This is Paddy, who is what you’d call a happy accident. When I saw him advertised on facebook, I really did not intend to end up giving him a home. Really. But I casually asked a couple of questions and heard no more. Then I get a message back a fortnight later, and the guy sounds desperate to rehome him, and next thing I’m bringing home a tiny three year old cob stallion, who turns out to be not quite two. Makes a change as they are usually older than people say, not younger.
Nearly mid April and we’ve already run three great courses – An introduction to green woodworking; make a rustic stool, and willow garden structures. The weather has been incredibly merciful – the willow course participants were practically overcome by heat. Along the way, new friends have been made, and some wonderful new items created as people disover talents they never knew they had.
Whether you have a project already started, or are dreaming of your ideal plot, this course will help you turn your dreams into reality. A hands on course for all abilities and experience levels.
Been so busy that I forgot to mention that I went hedge laying on possibly the wettest day of the century so far, back in February. It was a great group to work with, and I learned a lot. It was great to see the transformation and I can’t wait to take a look in the spring as the new growth emerges. Plus I am an accredited hedge layer now..
It is now five years since we first saw the land here at Lackan, and looking back it is amazing how much has happened here, and how much our lives have been shaped by the land almost as much as we have shaped the place itself.
It has been six months now since we started offering people the opportunity to stay in Birch Eco Cottage, and not only has the response been amazing, we’ve met some wonderful people.
Last year we were approached by a couple of production companies about appearing in TV programmes, and we said yes where they were factual. The first was one about homes in Britain and Northern Ireland, so we spent half a day with a camera crew and played host to Gloria Hunniford
It was when we began putting on willow basket making courses that I realised I had the basket making bug, and so it was only a matter of time before my mind turned to creating a source of willow. It turns out that there are many, many varieties of basket willow and the range of colours is wonderful.
This week we went off to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, to their annual Horse Ploughing and country skills day. Apart from anything else it was a good chance to go and have a look at everyone’s harness, as it turns out that literally every single set seems to be different in some way, and we fancied seeing how ours compared.
An exciting development for 2017 is the formation of our first Forest School group, which will be led by Lucy, an experienced Forest School teacher. Ever since hearing about the idea of forest schools or outdoor schools we’ve been excited by the idea of getting a group going and an amazing bunch of children and parents have come together to make this happen.
This course is aimed at those who are keen to find out more about the potential of small scale renewable energy and heating, and the opportunities for DIY and home energy storage where a grid connection is not always practical.
We get a lot of requests from folk who would like to come and have a look around, find out more, and share their stories with us, so this year we have decided to have an open day on June 17th , when anyone can come and see what we get up to, and ask questions about any aspect of what we do here at Lackan Cottage Farm.