The two Rachelles and Sue and the dogs, were under the Bender. Why? Because we were talking HAZEL this week. The International Space Wagon was there to provide power to our speaker (thank you solar) which was connected through blue tooth to the computer to give us surround sound – SO WE COULD HEAR YOU OVER THE BIRD SONG! (Meanwhile Leon was on Zoom control back at Mission Control)
What had we all been up to?
Toby’s been reading, listening to App Livi, walking around the village, watching Mushi Monster
Hazel was delighted to announce she’d got a trampoline
Levon had made an incredible logo jungle with an active volcano spewing lava, at its base a dead skeleton, and spider eating plant with spider in its mouth.
Ryan – after some good technical support – took us around his den, complete with tool box table and chairs for storage. He slept in it last night and woke early to the alarm call of birds singing. The Cress experiment continues, one dead the other got eaten. Sad news – his nans cat may have eaten rat poison and passed away. He did not suffer and was buried in the garden,
Brook had been playing with cat Jinx and showed us her cat certificate which included such data as favourite food, favourite colour and favourite game.
Benny – presented his giant panda, amongst a menagerie of other animals
Eva treated us to the incredible show of the dancing cat
Laurie and Flynn’s – after a few technical sound difficulties – described how their dad had made them a cardboard dome in the garden. And they introduced their surprise guest Foxy Teddy.
We returned to Hazel and talked benders. Rachel described how she made her first bender at non other than Bender Camp, and last winter she and others including Megan and some of the tribe made this bender, by bending and weaving the live strands of hazel into each other. Look at it now – lush.
Rachelle spoke of the catkins, how they look like lambs tails, how hazel provided food for insects. Left alone the Hazel tree lives for around 80 years, but but coppiced hazel can live a thousand years, like those at Bradfield Woods, although we’ve been coppicing for some 4,000 years. Coppiced (cut down to its base every 7-10 years, here’s Pete Fordham talking about it in Bradfield woods) it is for useful for many things. Sticks for weaving into hurdles, and it used to be used as wattle with daube for making walls of houses. Rachelles own walking stick was crafted from a hazel.
We looked at a hazel growing, how it was growing out of the hazel nut. We cracked a few hazel nuts and sampled their nuttyness.
Rachel said – look at the oaks, they are already creating baby acorns.
Finally we all put our animals into the zoom window, and photo’s were taken. Ryans pug, Leon’s cat, foxes, panda’s, Eva’s cats – a zoom zoo!
Good bye from the two Rachelles and Sue (who took this photograph)
Phew that was a speedy 40 mintues!
Kinda Forest School 