The Forest Garden is maturing fast after 12 years of establishment and is attracting more wildlife than ever, this includes several new species of birds including Goldcrests,Willow Warblers and Lesser Whitethroat. I have also spotted a male Coockoo Bee, its jet black and quite rare. They are here to enjoy the bounty provided by the ever increasing variety of flowering shrubs and trees and what a show of blossom we are enjoying right now as the pictures below show.
The mild weather over winter and spring has made all the difference and now that the chance of severe frost and hail has passed we can look forward to an abundant harvest. Right now we are picking bamboo shoots and of course rhubarb.
My Eco Corner
Just thought I would make a few Eco comments each post so here's the first.
I am a vegan and have been for 12 years now, before I was a veggie for many years. I converted to a veggie mainly due to the animal welfare issues and I must say the diet agreed with me so I didn't find it difficult to convert.
I converted to being a vegan in 2002 when I leaned about the dangers of dairy foods and eggs from various experts assembled at an Anthony Robbins Life Mastery Course and that all made sense to me to. So my diet became vegan as did my clothes and shoes, it was a real life style change and as before I really enjoyed the changes and challenges and still do.
Finally I was able to complete the puzzle when I realised that if we are to survive on this planet we have to eat less meat and consume less dairy. The space and cost of rearing meat and milk is far higher than equivalent in veg, fruit and nuts. In fact much land is given up just to feed ruminants, farmers keep their cows in so the grass can grow and supplement with unnatural feedstuff usually soy based (90% of the world soy bean crop is fed to animals). I say this is crazy as is the non organic chemicals used to grow the grass and cerials that get fed to cows etc in vast amount's which eventually finds its way into the groundwater and we all end up being exposed to this.
So being a vegan is to truly be part of a sustainable eco system and having just celebrated my 70th birthday and still can swish a scythe with the best of them and manage my 4 acres by hand. I truly believe that a vegan diet is the healthiest option for energy and happiness and it may lead to a longer life too, now that would be a Brucey Bonus!!! Why not have a think about this and give it a try, you will be amazed at the difference it will make to you.
Back to the plants, here are just a few of the many in flower
Cornelian Cherry flowering in Feb
Almond with a special visitor in March
Nanking Cherry in March
Juneberry with the first wasp seen in March
Bladdernut in April
Finally a Morello Cherry in late April
For me its a really bust time as the grass is growing fast and needs constant scytheing the trees and shrubs need mulching there are early cuttings to be done, the polytunnel and greenhouse need attention to check seed sowing progress and plant up the tomatoes and I still have branch snedding to do from this winters coppicing, I only managed this blog because its raining today. So next time I hope to report on the first fruit crops so see you then.
No comments:
Post a Comment