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EVENT for the diary
EVENT for the diary
KHR interview
What THE PRESS say
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Blog-Our Second Year- -28Dec2011- Have a look at these hazel chairs, made in an unheated stable on a cold winter's day. The talented teacher, Ivor, is in the centre. He patiently guided us through the steps but we each made our own chair. We dream of making a Riggles hazel bench in 2012, in honouring the woodland with natural scuptures. in peace on earth and we hope your dreams for 2012 come true too! Fortunate with lovely guests again this year, in keeping our double gold stars, with sourcing a new water supply and achieving healthy sales of biodynamic produce. Our Riggles Hill Nature Nights took flight but have stalled for the current time for various reasons. So we wish you a peaceful year ahead of health, unlimited possibilities and creativity. 6Nov2011- A local farmer wisely said "its a funny thing water, either you have too much or not enough and either way its in the wrong place". So it is at Riggles Farmhouse just now that our deep spring feeding our well water has dried up, along with the channels that feed the ponds. Wonderfully, two different locals worked together to help us get a full water bowser here so we have something to keep us afloat! A source of pure, clear water divined in the woodland is now feeding into our water processing system so we're able to welcome lovely families over this half term and carry on with our produce. We'd like to thank all those who helped us during this time. We take water so much for granted yet without it, nothing else matters. No wonder it is called Blue Gold. Salad is still amazing and next week is Nov market. In the same week coming we have the fourth Riggles Hill Nature Night on 'Slowing Down' and we hope things do slow as we're still cutting grass here and harvesting, which was the theme for October's Nature Night! 30Sep2011- We had our second Riggles Hill Nature Night on Moths and Bats which was fantastic and our next one is imminent on Tuesday 11th October - our theme will be "harvest" with sloes, full moon and time to reflect on our personal harvest. The left photo shows our golden, edible crab apples called pitmaston pineapple, we only had a handful last year and the tree is covered in apples this year so we'll take some along to our local community Apple Day on 23rd Oct to make apple juice. We are midst an Indian Summer at this time with local temperature of 30degrees or so and currently we and others around us on well water are having to watch water levels. We hear Devon has its lowest water table for 25years and streams are drying up including the one that feeds our ponds. We're bringing plans forward for backup water supplies and plan to close for a week to get the work done. Is climate changing faster than predicted? Salad is amazing quality still and we have orders through to November. Goodness, in a week's time its Oct market and we wonder what the weather will be like then! -2Aug2011- Our first Riggles Hill Nature Night (RHNN) was small but perfectly formed. We wondered at the tiny puff balls, the wild St John's wort and lichen with mosses. Only Jim saw the roe deer who wandered through the firesite. Inspired to write a poem so here's an extract: Coming up fast, is the next RHNN on Moths and Bats with local expert Henry Papworth along with Lynne Kenderdine. Amazingly, we found glowworms whilst out slug catching this week and we hope the two females we found may just be still glowing by tues 9th July to complete the Creatures of the Night theme. In the daytime, have to say the dragon- and damsel- flies are gorgeous just now. The two cottages are full and guests come and go in the house too! Our produce page is up and running so we have virtual as well as real produce. August is a busy month, not only is there much going on around and about but we are busy as ever producing around 40salad bags and week and harvesting and storing other veg. We're amazed its market again in a week's time - the month comes round so fast. Although the weather is lovely at present, enjoy the touch of early autumn in the air!
-Jun/July2011- Looking back over the first half of this year and looking forward to the next half after this midsummer celebration, there is much going on. The firesite is ready for our nature night on 2nd tuesday evening of the month but it was a difficult choise of picture this month as there are some lovely photos on our Facebook group especially the fabulous nature picture from 5year old Ellie (see 3rd June2011 on http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_113088145396898). Thank you for your support and great comments following our Quality Inspection where we held our 5* gold award, including welcome for cyclists and walkers. Have to say the place is looking glorious in this summer sunshine and we do hope it holds for the summer holidays. There is a second batch of swallows fledged this week from the red barn and many different fledglings and families including sitings of a roe deer foal in the woodland. Fortunate to get a second moth count done so now we can compare last and this year's moths. We took a stand at the local Sustainability Show (http://sustainabilityshow.org.uk/) sharing with other Blackdown Hills Transition folk and supported three local events, the Open Farm day, the Fun Ride to Luppitt and the Woodland Fair. Today we harvested rhubarb, tayberries and raspberries for the freezer, bottled up cassis from the bumper blackcurrent crop and enjoyed the elderflower cordial. We're at market again in a week's time and realise these web pages don't say much about our produce and salad bags so its watch this space. Enjoy the summer ahead!
-26May2011- Swallows and house martins are treating us to their aerodynamic displays whilst nesting. Riggles Hillside is looking fantastic, with bluebells just finishing, common orchids flowering away and different types of nest activity not there last year, including various types of bumblebees. Even heard a cuckoo near the ponds in the ash tree. Clicking on the swallows to the left takes you to Blackdown Hills AONB calendar events with Riggles Hill Nature Nights. Am delighted to report good rain for the first time this month, lets hope there's more of it before our next guests arrive for their holidays tomorrow! A word of thanks to our referees - we're placed in the top 40 green businesses in the UK. We narrowly missed the cut for finalists in the GoldStar Awards to be decided in June but have been highly commended for the progress made in this, our first year in the scheme. We're planning an energy saving day include a candle lit dinner to celebrate Green Tourism Week 6th–13th June 2011, see http://www.greentourismweek.co.uk/ Churchinford and District Village Shop opened on 14May11 - run by local community it sells local produce, including our salad bags. We have our next Quality Inspection coming up next month which combined with green issues, salad bags and planning for the new PV roofing, is keeping us busy. Did you know you can book us online at Devon Farms? Enjoy the coming half-term and midsummer. -26Apr2011- Blossom is superb this year, a combination of sunny fine weather without much wind or rain yet at this time of year we'd expect to see images of cherry blossom in Japan so we're sad to see the events in Japan and the strange weather patterns. We've been seeding, growing on, potting on, weeding beds, planting and watering midst a stream of guests, both in the cottages and in the house and there's not been a single April shower to write about! Heartening highlight from great guests this month is "A home from home in a fantastic area of Devon". Devon Eco Holidays has been placed in the top 40 green businesses in the UK. That is official from the Green Tourism Business Scheme. We narrowly missed the cut for finalists in the GoldStar Awards to be decided in June but have been highly commended for the progress made in our first year in the scheme. Changes in the woodland are amazing, there are bumblebees where there were none and a wild honey bees nest in an old ash. Swallows are back in the barn and there seems to be a housemartin nesting above wrens nest bedroom. Excited to report Riggles Hill Nature Nights start here on Tues 12th July, every 2nd Tues of the month...7-9:30 £10each - its official there is magic in them there hills! -31Mar2011- Flowers are unfurling including the delicate white wood sorrel flower along with much activity from birds, bees and butterflies. We've moved swiftly into a warm dry spring, so planting in the polytunnel has been hot. Garlic is thriving, potatoes in and the onions are planted. Hens are happy in their spring/summer quarters which is more shaded and keeps them off the newly planted beds. We sold out of salad bags at the new farmers/village market in Dunkeswell and we're off to market again this saturday. With the valued help of Devon Wildlife Trust, the culm grass is growing fresh green shoots after a quick burn (called swaling) and the upper slopes cleared of bracken litter, after a lot of hard work in the woodland. Unlike last year, there's much more activity from the bumblebees in the woodland. We're delighted to have lambs and their mums back in the field. Wrens are nesting near Wrens Nest and its all systems go. Enjoy springtime and Easter! -27Feb2011- February is nearly ended, a month of changing energies, of Candlemas and Imbolc, of the release from winter and swift changes in season. Early in the month we delighted to find a perfect peacock butterfly on the woodpile (see its photo on facebook at Devon Eco Holidays). There are toads hopping, frogs laying millions of eggs and leaves unfurling. Along this theme of change, we are heartened with the following feedback as highlights from february guests: "Wood burner on wet cold evenings. Chopping wood with Jim. Stroll in the woods with Barker. Being shown how the site is heated etc" For us, the snowdrop symbolises so much about change, the courage to emerge from the dark, the hope of light, the strength of trust in Nature and Life. So we've chosen this snowdrop carpet in the nearby Otterhead Lakes and hope it inspires you as it does us! Finally as we move towards Marchtime, there's progress on the photovoltaic front, Wrens Nest is nearly ready for Room Only, Jim's beds are nearly ready for planting, the new compost bins complete and many seeds to plant. Enjoy! -6Jan2011- Snowdrops are out along with catkins and witchazel flowers as if in releif from the harshest of winters. We hope you enjoy the photo on the left of a 'besom' made from our own hazel by Simon. Here are some of the plans we hope to bring to fruition this 2011: 1) more water butts for rainwater capture - seems hard to recall we were close to draught conditions last year 2) alternatives to photovoltaic roof on the barn - we found the roof has complications and have to completely rethink our plans in microgenerating our own electricity 3) building more compost bins - we've started three more big bins in the 'growing' area 4) develop hedgerow, coppice, woodland and tree managemen along with establishing small wildflower sections started along the border of the drive by the hedge and trees 5) preparing and planting beds early - we are using the biodynamic organic methods but do not aim to register for organic status 6) work to keep the two gold ratings we currently have for Swallows Nest 7) complete Wrens Nest upto Room Only status Finally, we continue to count our great blessings in living here and welcoming the souls who visit for rest and recuperation! -Our First Year- -27Dec2010- As the wheel of the year turns on this harsh and snowy winter, we are priviledged to have welcomed all our guests over this year and amazed at our good fortune in receiving Double Gold for Swallows Nest - see press release in News and Media page. We're pleased to announce the winner of our creativity competition, judged independently by bookbinder, Maggie Clarke, as Lee Trussells' pen and ink sketch of Swallows Nest. We thank all those who entered their wonderful ideas and creations. You can see other entries on Facebook. The infinite creative power of life shines through the struggle to get ordinary things done this winter. Our heart goes out to all those who struggle this season, particularly farmers and those caring for the land, as we join Devon Farms for 2011. So we wish you a peaceful Yuletide with a year ahead of peace, health, unlimited possibilities and creativity. -5 Nov- Cannot beleive the colours of the trees and leaves in their transition to winter this year. To the left is the latest entry to the competition by Jane whom we visited Westonbirt Arboretum with last week on a rainy tuesday. Even the drizzle could not dampen the gorgeous colours nor our spirits on a days outing. We're happy to announce Maggie Clarke, bookbinder and artisan, as our Judge for the competition. Winner to be announced in our next blog, end of December 2010. Make sure all your entries are in by Christmas. The terracing is complete and there's progress on the ex-office which we'll now call Wrens Nest including steps towards planning for change of use. It feels as if you are in the tops of the swaying trees especially if you're on its wooden veranda. We are surprised to find Swallows Nest is still busy! Last month included the inspection by Green Tourism which we found hard work so we'll let you know what happens. As far as the PV panels for the barn roof, we've found the roof contains asbestos so we'd need specialist help in removing it, making it much more expensive than anticipated so we are looking into the possibility of mounting panels on a structure that incorporates the smaller existing recycling shed. Musing aloud, a community project like the impressive one at Shute Primary School (see http://www.shute-primary.devon.sch.uk/about/eco-school/) would be wonderful only we're not really near a school here. Enjoy the colours as we head towards a wintery Christmas. -5 Oct- Some wonderful entries for the creativity competition inspired by Swallows Nest and its environs seen on Facebook's Devon Eco Holidays so its difficult to choose images for the blog this month. We will let you know who is appointed to judge the winner. The lovely bright picture on the left is one of Halina's entries with her comment "...it was a perfect image for your place of living and working". The second image is a card made by children who visited earlier this year. Harvest festivals celebrated here during this autumn equinox are inspiring. We continue to be amazed by people living and working in this rural landscape. Truth be told, we welcome the quieter feel now the hectic pace of summer and autumn is slowing down as the days shorten. Three of four hens appear to be moulting, natures way of ensuring their feather coats are renewed for winter so we're lucky to get one egg a day at present. Jim enjoyed the Blackdown Hills hedge laying course at the weekend. Quietly, coppicing has started in the woodland. The last of the beech logs in the carriage barn are split and now we can start to split the log piles in the field. We hope the space vacated by our office move into the house may be useful as 'room only' for WWOOFers and guests so watch this space! -2 Sep- The pen and ink sketch of Swallows Nest shown on the left was created by one of our guests and given to us as a signed thank you card. Now we love creativity in any shape and form so we're going to start a competition along the following lines. Anyone who has stayed over the past 9 months is eligible to enter their creation although it must be displayable in some way on the web. Children can enter their work and we have another thank you card created by children that we'll try and display next month. So our competition will run officially from Dec 2009 to Dec 2010 and the winner receives a free weekend break at Swallows Nest before Jul 2011 for their family (maximum 4 persons). This summer has sped past so fast, we can hardly believe the autumn term is about to begin. Jim's onions, garlic and shallots are drying in the lovely September sunshine and we're about to harvest small crops of amaranth grain and quinoa which are treated in very different ways. Down at Otterton Mills, we've source locally milled organic flour for use in our welcome bread, thanks to the good ideas of friends and relatives that have stayed. We were humbled today for the following thanks from a lovely family who've just left: ..."it has been the perfect place to re-charge our batteries. Have really appreciated the beautiful surroundings. Hope to return sometime soon." Do enjoy the abundant autumn harvest and any time out to recharge your own batteries! -8 Aug- We continue to be lucky with our Swallows Nest holiday lets and are priviledged to welcome wonderful guests. Seems to be a fair amount of creativity flowing along with the waters here and a competition is brewing for the Best Guest and Most Creative Guest. More next month! Early mornings or late evenings, the tiny fawn and its mother roe deer often feed on the flowers in the garden, it seems the months-old foal is fond of pink geranium flowers whereas mum prefers the yellow marsh marigolds and white hydrangea flowers. There is an amazing abundance of nature. We're delighted to be on the back page of Jul/Aug Green Living magazine, see www.greenlivingmag.co.uk/latestissue.htm and we're in this month's BBC Wildlife mag. There's a special offer for Green Living readers and we're also offering special early bird bookings for next year. Just to let you know, we're planning an office move on Fri 19th Aug so expect some choas around that time. Finally, celebrating first fruits and grains of the season, we recommend Jim's Jams and his Creme de Cassis made from juicy blackcurrants. Enjoy the busy holiday season packed full of natural things to do! -14 July - Its official, we got our 5* with an extra gold award meaning our marks by Visit England were above 91%! We're pleased to report another great visit from Devon Wildlife Trust who offer much valued advice and support. We also had a moth survey done on the same weekend as the Reiki II workshop. They were both brilliant and we're excited by the amount and biodiversity of moths alone. Today the chirping of a second brood of fledgling birds in the housemartins' nest is silent. This same nest hosted flocks of tiny wrens in the freezing cold winter and its with a tinge of regret that we notice it is empty. Happily Swallows Nest is not empty. When our next guests arrive on Friday, we're fully booked until September. There are abundant crops of soft fruit, our first cabbage of many and great varieties of lettuce that make up the salad bags. In the meantime, we're drying peas for cooking and lavendar for fragrant herb bags. Thankfully, it is cool and there is a little rain so we are not having to water at present while we plan improved water collection and storage. -24 June - Karl a local craftsman and blacksmith made this sign for us made from riggles horseshoes and a lovely piece of ash. We just have to work out the best method of displaying it on the roadside! Good news on the stars and stripes, we've earnt full five stars plus gold rating, pending the paperwork from Visit Britain. Also we're pleased to report a great visit from Bumblebee Conservation Trust who are very supportive and we look forward to the Devon Wildlife Trust visit soon. We checked our plans listed below for Jan 2010 and we've managed all 6 items apart from the photovoltaic roof on the barn due to the capital expense involved but we're always reviewing our sustainability and we've got 6months further review. We attended the local biodynamic group midsummer stirring and applied the biodynamic preparations yesterday and today, co-ordinating with all those around the world who use this form of organic agriculture and gardening. It seems the wildlife like the process as young cub foxes walk past a few feet away from the kitchen window as bold as brass today but thankfully we still have a full count of chickens. Midsummer has brought squadrons of young birds learning to fly along with gorgeous weather, so enjoy this turn of year. -2 June - Summertime is green, growing and gracious here. We're delighted to report the bats are roosting and delighting us with their nightime flying, along with the daytime aerodynamics of all sorts of birds but particularly swallows and house martins whose nests are thriving. We're happy to report Devon Wildlife Trust are visiting at the end of June and we plan a visit from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust who think the endangered shrill carder bumblebee may be nesting near the hedgerows. Our thanks to Julie Mullen who interviewed us on Kingston Hospital Radio. Click on the picture on the left to hear the interview but be warned, the file is 5.3Mbytes and may be a little slow to load. Due to the dry weather, we had white dandelion snow with many white flowers and seeds opening, including peas. Have you tried nettle pesto? Its a nutritious and suprisingly tasty but catch those nettles quickly as its best before they flower. We're also delighted with the nature diary, there's so much going on here its lovely to capture it in the diary and our guests are continuing the good work so we'll be borrowing from the diary to keep you updated here and on our Facebook group. -5 May - Where to begin this month's blog with so many themes and things happening, such as a pair of mallards checking out the pond for nesting but without a central island its not safe. A pair of nuthatches waited at the bird feeder like jewelled birds first thing in the morning and the hirundines are starting to nest. Jim's polytunnel has tomatoes growing and we've got help from Jim's fantastic mum who is now 84years planting up seedlings, bless her! We're beavering away in here as the change in ownership has meant we have to re-earn our quality stars and stripes. In the meanwhile, guests have asked us to start a Facebook group for them to post photos of their stay here and we've also loaded photos sent by email, so do look us up. Jim's daily blog on Twitter and Facebook seems very popular and he's healing well after his knee operation which has delayed some of the planting. We're delighted that the new hedge created by laying beech trees has greened up and many of the willow and other hedging is growing well, another small step on our woodland management. Enjoy the late but lovely spring as we move into summertime! -12 April - The first swallows are circling, the woodland has a carpet of wild sorrel with its white bell-like flowers, lambs of a caring local farmer thrive in our fields and the ponds have some lovely blossoms including a mixture of white or purple flowering snakeshead fritillary. Its great to share this with guests, family and friends! Good news as we write, the polytunnel is going up and Jim has his first orders for plants to sell. Our Easter guests had the first wild swim of the season and gently rowed the small flat-bottomed boat in the spring sunshine. We had wild ducks visiting, both mallards and pintails. Earlier, the buzzard fished out frogs but left the frog spawn that has now hatched into tadpoles. We’re delighted with our first woofing, in more ways than one; we’ve had invaluable help with planting out and building perfect wood piles with the help of a young WWOOFer*. Then we’ve also been learning about the woof - the archaic form of weft - as in threads that run crosswise in a woven fabric our guests have been learning to weave. However, we have also hit a few problems along this journey but no doubt they will resolve in time. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this lovely spring season. *WWOOFer is a Willing Worker On an Organic Farm and provides experiences in sustainable living – we’re not registered yet as organic but we are organic gardeners and members of Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) here at Riggles Farm House -26 Mar - A brilliant Marchtime, with gorgeous weather and spring flowers. We've made great progress, revamping the web pages so a big thank you to all those involved particularly David Dambe. Those of you who asked about our March blog, apologies for its lateness. We're being encouraged to write a weekly blog but let us know if you think a more regular monthly one is enough! We're delighted to get planning permission for the polytunnel and its now ordered and due to got up in a couple of weeks, We've made connections with other small retreats in the immediate area and further afield, including a wonderful visit to and linking with The Hilfield Peace and Environment Project at Hilfield Priory near Dorchester www.hilfieldproject.co.uk/jumpoff-ecology.htm Delighted to join the Blackdown Hills transition group http://blackdownhillstransition.org/,
a hub to support and encourage community action that reduces carbon
reliance, and plans for energy Also, we joined South Devon Biodynamic organisation and Tom Petherick of Cholwell Farm www.cholwellfarm.com/ where Jim helped make the seasonal biodynamic preparation which we then spread here while we seriously consider biodynamic organic registration for our produce. Finally, we're enjoying our guests staying here at Swallows Nest and we welcome Easter, its guests and visitors. -15 Feb - -6Jan2010- Its a snowy January here after wonderful festivities and New Year, where we warmly welcomed and so appreciated our wonderful guests including the retreat at Swallows Nest. We participated in some of the inspirational meditations and set out some of our plans for the year ahead while admiring that full moon, so watch this space! Here are some of the plans we hope to bring to fruition this year: 1) a polytunnel to extend the growing season, along with clearing of brambles and other snail and slug shelters 2) photovoltaic roof on the barn - thankfully the roof is already strengthened in anticipation of the extra weight 3) connections and research into small retreats including reiki training in Swallows Nest between holiday lets 4) hedgerow, coppice, woodland and tree management including wood fuel cycle 5) updating the links on the webpages to reflect our developments here 6) chickens and their protection from our resident fox familes. Finally, many of you are asking how we're doing and how we spend our time. Each day in the winter we take about an hour to clean, prepare, light, tend and fuel the wood burning boiler. We are amazed at how much time we spend on admin and care of Swallows Nest including the webpages! Also, today we had fun clearing snow from paths with the help of Barker, our border collie. So we are looking forward to the longer days and more clement weather to get going on our projects and growing those seeds. Enjoy a healthy, peaceful and productive 2010! -16Dec2009- Jim and Lesley Rogan moved on 27th November 2009 with the vision to care for our environment and make a difference. We feel so fortunate to be given this opportunity at the special site and to look after Swallows Nest to welcome newcomers and those returning for a holiday. We are also lucky that our first Swallows Nest let was to the perfect couple and we are priviledged to have welcomed them as our first guests. Moreover we can only thank all those hundreds of people who have sent us well wishes as emails, phone calls, lovely cards, candles, pottery not from Upottery, flowers and even a beautiful olive peace tree! Moreover the people here are warm and welcoming too. Jim returns today from his three week commute to complete his notice on his conventional job, so watch these pages develop as we do! For now, we will be resting over the festive season, preparing for the year ahead and pouring over seed catalogues while Swallows Nest is let as a retreat over the same period. So we wish you a peaceful and fulfilled Yuletide Season with a year ahead of unlimited possibilities. Jim and Lesley |
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