The yurt is up, and the sun is shining!  As we didn't have the instructions for folding the roof canvas when we dismantled the yurt last time, it took rather longer, and was a more unconventional assembly than it might otherwise have been.  But there were no rows!  The wood-burning stove is fitted and working - it's recycled from old hub caps and other assorted metal, and looks both rustic and oddly elegant at the same time.  And with the cold nights we had over the summer solstice, the stove proved its worth in heating the inside really effectively.  I think we might just leave it up for the summer...

I have to get the plant identification book out in order to be sure, but I think this is an orchid, growing under one of the apple trees in the orchard.  And once I've identified it, I need to work out how to encourage more.  We've had great fun over the spring and summer, identifying various flowers that have emerged, as well as mushrooms and assorted fungi.  They love the compost heap, and I've put a whole load in a box full of the best local manure and tucked it away in the dark of the tool shed, hoping for a bumper crop.  We've had some St George's mushrooms, and last year we enjoyed horse mushrooms, and it looked like a good crop of field mushrooms growing on the compost heap.  It would be great to have someone with local knowledge on tap for some of the more exotic looking ones; our Collins guide is useful, but sometimes it feels as though bravery is required

This is the first of many bonfires.  We're getting rid of the various cuttings from last autumn, when we stacked them up to provide habitats for hibernating and then nesting creatures, very successfully in some cases; the mallard found our big heap of brambles a secure site for a nest.  Friends Sarah, Laura and Alicia helped cut down some of the cherry tree saplings in the Goose Paddock, and once the fire was going well, they piled them on and we spent a happy Sunday morning poking and adding on whatever we could find, including an old horsehair mattress. 

Early June

The willow is loving all the rain! This is Salix Alba, which came as part of the "basketry" collection, so we're hoping for great weaving opportunities. Freddy told me - quite spontaneously, having read up on willow sometime last year - that Salix Alba particularly likes the damp, so we're on to a good thing. This bed is sitting on a clay seam up by the top entrance to the meadow, so it should be happy. Since this photo, Nick's been slashing away around the edges of the bed (which is covered with wood chip from our own trees - it would be zero carbon footprint except for the petrol powered chainsaw) with a lethal hockey-stick type implement, sharpened on both sides. Jet the dog had to stay indoors.

Whilst the clay soil may be good for the willows, it's not quite so good for "grey water" drainage. We've been talking to a water consultant about the best way to manage showers; getting water to the showers, heating it, and then ensuring it can run happily away. As part of this process, Freddy and Kim had to dig 3 holes, 60cm deep, and 30cm by 30 cm wide. We then had to complete the "percolation test", filling them with water overnight, and once the water had drained, had to refill to three-quarters of the depth and then measure the rate of drop. I think our time of 7 hours means we need to find another place for the showers, where the clay is less dominant!

And finally, Nick is celebrating the near-completion of the yurt decking and base. All the planks on the decking are now fixed, the yurt base (made of marine ply and therefore fully weather resistant) is in place, and once we've joined and sealed the base and finished the skirting of the decking, we'll be done and ready for the yurt, if the sun decides to return.