The Weekends of Spring

| 7th February 2022
Whilst the days are definitely getting longer and we can start to feel that pull to get out into the fresh air, until the clocks go forward next month, let’s maximise the opportunities of the weekends when we can leave our work worries behind and see signs of new life springing up all around.

Yesterday, after sorting through a bookshelf to make space for some new novels, we decided to donate those I was unlikely to read again to the secondhand bookshop at National Trust Ham House. This was a great idea as we felt so virtuous from the sorting, the donating, the walk around the gardens, that the rewards found in the teashop afterwards were well and truly deserved!

I love exploring gardens in the winter, discovering which bulbs will be first to flower, and which trees beat the others as they burst into bud. I make mental notes as I compare the growing spaces to both our home garden and allotment, receiving an absolution with this fresh start that we are given as we begin to plan our plots each spring.

Whilst I try to keep our weekends relatively clear, for swimming, family and church activities, we have discovered that sometimes a Saturday is just the right time to go for it!

Over the last couple of years, since I’ve been offering online classes as well as in person, we’ve been delighted to welcome a number of guests to make bread with us from across Europe and America. Guests have navigated timezones, baking cups, centigrade/fahrenheit temperatures and all sorts of other little differences, but have each been jolly proud of their fabulous bakes!

To help new guests join these sessions, we now run monthly online bread classes on a Saturday afternoon (3-5pm UK time) which also works for those up to 5 hours ahead or behind of us.

Coming up soon:

Bread Making Part Two: Savoury (Virtual) – Saturday 12th February, 3-5pm (UK time)

Bread Making Part Three: Sweet (Virtual) – Saturday 12th March, 3-5pm (UK time)

Come and Hug a Hen!
With fabulous new winter plumage and lots of lovely eggs each day, our friendly chickens are looking forward to meeting new guests this spring time.

For families that are thinking about keeping a few chickens at home, we have this great course for all ages:

Family Feathers & Fun Saturday 19th February, 2-4pm

You can’t have Easter without eggs and you can’t have eggs without hens…

Our Easter celebrations have always been sell-out events and, especially as we couldn’t run them in 2020/21 due to covid, we are really looking forward to guests joining us this year.

Make your own hot cross buns, Easter craft, egg hunts, feed the hens, home made refreshments – What more could you want on a bank holiday weekend?

Easter at Hen Corner Saturday 16th April Morning:10.30am – 12.30pm or Afternoon:2-4pm

Other news:

  • I’ve planted a full bed of raspberry canes at the allotment, it will be wonderful if they fruit this year
  • We’ve discovered that simmering Jerusalem artichokes in lemon juice before cooking in your chosen recipe helps reduce the unwanted side effects!
  • Our Marmalade, Piccalilli, Chutney and Honey have been entered into this year’s Great Taste Awards

Jobs for the week:

  • Teach 90 x yr 3 pupils how to bake bread
  • Clear and mulch the kitchen garden
  • Mow the lawn for the first time this year

Thanks for joining us on the journey, let us know how you are getting on with your steps towards sustainability!

Sara

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