“Dozens of people will be whipping out their scythes and ripping off their shirts for a spot of “Poldarking” in Cambridgeshire this weekend.” says this BBC article They are referring to the Eastern Counties Scythe Festivalat Wimpole, that happened this weekend. Phil couldn’t make it this year but here is
Here is Phil mowing in the Top Field early yesterday morning. The crop is shorter then usual after a cool spring, although it never grows very long on the majority of this herb rich meadow dominated by Rough Hawkbit (Leontodon hispidus ). We have about quarter of an acre down
We have a grass track running through the Trust. We maintain parts of it with a scythe, usually using the clippings to mulch the vegetable gardens. The edges to the tracks are left to grow longer and bramble tries to creep out from the hedges. Periodically the edges need managing
Some sections of the internet have been buzzing about a youtube video of a Scythe vs Strimmerrace. (The scythe wins if you don’t want to go and watch it). Then there are the scythe competitions – some people can mow really fast! And with a good quality cut too. But
Poldark continues to create interest in the scything world! Here is fellow SABI member Chris Riley being interviewed on Farming Today, BBC Radio 4, broadcast yesterday morning. The interviewer asks his opinion on Poldark’s mowing and then all about the Austrian scythe.
……bare foot scything that is. Phil bare foot mowing in the Top Field We have known for a while that TV and Radio gardener Bunny Guinness is a fan of the Austrian scythe. On Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time last week, she was enthusing about the scythe as an answer
One of the most amazing place we visited whilst in the Faroe islands was the little community of Saksun. After a beautiful cycle along a fjord then up a glacial valley, we climbed a small rise to find the settlement perched above a tidal lagoon, with mountains and cascading waterfalls
We don’t have a TV, so I haven’t seen the programme, but there certainly seems to be plenty of interest in Poldark and his scythe.
Spring is gathering pace and the grass is starting to grow. Soon the mowing season will be upon us and it will be time to get your scythe into action, if it hasn’t already been hard at work clearing brambles and weeds all winter. On Tuesday 14th April will we
I have been busy setting up a second long electric fence across the Top Field in preparation for moving the sheep. Today I mowed under it along it’s length with the trimming scythe to stop it shorting out on the long vegetation. Electric fencing unit with solar panel to charge
We held our last scythe course of the year on 30th August. As well as cutting grass we cut a large patch of bracken that grows in the Quiet field. The participants got a lot of satisfaction from cutting the bracken. The stems are stiff and widely spaced and so
We had a stand at a fair in the Woollen Museum on Saturday. The fair was called “The Good Life” and gave visitors to the museum and locals the chance to see the variety of land based crafts carried out in the area. Here are our bikes at the museum,