June at the bottom of the garden..New herb garden/ Potager

We have cleared another patch near our new raised vegetable beds for our Herb bed/potager.

Raspberries have been temporarily planted whilst we clear a little more under the trees as we hope to site them permanently following some forest gardening principles . The ear-marked spot gets dappled shade throughout most of the day and direct sun for a couple of hours . There are several mainly dappled spots with sun for a couple of hours that we are condsidering, and as raspberries are part of the "undergrowth" they should do well when fnally sited.

As for the Yurt, we are still awaiting a replacement canvas, but have it up again in its moldy state to enjoy until the new one arrives. It will probably mean sanding and re-oiling the poles and trellis again but we just dont want to be without this space. Now-a-days its become essential for me to collapse and rest in between gardening spurts and anyway its just too lovelier space to be without!

creating the woodland area

Last year i had a huge success with foxglove seeds and as we hadn't cleared the soon to be woodland area from the worst of the brambles , i nurtured them through the summer til planting out in in autumn. Now we are keeping on top of the brambles, hopefully the swath of beautiful foxgloves will be even better next year when i have planted out this years generation and the multitude of seedlings from last naturalise.

These beauties were joined by lots of cowslips ..... so we are on our way , next year blue bells and wood Anemones !

yurt slide shows

Thought i would gather all the yurt slideshows from way back all together in one place.
Not much happening on the yurt living front, still got unresolved issues with mildew the canvas and poles. And sadly not the health to deal with them.


Putting up our Yurt

Inside our Yurt,
Welcome, come on in and make yourself at home!

Another Yurt slide show!

MEET " KELLY" - our storm kettle!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to a dear new friend "Kelly" Kettle©!!



A wonderful Yuletide gift - Thanks Mum and Dad !

Kelly has been a godsend ,as we havent had the use of the Yurts stove since we had to take it down for the winter.

Kelly will boil water very rapidly depending on the fuel you're using. She is made from aluminium it is essentially a double-walled chinmney with the water contained in the chimney wall. And is very light to carry.

Once the kettle is filled with water, and a very small fire is started in the base, on which kelly is set. Drop additional fuel (twigs, leaves, grass, paper, etc.) down the chimney and the large internal surface area of the chimney heats the water very quickly.

When the water boils, you just hold the handle at an angle of 90° to the Kettle - then lift the Kettle clear of the base.

To pour, lift it by the handle and tilt it using the cork chain

In about 5 minutes you will have a couple of pints of boiling water for brews all round, or to refill my hot water bottle which is invariably stuffed down my trousers now-a-days, to keep my back muscles relaxed!

The tradition of using the kettle as a method of boiling water at lunchtime goes back over a hundred years and the design has changed little since it was first introduced. The shores of the lake provided ample fuel for use in the kettle, where washed up twigs, sticks and dried grass were easily available. Visiting anglers are as amazed today as they were some hundred years ago with the speed at which the water could be boiled and through word of mouth, these anglers have spread word about the kettles worldwide.

FIRE

The element of Fire is both creative and destructive, its qualities are Brightness, Thinness and Motion and its mode is Active. It is fire that we and our ancestors used to warm our homes, we use it to cook our food, we sit around it to ward of the darkness of night, and it fuels our passions. Fire, unlike the other elements, does not exist in a natural state.
Its physical form can only take place by consuming some other element. Fire is the transformer, converting the energy of other objects into other forms: heat, light, ash, and smoke.To feel the manifestations of this power, go out on on sunny day and feel the warmth and light of the Sun, hear the crackling of logs and smell of smoke from a burning fire. As you gaze into the transformational flame of a candle, immerse yourself in the energy of Fire.
Fire is the natural element of animals and mankind, and they "have, in their natures, a most fiery force, and also spring from celestial sources."
In order to gain benefit from the energy of this element, we need to control Fire's destructive aspect. When we light a candle, we are not only calling upon the energy of Fire, we are also limiting its power.
This destructive aspect should not be seen as negative, forest fires, actually help, clearing away underbrush and encouraging seeds lying dormant within the Earth to burst forth into new life.Fire is a masculine element, its aspects being change, passion, creativity, motivation, will power, drive and sensuality. It is sexuality, both physical and spiritual. Fire is used in spells, rituals and candle magick for healing, purification, sex, breaking bad habits or destroying illness and disease. Fire is the element of authority and leadership.The properties of Fire, Heat, Making things fruitful, Celestial light, Giving Life to all things. Its opposite the Infernal Fire are a parching heat, consuming all things and darkness, making all things barren.

RATHER DEPRESSING

We are now very concerned about the Yurt canvas and the mildew that has developed.
The extent of the problem is very distressing.
we finally has a response from the Yurt maker, who gave a logical explanation as to why the mildew may have developed where there are two layers of canvas and it may not dry out as easily and said that they would send us some mildew cleaner which we havent as yet recieved. However ,the mildew is also on the single canvas wall which doesnt make sense and also a good number of poles are black! at least six , ( we havent been able to inspect them all) The wheel spokes are also black in places. Icannot believe that we have this degree of problem after only 31/2 months of use!

Have taken some pictures to send to Yurtworks so they can see the extent of the problem.
not sure if i want to post them on hear as they are too depressing for words.

Really feel that we need to take immediate action to try and prevent it spreading any further, but waiting for yurt maker to advise.
We had planned to take it down for the winter as advised,but we were not expecting to work on any form of restoration at this point in time. so we must now take it down ASAP to assess the extent that the woodwork, trellis and poles are affected. But we cant really store it until this problem has been properly resolved. We are gutted to say the least. spent all my savings on this venture and have really enjoyed it over the last couple of months, but what was a total delight is now a real worry:(

STOVE INSTALLATION

Over the last few months there has been much deliberation about where to site our stove.
Consultation with various Yurt makers and fellow Yurt dwellers, revealed conflicting information about the best place for stove installation.
Commonly people place it in the centre of the yurt with the flue pipe going out of the wheel.This wasnt something we wanted to do because we felt it would interfere with the beautiful wheel and it would also take up precious space in the centre of the yurt.
Another option was to take the flue through one of the wall trellis diamonds , but this meant a large amount of flue to run up the outside of the yurt for clearance that would then need to be stabilised in some way.
Finally we decided to install the stove in the west , allowing the two hotplates to be easily accessed from the kitchen area and keeping the floor space in the centre clear,and to have the flue pipe go up through the roof canvas between two poles.
Having moved the stove to its final location prior to installing we lived with it for a while to see how it felt( and to give us time to pluck up the courage to cut a hole in the canvas roof !) which was actually the easiest but most heart stopping stage of the installation.
We bought a lovely piece of limestone for the hearth ,and the flashing attached to the canvas prevents it and the wood from heating up. I think i will source some aluminium sheeting and make a decorative a back plate behind the stove to really protect the canvas and wood at a later date , but we have the stove the correct distance from the Yurt wall so it would really be belt and braces!
Thankyou to Matt and Chris from Yurtshop for the helpful advice on installing and for processing our flue order so promptly.

It really changes the ambience having a woodburning stove. It gives gorgeous glow to the inside of the yurt, keeps us toasty- the crackling sounds and stepping outside to see and smell the woodsmoke puff- puffing out the chimney are a delight! It changes the use of the space too, no longer will we be forced under the covers when the evening chill creeps in. Lots of evenings of crafty work to look forward to .

The stove makes it a real home!

Willow all snuggled!

craft worker !

.. some insulation next to keep the heat in !

COZY EVENINGS!

We have been enjoying some really cozy evenings!

Havent blogged for a while, no access to computer in the yurt( wink), and laptops are banned! so got some catching up to do...let me see....
Made a curtain for the window and been lighting small fires in the stove to seal it prior to installation.... building a log store its a bit ramshackled but i kind of like that, all the wood was from broken up pallets.

MILDEW PROBLEM!

Havent blogged for a little while.
Sadly after only 3 months of our Yurt being up.. we have mildew problems and we are gutted particularly after only having the yurt up for a short period of time.

We are so sad to see our beautiful yurt being spoilt in this way. We will contact the yurt maker " Yurtworks" and are hope to hear back from them soon.
we are bitterly disappointed as this Yurt is so beautifully crafted.
Our plans had been to keep the yurt up until the autumn and take it down then to help the canvas last. I cannot believe it, surely there shouldnt be problems in the summer !
Especially when we are in the drier far south east of england.

Been looking on the net for information on how to remove mildew from canvas it doesnt look easy.

SUMMER YURT LIVING!

We have just enjoyed a few days of glorious sunshine and some real summer yurt living.
The yurt's circular space has this month offered a wonderful healing environment for recovery from another back procedure. At 3.30pm at this time of the year the sun shines through the crown straight onto the floor cushions, just in time for a snoozy and sometimes dribbly siesta on the floor.

We have been enjoying simple food;bbq's, forraged salads, new potatoes ,green beans,tomatoes straight from the veggie patch.

We are pleasantly surprised that there havent been lots of mosquitos, no need to use the mosy-net. Chris getting very proficient with the night-time swatting by torchlight, means that the few that are around dont last long!
Feel like we are getting a real taste of yurt life , very settled into the early morning, early night routine, and lying in bed with all the candles lit is magical.

Amazing metorite showers, standing on the farm track we saw lots of shooting stars.

There has been a good harvest of calendula petals this year. Once dried we shall infuse some in oil and use the rest for cosmetic concoctions.

We have a resident blue tit!! He/she roosts in between the canvas , just under the roof canvas.
Every night( remarkably early) he tucks himself in and you hear him turning in his bed and ruffling his feathers! I think its amazing that he/she is happy to be so close, with only canvas between us he must know that we are there and can hear us. we have named him rather unoriginally "Timmy the tit", so i hope if its a she , shes's not offended!
And also a beautiful little wren that roosts in the shed .

still havent had the roof cap off at night, the evenings havent really been balmy and we just havent had the confidence that it wouldnt rain! Think i may save some pennies and have a clear roof cap made at a later date.

COME ON INSIDE....OUR YURT

WELCOME! come step inside.. please take off your shoes.we are still moving in ,so please excuse the mess:)

carpet has kindly been donated , which we laid down last week,moved the bed round twice.. think we've found the right place now!

splashed out on the hand carved chest.. its made of cedar wood and smells wonderful... got somewhere for our clothes to be hidden away in and it doubles up as a stunning alter.

It was beautiful on tuesday , lying on the floor cushions with the sunshine beaming through the crown wheel. Hoping for some good weather this weekend , with a clear sky so we can have the cap off at night and stare at the stars! (might just need that mozzy-net though)

really enjoying spending time in this space, love the light and the beautiful shadows that are cast on the canvas each morning.. it changes each day.

Definately prefer living/ sleeping in the round.. woke the other morning thinking i was in the yurt and being boxed in by right-angled walls felt really strange .

YURT RAISING!

Cant begin to say how beautifully crafted this yurt is.. thanks Tim.
had a huge beam on my face for a couple of weeks now...the yurt is fantastic. Was surprisingly easy to erect,pulling the roof canvas was a bit of a struggle as it was so heavy, but i did request heavy duty canvas for the roof !
It hasnt stopped raining since it arrived home with us, but its so cozy inside it doesnt matter. There's this beautiful glow inside, even when its overcast and grey outside.
The other night it was put to the test, with freak storms and floods and hail stones the size of a two pound coin! No leaking, though the sound of the hail bouncing off the roof poles was a bit hairy... sounded just like fire crackers going off inside.
Got the essentals inside now.. bed, rugs, gas camping stove. Think if this weather doesnt improve may need to get a wriggle on with connecting the woodburner.

picys of inside to come soon...

YURT COLLECTION DAY

June30th/July 1st

Drove all the way back up to Devon again this weekend to meet up with Tim Hutton ( the Yurt maker) at the wood fair to collect the Yurt. It was pouring with rain so it would have meant dismantling and packing a damp canvas so unfortunately we were unable to put the canvas on.

Tim Hutton ( Yurtworks), me and our yurt!

( minus the Oak doors and canvas.. too soggy to put it up completely)

very happy bunnies!

hoping for fine weather this weekend and the arrival of our groundsheet so that we can erect the yurt in its full splender!

COLLECTING YURT TOMORROW!!

Almost there with preparation of the site. Been away on our yearly pilgimage to Glastonbury ( place not festival!)

Had a fantastic time , a wonderful place shared with very special friends :)!!

Collecting our Yurt at the summer solstice didnt quite come to plan.

Tim was unable to complete the order in time without working crazy - crazy hours.. that was fine as it was more important to us to have our Yurt made with good positive vibes, and not too much frenetic energy or the posssibility of the final crafting being in a cloud of red air!!... as it turns out it probably would have been a bit of a squeeze in the camper complete with dog and so we have arranged to meet Tim and collect the Yurt at the Taunton wood fair TOMORROW!!!

NEARLY THERE WITH THE PREPARATION!

Not long to go now before we are living in our Sacred Circle of Ash and Oak!!!

what will rougly be the view from the Yurt door!

LEVELLING SITE

16ft circle spray painted

Site cleared and levelled. Sand base laid - just got to keep those bunnies from digging it up now! I may have to undo all Willow's bunny-friendly training soon as the numbers have really increased and im loosing alot of our veggies this year to to the fluffy critters.

The Sand- dance!

Rang through the final details of or yurt requirements to Tim, door type and stove etc. Went for double oak dooks and wooden latch . Undecided on whether to have a window or not, traditionally Yurts dont have windows, but it may be nice to have one over the kitchen area .Tim usually makes round ones, which i dont fancy , but he could make us a rectangular one instead.
Hope to collect our Yurt when we go to Glastonbury for the Summers Solstice and Chris's birthday next month!

CLEARING AND MARKING SITE

further ground clearing and post marking of the 16ft yurt

veg beds finally under control again!

a local resident of the herb patch !