compost loo and a bench

The best loo I’ve ever used. You can sit as upon a throne and gaze out through the trees, accompanied by bird song and the sighing of the wind through the branches.
Who would have thought that it could be so romantic….

Or you could be more conventional where you choose to sit and contemplate, and spend time on this lovely bench.
Both this loo and bench were made by Paul (with love).

 

 

News

At last we have managed to complete the purchase of 5 acres of wood on the other side of the beech avenue. The east wing of our boundry now.

It is such a relief as the whole process took at least 9 months and we are so happy to have Tom and Ayra as our neighbouring wood owners.

Had a great celebration cream tea with them and all of Tom’s family in the west wood .

cladding the barn

005cladding the barn

On Monday, we were so lucky, with the weather, which was glorious, and with our friends and family, who were fantastic. They gave up their Bank Holiday Monday to help us finish cladding the barn, which had been pending for, oh, months and months.I think we all ended up with aching wrists from swinging those hammers, and offering up those long lengths of cladding. It now looks like a proper building, and I am so proud of what is being built, and for the help that we are getting.
All this work was being done to the background noise of a tractor and extractor, as eventually we managed to get the man and his kit into the wood to start extracting the timber. It’s making an impressive pile in the loading area and will be even more satisfying when it had been converted into money in the bank.
There have been months when it has felt as though we have been moving two steps forwards and one step back, what with the weather, tractor axles breaking, mud, over priced accountants, banks demands, not having enough time and just a long, hard winter. then comes the long awaited and much longed for Spring and everything seems to be moving again, two steps forward, and even a little hop, skip and pirouette, there somewhere.

heydon-hill-in-the-snow-jan-131.jpg

There is no such thing as silence in a wood, though there is a certain quality of quietness . It’s a muffled eerie quite of boughs creaking and melting snow dripping and branches cracking. It’s like listening to nature holding it’s breath and waiting for something to happen.
You can see all the footprints left in the snow as a narrative of the lives that carry on, normally leaving less obvious proof of their constant activity in the business of survival.
What’s most amazing is how much bird song there is in this white and wintery place.The one sound that isn’t muffled and secretive, but loud and celebratory.
I love this place.