From Boreholes to Boundaries : the Bloomin' Marvellous Taunton journey continues
watch previous video here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ngmnADjHa4&t=4s
DIGGING DEEP: BOREHOLE SUCCESS
Since the borehole was completed it has sat quietly out of the way while we crack on with the boundary. I sent the video to Stephen at MB Downing and he said it was just the thing to show his customers to explain the process. I am thrilled that my first video is so well received by the chaps that made it happen. I know he doesn’t have time to do much on his socials, he doesn’t have loads of money to employ others to do it for him, I also knew he really liked how pretty our place was.
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So I thought if I did a half decent job with this video he would more than likely add it to his website, which is exactly what happened. It took me days on Canva and with the help of a very handy co-pilot AI on my laptop, I was able to at least complete it and add it to our YouTube channel the Off~Grid Flower Farm. (link above in case you missed it). We lit the first fire, close enough to the stream so we could hear both, sat back and enjoyed the magic. I love the smell of wood smoke in my hair.
Will, introduces me to strangers as his adopted mum, business partner and slightly eccentric landowner. I am happy with this description and If I had to describe him it would be: my lad, farm manger and engineer extraordinaire, tractor obsessed and steam train enthusiast, beard you could loose a badger in, no 1 practical soundboard He comes with his own catchphrase: “Where there is a Will there is a way”. I am a little bit proud of him. He has always been tractor mad, been driving them since he was 16. He mends things for favours and its paying dividends with the local farmers, who he all knows. this week included mending Ben’s harvester brake shoes (they come from Italy), he likes playing with big toys. The bore hole rig was made in Italy too. to Stephens own specs, his dad Mathew ( the M in MB Downing) still has the old rig and does smaller jobs. There are less and less big farms and more self builds and off grid ventures these days, although Hinkley Point has over 75 wells done. These chaps are great for local gossip and interesting factoids. always worth having a natter to. contact MB Downing for all your dowsing and well needs and big boy toys.
FINDING WILDLIFE AND OBSERVING
The Spring started off wet and I was so pleased to see healthy signs of invertebrates.
Frogspawn! I’m not sure it made it through the dry weather, but it at least fed the birds with no less than a midwinter pre Spring feast. Whilst Deer are part of the eco system the farmed herd of escapologists from the next field are not.
the damage these beasties do to trees and flowers will not bare thinking about, while I wish them no harm, I’m pretty sure Will will have a venison burger or 2 by the end of the month if they keep breaking free from their pens. We saw about 5 of them break free and bounce over to the sheep field the other side, reminded me of tigger from Winnie the pooh. Poor farmer must have lost most of his stock already. Secretly I am pleased they found freedom and I hope some have made it into wild herds, however brief that life, at least it is free. So rather than shoot them or any of that “unpleasantness” , I will build a strong and very high fence with enough room around it to keep the grass and blackthorn at bay.
I went to a very interesting talk By Jon Van Howler from the British dragon fly society put on by SANHS, (Somerset Archaeological and natural history society), a local community group that does a lot of conservation work including historical buildings and the Taunton Museum. I found them at the library while I was studying a tithe barn timber frame model from a local village. Taunton library is one of my favourite places, the café is run by people with special needs and a support worker, they have a feedback book I like to leave little messages of support in. they do some nice coffee and the odd very agreeable cake or panini.
