A wonderful April day and the Woodland Workshop was humming with activity. With two keen students busy at their lathes it gave me a real buzz to hear that razz of green wood being cut combined with a fantastic chorus of thrushes, robins, blackbirds et al combined with that amazing hum of the bees foraging for pollen and nectar. And the aromas – heady – full of spring and the promise of summer to come.
This stunning quince was one such beauty with it’s splendid pink blooms fully living up to it’s given name Geisha Girl. It was an impulse purchase many years ago from Brogdale in Faversham, Kent and grew successfully in Waltham Abbey until it had the chop with the advent of the new workshop at home. I’d had the foresight to take cuttings and now it grows rampantly in the Woodland Field comfortably with a truly gawky wild pear. Both are prolific fruiters and it looks as if, with the lack of the usual heavy rain and spring hail that, it will be yet another bumper crop which will be put to good use as jelly and wine.
The course produced some amazing facial expressions of both concentration and delight. We did lots of turning in the morning had a great lunch together and spent the afternoon in the happy social activity of spoon carving.
This year has been most interesting so far and I’m pleased that I didn’t just dismantle the shelter in a moment of anger and resentment against the weather. These things are sent to make you a stronger person (and yes I think my muscles are slightly enhanced after the workout we were given levering it back into position and hauling the tarp up!) and it’s all been most worth while. I’m still working on an additional space at the far end of the field for a more sheltered working space and having spent some more time just sauntering around in that little used area near the forge I’ve decided that too will be part of the alternative working space. I’m going to utilize the forge itself and the space will be great as a camp kitchen, might even treat myself to running water as it won’t be a problem to run the supply up the field. So all in all the garden is rosy…
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