All About Magazine - Issue 16

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Rest awhile...
by Mike Robin at
Most of the season’s work on the organic
‘eco’ micro-holding (small smallholding)
here is done for this year, with
hopefully a bit of restful (and
natural?) semi-hibernation to look
forward to. Weeds and green
growth have been ‘shaved’ off
the growing ground, onto the
compost heap, leaving it ‘pristine’
bare and awaiting, well half of it,
the application of woodash and
two applications of finely-made
compost February time, after which
it’ll be ‘all systems go’.
The considerable task of hedge cutting was
completed by the end of October, after which quite
a bit of lopping of spars with a pruning saw has been
the job, creating a good pile of brushwood ready for
a mid-winter bonfire.
Even though it’s only a relatively small area here -
half an acre - there’s quite a bit of vegetation of one
sort or another, home to quite a few birds. The gang
of sparrows have had to find ‘alternative
accomodation’ - their creeper home on
the end wall of the cottage decided
to ‘peel off’ one day and then had
to be cut back severely to let the
traffic by on the lane.
Lots of tits of various hues appear
at the wild bird seed and fat ball
feeders overlooking the kitchen
window, including the ‘gorgeous
gang’ of long-tailed tits.
Another set of bird feeders reside
down in the paddock and the bird food
put out there goes pretty quickly, particularly
the peanuts, which are consumed far slower in the
feeders near the cottage – there must be some
that don’t particularly want to come near human
habitation ?
A window in ‘The Retreat’ in the paddock overlooks
the feeders there, so bird watching there could be a
pleasant ‘semi-hibernation’ pastime.
ALL ABOUT MAGAZINE | FEATURE 7