First Bluebell in the woods!

Last weekend we saw the first Bluebell in the woods!

It's been a busy week for work, which is why I've only just got around to posting it here...

There's loads of other flowers out too. I tried some artistic photos of this daffodil and old log, one with the flower in focus, the other with the log in focus:

Wood Anemones are spreading fast. Compare this photo with one taken two weeks earlier:

Up the hill in Sweep Wood, where we coppiced just over a year ago, the ground flora is creating a low-level jungle!

and at the very top there are Nettles and Dogs Mercury competing for light:

There's also other odd things there, probably garden escapees:

Further down in the hill, where we were working just a few months ago, there are some odd shrub-like plants, that I remember trying to avoid damaging while felling. I'll wait and see if they flower to try and ID them, but any suggestions welcome!

Moving onto the trees... Sweet Chestnut buds are on the point of opening:

While Hornbeam is already out:

and Birch is way ahead:

It's also nice to see shoots coming out on the coppiced Hornbeam, I expect the other species won't be far behind:

Finally, I was pleased to get a couple of photos of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, as it was a difficult shot - high up in an Oak with lots of twigs in the way:

There's not much longer to get photos of birds before the leaves hide them from view until the Autumn.

Finally, we cooked dinner on the woodgas campstoves, and sat by the fire until dusk.

A very pleasant Sunday evening!

Mike

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Eco-refubishment - installing off-grid solar PV (part 1)

Yesterday we installed our solar PV panels on the roof!

But let's start at the beginning... Our friend Rich came to help us do the work, as he's had past experience doing roofing work. We did a work swap, I helped him in his wood back in January, in return for his help yesterday. He also brought a lot of useful kit with him, like this scaffold tower:

The process started by removing some tiles to find where the rafters were under the batons, as the brackets needed to screw onto these for strength.

Having located these, we decided to grind a slot in the tiles so that they'd fit neatly round the brackets:

Then the brackets could be screwed down (with a small wooden spacer underneath to help them fit better):

and the tiles slotted back in:

Of course, it wasn't all that simple, as soon as you put any weight on the bracket it put pressure onto the tiles at a single point, and some broke...

To resolve this we used more spacers underneath, bent the brackets slightly and also used the grinder to thin the tile a bit at that point, giving more clearance for the bracket:

Here's the detail of how the rails fix onto the brackets:

And here's an interlocking piece of aluminium to join two rails together (we had two 2m rails). There's a couple of allen key bolts to lock it in place.

Then it was time to clamp down the panels. Here's a clamp with one panel in, and space for the next:

and here's one with both panels in and tightened up:

The first three panels in place:

And here's the finished set, with the solar thermal tubes higher up the roof:

The wires from the panels are zip-tied in place under the panels:

Then they all come down in a bundle to connect into a junction box:

That'll come in Part 2 though, where I'll explain the wiring system.


Mike

Related posts:

• Insulating the cavity walls
• Insulating the loft
• Flat roof insulation
• Insulating the dormer roof
• Sweeping the chimney
• Installing the wood stove
• Plumbing and testing the wood stove
• Installing solar water heating
• Installing off-grid solar PV (part 2)
• Off-grid solar PV upgrade to 750W
• Off-grid solar PV upgrade to 1250W

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EWB students build us a firewood shelter

Last weekend we had a group of students from Engineers Without Borders UK (Imperial College branch) come to camp in the wood and also build us an additional firewood drying shelter.

We started off with a walk round the wood to admire the Wood Anemones:

and also the bridge that EWB built last year in Sweep Wood:

Then the first part of the shelter building started - carrying back some of the Sweet Chestnut stakes we'd made during this winter's coppicing:

Before starting on the new shelter, we all had a good look at the old one, to see how it could be improved:

Then an area was measured out so that the tarps we have would cover the roof:

and work started on peeling the stakes, so they'll last longer in the ground:

The stakes were put in with the post driver:

and then the rest of their length was peeled - this was easier to do once they were in the ground, which is why we'd only done the first bit earlier:

While all this was going on, some of the group was off felling small trees to use for stakes in the walls and also for roof slats:

Before long the outline of the shelter was taking shape:

Because the ground was slightly sloped, but we wanted the roof to be level, we used an old plastic pipe with water in it to check the relative height of thet corner stakes:

After all that work it was time for a break, and the rope swing was put into use...

The trees that had been felled earlier were cut to length and sharpened with a side axe:

then these were used to create posts that Hazel rods could be woven in between to form the walls:

The longer poles to form the ridge and edges of the roof were flattened using a draw knife until they sat neatly on the posts, then they were bolted down:

By the end of Saturday the shelter was really taking shape:

Sunday saw work start on using a froe to cleave the freshly felled chestnut poles to make slats for the roof:

Each of these then had to be smoothed with a draw knife or billhook to make sure it wouldn't tear the tarp later on:

The slats were then put on the roof:

with each being nailed in at the top to secure it:

near the end the drill battery ran out, but fortunately I'd come prepared!

And finally, on went the tarps, fixed down with zip ties and paracord, just in time for a team photo before it was time to pack up camp:

In case you were wondering, there was also some time for food, camp fires and beer!

Tracy and I are very grateful for all the help we received over the weekend - it would have taken us at least a week to get it done ourselves! Looking forward to another visit next year...

Mike

p.s. there are more photos than the ones in this blog, visit the set on my Flickr page to see the rest.

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