A month or so ago we all got to have a go at making pots on a friend’s potters wheel. While none of us are going to be competing in next years Pottery Throwdown we all managed to create a couple of things we were pleased with – the great thing about pottery is anything […]
Pit Firing some Pottery 3/8/25 Read More »
The question I really want to address in this post is what makes a spoon (or anything else) worth collecting. In truth there are probably as many answers to that question as there are collectors but I still think it’s something worth thinking about. I’m going to use a Boer War commemorative spoon made by
A Boer War Commemorative Silver Spoon: What makes it Collectible? Read More »
Last winter we spent quite a lot of time and energy laying some hedge along the northern boundary of Hare’s Rise. I think we all enjoy the work – we don’t kill ourselves trying to get lots done, rather we pick away at it, doing a short stretch each year. But even that amount seems
I made Some Spoons – the Joy of carving Read More »
Sometimes its hard to say just what it was that drew you to a particular thing. Sometimes it’s a look, something about the design, or maybe the way something’s been made, the construction of it shouts quality. And sometimes its just a feeling that it’s unique, handmade by a craftsman whose name we may never
An Interesting Thing Read More »
An amazing sunny spring day and I finally got around to opening up the hive. I’ve been wanting to get this done for a while but even though its been sunny the past two weeks the wind’s been cold. But today it was beautiful, sunny and 22 degrees. So time to start sorting out the
Sorting out the Bees 11/4/25 Read More »
This seems like a very odd question, after all we’ve all had honey on toast and what’s that honey if not a surplus (conveniently available for us to harvest). When, 25 or so years ago, I kept a few hives over about three seasons that’s certainly what I believed. I think I also saw beekeeping
Do Bees Really Produce a Surplus of Honey? Read More »
I just noticed that Forum Auction is selling a 1st Edition of the Rev. Charles Butler’s The Feminine Monarchie or a treatise concerning bees, and the due ordering of them. This book, which was published in 1609, was the first full-length English language book on beekeeping and remained a valid guide for beekeepers until the
The First English Book about Bees Read More »
