grey squirrels, she loved it and saw a Tawny Owl, Blackcap and Willow Warblers.

Hiding. Seen this way, it does look a bit like a sculpture of a helmet - hmm, maybe an art trail some time in the future....

21st April

The trail camera is back observing one of the squirrel feeders. One welcome recipient and one unwelcome. The second video shows a buck fraying the velvet from his antlers. Fraying is the major way deer cause damage in woodland.

Nuthatch finding nuts

Fraying in the dark

Why won't in go in the trap?

21st April

Finally we have managed to plant more of the Willows that survived over winter in the pond. Clare opened all three of her hives and all are doing well. One so well that she added a super (a shallower box than a brood box, filled with frames that the bees can use for honey storage, leaving more space in the lower box for the queen to lay. A queen excluder goes between the two which is a grid that allows the smaller worker bees through but not the queen). John filmed the bees bringing in pollen. The yellow pollen is from Gorse, the more orange pollen from Willows.

22nd April

The last of the Willows are in. Clare heard and saw a Marsh Tit in the Scrub so all digits crossed that there is more than one and that they will breed. At last there is nesting material appearing in some of the nest boxes. The second video below demonstrates how the frogspawn is developing - two sounds to note, Willow Warblers singing and John breathing heavily with cameraman's concentration. Ash - first to leave and last to arrive - is coming in to leaf.

Bees bringing in pollen

Teeming tadpoles

Ash emerging and looking rather like broccoli

23rd April

The Top Grazing had a harrowing experience today - harrowing levels the ground, distributes the manure and encourages the grass to grow. We find even more evidence of why we are not catching many squirrels in the traps. Clare, who is wondering about moving permanently into her hide as she is loving it so much, watched a Blue Tit making at least 30 visits to a nest box with moss - a visit every 30 - 45 seconds and about 20 seconds spent arranging the materials inside. She saw a Marsh Tit again, seeming to investigate a bit of stone wall and then, oh joy, that bird was joined by another and the two of them spent a long time picking insects from one of the brash piles/bug hotels. Maybe they were on a first date at a restaurant. According to the RSPB Marsh Tits will nest in an existing hole in a tree or wall.

No wonder we are failing to trap squirrels!

25th April

John decided to challenge William. It was a first move and he seemed not to mind at all (William not John).

26th April

More wildflowers are coming in to flower. There are lots of Dandelions on the Meadow providing pollen for the bees.

29th April

More nest boxes have nesting material. A Blue Tit has laid 3 eggs so far in Box 15. Clare's son planted a Hazel in the Pit Wood in memory of a good friend.

Clare and John

March 31, 2018

March - '...brings breezes loud and shrill' and worse besides*

Clare and John

March 31, 2018

* from The Months, Sara Coleridge (and no dancing daffodils have been stirred as yet either)

2nd March

We discovered just how hardy the ponies are. Going up to check on them today we were unable to negotiate the 4ft drifts down from the Military Road however managed to drive up as far as the local farm, park there and Wenceslassed our way along the cleared road up to a point where we could get over the wall to get on to Liddells. (Guess which one of us was Page and which Monarch...) The ponies were fine warm in their thick coats and Paul was showing off rather fetching snowball accessories on his feathers. We, however, were fundied: benumbed with cold; chilled.

You can see the snow and some icicles failing to penetrate the thickness of Paul's coat

William always leaves his vegetables till last

Snow bobble accessories - will they catch on? Are they subnivean - existing, living or carried out underneath the snow?

3rd March

Jane W walked up past Liddells and sent this photograph of the bottom entrance

4th March

Although the wind was an easterly, the drifting on the Wildflower Meadow was banked up on the west side of the wall. There was also a rather pleasing stile sculpture.

7th March

John was able to get back to what he loves doing best on LIddells, planting trees. We put 3 regenerated Ash trees into the Wetland. The sun was shining today and the bees were outside all three hives, so it looks as though they have all come through the winter.

You may have noticed the dearth of trail cam photographs recently - the original camera stopped working and after trying several ways to address that, John sent it back to the manufacturers who were wonderful; they found that the camera was faulty and promptly dispatched a new one; since the model we had has been superseded, they sent the new upgraded one! Once we have worked out how to use it, we'll set it up again.

10th March

You never know just what you are going to learn in Waitrose. Today Tim saw Clare at the cash desks and having been reading an article in New Scientist, checked out that she knew that rhododendron nectar was poisonous to honey bees. This was useful learning and backed up by tales of beekeepers keeping their hives closed until the plants have finished flowering. Not realistic up here, so the bees will have to rely on their considerable native intelligence as there are rhododendrons within bee-flying distance. However Waitrose as a seat of learning reminded Clare of an encounter she had had with fellow beekeeper and sheep keeper, Barry. In telling the story of how he had been trying to artificially inseminate some of his sheep and had lost the means of insemination inside one of the ewes, declared roundly, "Never sponge a virgin Shetland". Somehow that aperçu has stuck in Clare's mind and probably in the minds of several fellow shoppers, who may well have been somewhat alarmed having not heard the build up to the punchline. It never happens in Aldi.

11th March

8 Hazels planted in the cleared area of the Pit Wood where they will create understorey. We are pleased to see that regenerating Hollies are already appearing in this area. The OED Word of the Day provided another gift - quincunx: an arrangement of five objects with four at the corners of a square or rectangle and the fifth at the centre, used as a design for the five on a die or playing card, and in planting trees.

Regenerating Hollies benefitting from the increase in light and space

14th March

Planted 6 more Hazels into the Pit Wood.

Neighbour Monica has still been seeing a Barn Owl hunting pretty much every day recently - either very early morning or late afternoon. Today we were so pleased to see one fly out of the south-east corner of the Pit Wood, very near the Tawny Owl box (maybe our signage could be clearer), only to have our delight squashed within minutes when we came across the body of a very recently killed Barn Owl. Likely culprits - Buzzard, Peregrine (never seen one locally), Goshawk (now that would be something, however probably unlikely as their nearest known habitat is Kielder Forest). We felt so disheartened thinking that we might have had a pair of Barn Owls. We hope whichever has survived will stick around and find another mate. 'Red in tooth and claw' is not always the most comforting knowledge.

We had a quick check on most of the bird boxes and thus far can report no activity. The OED Word of the Day has clearly been monitoring the blog as it has come up with huh, as in 'all of a huh': awry, askew, aslant; lopsided. So reminiscent of John and bird box alignment!

16th March

The Top Grazing is in a pretty parlous state with nothing much for the ponies to go at and very muddy, so today John has given them access to the Crag, Scrub and Wetland. They will do a wonderful job of remaking paths and trimming some of the gorse.

17th March

Time to check on the incidence of varroa mites in the bee hives. One colony had no mites whatsoever, a second had two mites, the third needs rechecking in a few days as the varroa board had somehow blown out from underneath the hive. It's good news for the bees going into the new season. Varroa mite is inevitable these days, and a serious infestation can weaken a colony and leave it vulnerable to infection. (PS the third colony has not fared so well, so it has been treated against the mites. This may well knock back colony expansion for a while however that will mean they are less likely to swarm while we are on holiday next month!)

19th March

Friend Adele alerted Clare to today's edition of Start the Week on Radio 4. The whole programme is interesting, especially John Lewis-Stempel talking about his new book The Wood: The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood. He argues for the need to work woodland for biodiversity - it's not just enough to own woodland and do nothing. Maybe we need to resurrect the pigs plan. He also delights in words and used psithurism: the sound of wind whispering through trees. We challenge you to introduce that into your everyday conversation. His book is this week's Radio 4 Book of the Week - well worth five 15 minute listening slots. Some of you, maybe John as well, might see whether or not wrapping ivy leaves round the head does indeed prove to be a cure for baldness.

20th March

With an astonishing sense of timing, John produced the following photographs of part of a pond on the Wetland.

He really did not know until afterwards!

John also planted some of the willow cuttings in the Wetland

23rd March

John continues his war against the grey squirrels - 4 notches on his belt so far. Time to try Brunswick stew?

26th March

Grey squirrel tally up to 5

27th March

4 roe deer on the Wetland, 2 Pied Wagtails on the Top Grazing and best of all, a hare in the Verge!

31st March

We're hoping to hear arriving warblers any day now, but we haven't heard any singing yet on Liddells. Long-tailed tits in the Orchard today - always a delight. We have been touched by the support we have received for our work, however not everyone is so respectful. Clare hauled a bag of cans and bottles out of the Top Strip, thrown over by people parking on the road the other side of the wall. Give the amount of alcohol bottles, we assume they are not parking there to enjoy the view.

Happy Easter!

Alder - male catkins with tiny female flowers above. The flowers will produce the cones - you can see some of last year's

Hazel - again male catkins with tiny red female flowers above

Clare and John

February 28, 2018

February - Godwotterynot

Clare and John

February 28, 2018

5th February

John has made the most splendid nesting box for tree sparrows. They like communal living so he has produced a Tree Sparrow Terraced Living Facility. It's fixed to the back of the very first shed we put up.

6th February

Blog followers will know that Clare is rather fond of the OED Word of the Day. Today is not only special because it marks 100 years since women began to get the vote, but because she has coined her own new word. Today's OED word is 'godwottery', and can be used to describe an over-effected or elaborate style of gardening, and it comes from the line ‘A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!’, in T. E. Brown's poem My Garden (1876). So, what happens at Liddells is now officially 'godwotterynot'.

7th February

John saw a deer in the Pit Wood and a woodcock in the Scrub. Great excitement at home as the saddle for Eilidh to use with Paul arrived and with scarcely a pause, here she is setting off sitting on it and Paul. He seems to have made tyre tracks in the snow.

9th February

We're getting ready for February 14th, not with hearts and flowers but by making new nest boxes as 14th - 21st is National Nest Box Week. (Put it in your diary now and maybe put up a box next year.) John is planning two more speciality boxes for a tawny owl and for a kestrel.

17th February

Two delights: we were given a bag of snowdrops by our land neighbour Monica and planted them in the newly cleared area of the Pit Wood; Mathilda shared The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry with us.

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry

22nd February

Shoulder tendon damage (John), sore hip (Clare) and miscellaneous bugs (John and Clare) meant that we didn't quite manage to put up bird boxes by 21st as planned, however we're presuming the birds will be forgiving and grateful for new accommodation. We decided to put up the tawny owl box today and happily Tim happened along at just the right time and helped the job go really smoothly. Clare also had the treat of seeing a barn owl flying within the Pit Wood. We'd heard there was one around and are delighted it's using Liddells as part of its territory. We also planted 8 hazels in the north-east corner of the Pit Wood.

Note obedience to Health and Safety requirements - ladder tied to tree

Note obedience to Clare's insistence on straightening the box

Desirable residence to let. And yes, we do know the birds can fly into the box, the ladder was for construction purposes on;y

23rd February

After the tawny owl box success, we chose a site for the kestrel box. It needed to be at a height of at least 15ft, so we first had to work out how to get it up that high. Attempt 1 - haul up with a rope. Moderate success. Attempt 2 - haul up with two ropes. Better, though then the fixing panels came off. We called it a day.

25th February

We stiffened our sinews and went back for a third go. Bingo! Having seen the state of the Wildflower Meadow, we also engaged the 13 year old son of a local neighbour who has started a business called Molebusters.

...and eventually, you make it! Over to you kestrels...

Yesterday we forgot to take an illustrative photo of the extent of the molehills, so here are a few in the newly fallen snow on 27th. Clare has been told that it is the male mole that moves in a straight line, while the female is more creative in he… — Yesterday we forgot to take an illustrative photo of the extent of the molehills, so here are a few in the newly fallen snow on 27th. Clare has been told that it is the male mole that moves in a straight line, while the female is more creative in her travels. Sounds believable.

Clare and John

January 31, 2018

More January - making a splash, poles and dancing

Clare and John

January 31, 2018

11th January

John says there's not much going on at Liddells at the moment and then we reposition the trail camera and there are two deer. Educational opportunity - the photo shows clearly that the deer in the middle of the frame is a doe. Her 'target' (Clare only learnt this application of the word today - its the white patch on her backside) looks like a spade from a pack of playing cards. The buck's target looks more like a sideways-on kidney. You can also see the 'anal tush' - the tuft of white hair hanging below the target. This appears one the doe is about 18 months old and lengthens during the winter. I bet you all feel better for knowing all that.

12th January

Clare celebrated being discharged from physio by walking round Liddells with Sally. On the way an ermine ran across the road in front of the car - very lordly it looked too! We saw a kestrel hovering over the Top Grazing and a grey heron fly onto the land from the west. We were delighted to witness the tenacity of willows - a bundle of cuttings we'd been given in the autumn and had, in haste, stuck in a wet patch on the Wetland and then abandoned, were all sprouting. Clare was reminded of Judi Dench, in a programme about her love of trees, quoting a Chinese saying that the best time to plant a tree is fifty years ago; the next best time is today. Must get planting! A further educational opportunity arose when we spotted an owl pellet, and fox and deer droppings all very close together. So in what order did they appear and who ate what - answers on a postcard please...

You can probably make out the small vertebra that was part of the owl pellet.

John has been researching his mother's family, particularly the farming diaries she and her father kept. He has discovered this photo of his mother with the farm's working horses. So that's where it all began!

And Clare went to the Laing Art Gallery to see an exhibition of Paul Nash's work and liked that he 'tried to paint trees as though they were human beings' and found them to be 'dominating presences in nature with particular qualities' and distinct personalities. The Wikipedia page on him only shows his work as a war artist, the Tate's page on the exhibition does a bit more justice to his other work.

19th January

Liddells covered in snow and tracks everywhere.

20th January

John was on the land in the morning and saw two deer walking slowly towards him across the Top Grazing apparently unaware of his presence - a young buck in velvet and a doe - they jumped the fence into the Scrub.

24th January

Clare planted into pots 62 conkers that our land neighbour Monica had collected and donated.

25th January

Work continues with John, Eilidh, Paul and William - the humans took the ponies to the Military Road so William could meet the traffic. They returned via the field pond and Paul had a good splash. William is as yet only dipping his hoof in the water. Frustratingly hands full of ponies are not compatible with photography so please use your imagination.

A deer has jumped the fence and landed here

28th January

We planted 100 English bluebell bulbs in the Pit Wood in the area John and Mel have cleared. Signs of spring are evident.

Gorse about to burst into flower - kissing still in fashion

31st January

The first thing we saw on the Top Grazing was a mixed flock of fieldfares and redwings. We've often seen fieldfares on the land, however the redwings were welcome new visitors. Clare worked as official photographer for John and Eilidh's session with the ponies. William dared to make a splash for the first time and responded well to Eildih's encouragement for him to trot on the leading rein. It's all new for a young pony. Paul was encouraged to lift his feet over poles, however the ground was a bit too wet and slippy. John did rather well. Then Mel came and he John and Clare set to work on the west end of the Top Strip path and cleared off weedy chip (this is not a judgement, the chip was full of weeds) and replaced it with the chip we had made in the autumn.

Paul teaching William to stop, look and listen for traffic

John and Mel discussing the latest Strictly Come Dancing news - I kid you not

Clare and John

January 8, 2018

January 2018 - Happy New Website and welcome subscribers

Clare and John

January 8, 2018

1st January

We're live! We've had such lovely responses from recipients - it's been very encouraging and heart-warming.

John went up to see the ponies and Eilidh and her fiancé Tom came too.

John also photographed the ashes he and Mel had moved from the Orchard to the Wetland.

Eilidh and Tom with Paul and William and carrots

5th January

John and Mel finished clearing the north-east section of the Pit Wood. Luke, who had helped us with ideas and information right at the very start of our ownership, revisited and reassured us that we are working along the right lines. He was also very impressed by how much we had achieved, which was heartening. We don't always see our own progress.

6th January

The wall is mended! There was another of those photogenic mists over the valley when John arrived today.

...and from the road. We're pleased with the result.

The effect is as if looking out over water. Which I suppose it is really!

8th January

We'd like to say hello and thank you to all of you who have signed up for updates through the blog. A week on and we are still in receipt of affirming responses. Onwards.....

Clare and John

December 29, 2017

December 2017

Clare and John

December 29, 2017

2nd December

Paul has his hooves trimmed; William needs his doing so needs to be handled in a way that gets him ready.

4th December

John starts making a door for the shelter, not because the ponies have already bolted but to give William somewhere to be while Paul is put through his paces.

6th December

Eilidh joins John to work with Paul - Paul is like putty in her very competent hands and canters round on a lunging rein on the side he usually seeks to avoid. Eilidh takes William in hand/head collar too and begins some gentle training on the lead rein. John is thrilled to have such invaluable and experienced support.

The rest of the month

John continues to work on clearing the northern boundary in the Pit Wood.

Eilidh has been able to pick up William's feet and has been long-reining Paul.

We've had a bit of wall collapse on the Meadow/Road boundary - evidence that climbing a wall is not the best option when there is a gate and stile to use.

28th December

We are poised to launch the website. Mindful that we have used photographs taken of and by other people, surveys and creative contributions, we asked for permissions to include these. The responses have been interesting, to say the least. Phrases such as 'true colours are revealed', 'the mask slipping' and 'the shadow side of personalities' have been in our thoughts and we are left questioning the basis of some of our relationships. Thus far Clare's granddaughter's 'agent' has demanded a monthly payment of £1000 or childcare in perpetuity, Nick (he of the scything action) has replied: 'all proceeds from merchandising - sale of resin figurines of me in action, calendars featuring photos of me scything, me resting on my scythe, gazing, hand on chin, into the middle distance, wiping my brow etc - are paid to The Root Charitable Foundation, Cayman Islands.' And Neil (he who will usually be the first to offer help wherever it is needed) has said: 'Of course I am happy for you to use any material I might have provided! I'll enclose my bank details in a separate email for you to transfer the royalties...'. Keith does not ask for anything so obvious as money up front, however he does say: 'I suppose I should just mention that I have patented the terms "wildlife, environment, bird, plant, meadow, hay, butterfly, pond, deer, bee and volunteer." So as long as you avoid those it will be fine. If they are mentioned you will understand that I will, reluctantly, have to sue.'

We are redrafting our Christmas card list.

31st December

Clare paid an end of year visit to her bees and fed them sugar fondant - not individually you understand. She was very impressed by the clearing work John and Mel had done in the Pit Wood and in particular by the tidy log stacks!