Remember the birds in bad weather

Here in Suffolk and other parts of the country our world is covered in snow. Our thoughts have been with the birds who can always do with our help in bad weather. This is what the RSPB say about feeding. ‘During cold spells your supply of food can save the lives of birds. Make sure [...]

Refreshing Curtains

Last week we had a visit from Janet Williams a crafts lady  from Suffolk who gave us a few hints on refreshing and revitalising curtains. Janet makes home made accessories for the home but has extensive knowledge of materials and in particular curtains. She suggested that instead of attempting to wash curtains a really good [...]

Harvesting Walnuts

What a fantastic year we have had for walnuts! I have never seen so many hanging off the trees. Here is some information on how to get the best from your harvest: Check for ripeness. The nuts are falling fast now here in Suffolk and the nuts have split hulls. Break open a few sample [...]

Cider making

We have already made one batch of cider this year and tomorrow (after the rugby) we will head to the orchards again to gather and press some more apples. We have a large Vigo cider press which is the real deal. The taste of the fresh juice takes some beating and it’s a great day [...]

New products coming soon…

We have spent the summer developing a new range of Kitchen Iron products for your home. We will soon add these to our website. They include wooden chopping boards, kitchen door knobs and handles plus a lovely notice board to keep all of your ‘To do’s’ in one place. Here is a sneek preview of [...]

What’s in your kitchen?

My wife was given a wooden plate rack that her auntie was giving away to a good home. We managed to fit it into our old lean-to kitchen and decided to store it while our extension was being built. We had no idea whether it would fit into our new kitchen but hoped it would. [...]

Our new trees

On Saturday I decided to take a visit to see how the new trees that we planted in February this year are getting on. They were all planted as part of is the tree planting pledge we have made which helps give something back to the environment that the business uses. There are 2 common [...]

Apple Blossom

Last years apples for me were a disaster. We had a late frost locally which seriously affected the blossom and therefore the apples and therefore my cider crop! This year we have been blessed with amazing blossom. The trees look stunning. This photo was taken at a local farm where I am allowed to pick [...]

Something for nothing.

It seems that spring is well and truly here does it not? I love this time of the year. The trees I have planted as part of our eco pledge are showing signs of life which is great. One of my favorite trees that we plant each year is Hawthorn or sometimes known as Quickthorn. [...]

Lucky find

Amazingly I found these crab apples today when out walking with my family. They are all really firm and just perfect to make in to jelly! What is amazing is that they have withstood weather as cold as minus 15 and have remained unscathed. I picked these up and will have enough for one or [...]