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The Ecologist Blog

Better Bread Than Dead
Fergus on 09/05/2008
I won't pretend that the last five weeks have been easy. In fact everything has been far harder than I anticipated. This is all because the number one ingredient of any completely wild food diet is not ...more
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Spring mushrooms
Hedgewizard on 01/05/2008
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been wandering up and down sniffing - but in a good way. Wild mushrooms. Putting aside for one moment the worries that people have about identifying ...more
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Speeding up to slow down
Fergus on 24/04/2008
Speeding up to slow down; speeding up to mow down; the first reflects one of the terrible ironies of the modern world; the second, one of its tragedies: Roadkill.The concepts of both tragedy and irony ...more
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Place, identity, culture - The fight for Real England
Paul Kingsnorth on 21/04/2008
So there I am, travelling the world, 28 years old, young and bright and bushy tailed and radical. It's 2001 and I'm moving from continent to continent, meeting radicals and firebrands and revolutionaries ...more
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The Caffeine Kick Gets A Kicking
Fergus on 18/04/2008
Four years in a row I've fasted for one or two weeks twice a year - just drinking water. This is a wonderful thing to do - provided you're not anorexic and your health is good. Anyway, the first four days, ...more
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The Fruit Cage
Hedgewizard on 17/04/2008
Welcome to Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week I’m sitting in a car, halfway up a hillside in rural Dorset, in the middle of a heavy hailstorm which is, quite frankly, getting on my tits. It’s ...more
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How to skin a Badger
Fergus on 11/04/2008
My name is Fergus Drennan or Fergus the Forager as I like to be called - not the roadkill chef (I blame that particular moniker on Paul Kingsnorth) and..well, I'm just an average bloke really. Nevertheless, ...more
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Of flapjack.
Kitchen Witch on 10/04/2008
Flapjack is a subject particularly close to my heart. Not a biscuit, yet not quite an un-biscuit, the oaty delightfulness of a decent flapjack can hardly be surpassed by the best of chocolatey offerings, ...more
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The Poultry Auction
Hedgewizard on 09/04/2008
Welcome to Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been trying to comprehend a man in a truly horrible suit. You have to understand that this is Dorset - the home of skittles, thrown two-handed less ye ...more
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Living with apocalypse
Paul Kingsnorth on 03/04/2008
According to the Ecologist's web editor, something happens every time he publishes a blog by me. He receives a number of emails from readers asking one of two things, or sometimes both. One: if this guy ...more
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Tyreless efforts.
Kitchen Witch on 27/03/2008
You know that whole thing about the best-laid plans? Yes. That. This weekend, I meant to plant potatoes. Now, I realise they're quite late, and that is entirely because... *scrabbles about mentally to ...more
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HAT WEARER!
Hedgewizard on 26/03/2008
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow. This week, it being the start of the holidays and this being Dorset, I have been driving... incredibly slowly. But it's not caravans that are the problem, oh no. So ...more
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Loaves.
Kitchen Witch on 20/03/2008
I have already wittered on many times, both here and on my own blog, about how much I love making bread. Oh, so much. The sensation of pounding a bloody great lump of dough about the place, the joy of ...more
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Driving Me Dental
Hedgewizard on 19/03/2008
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been sitting in a very uncomfortable chair. I just got less fond of dentists, if that's at all possible. Actually, that's being unfair; I'm only ...more
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Old News Is Good News
Hedgewizard on 12/03/2008
Welcome to Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been fiddling with little bits of paper (and laughing at Jeremy Clarkson but that's another story). There isn't enough waste paper in the Hollow. That ...more
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Why things are still getting worse
Paul Kingsnorth on 06/03/2008
For quite some time I have been bothered by a nagging thought. A worry, which I have avoided addressing properly for fear that it may undermine quite a lot of what I'm about. It's a worry that can be summed ...more
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Rats and cake, but not together.
Kitchen Witch on 06/03/2008
We appear to have something of a rat issue going on. The issue is largely that, well, there is a rat. A large rat. A rat who digs into the chickens' wired-in run at night, cunningly going underneath, where ...more
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Happles
Hedgewizard on 04/03/2008
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been planting seeds - and dreaming about apples. The title of this entry is courtesy of Number Two Son. Actually he hasn't said "happle" ...more
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Caulipakora
Hedgewizard on 28/02/2008
Welcome to Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been making the best of a green thing. I've decided that homesteading is the word for me. Such a friendly word, conjuring up images of making preserves ...more
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Sheepses.
Kitchen Witch on 28/02/2008
I want a sheep. I realise this is perhaps an unusual request, but the thing is, the ones with tails, curly horns and dark expressions just make me think of all the many creative projects that are currently ...more
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LETS weld
Hedgewizard on 20/02/2008
Welcome to Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been cursing at small birds. Yesterday I put together the frame for a home-made fruit cage, before the little birds (or as the Bleedin' Cats call them, ...more
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The Sky at Night
Hedgewizard on 14/02/2008
Welcome to Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been contemplating the sky.It's been a great week for staring at the stars out here in the sticks. Usually at this time of the year a clear night means ...more
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The Once And Future Pumpkins
Hedgewizard on 07/02/2008
Welcome to Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been worrying about my wind problem.When you use the word hedge, most people envisage a vertical wall of box, privet or laurel, pruned and clipped to ...more
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Coming to a small plot near me soon:
Kitchen Witch on 07/02/2008
POTATO Charlotte 500g bagTOMATO Gardeners DelightBASIL Sweet GenovesePARSLEY Italian GiantBROAD BEAN Super Aquadulce SMALLLEAF BEET Rainbow ChardRUNNER BEAN Kelvedon MarvelCLIMBING BEAN Barlotta Lingua ...more
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So. Pregnancy.
Kitchen Witch on 31/01/2008
There are lots of things that people tell you about being pregnant. There is morning sickness, and swollen ankles, and food cravings, and tiredness, and various other exciting things to contend with. What ...more
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Eggciting times.
Kitchen Witch on 24/01/2008
I am very eggcited! Very eggcited indeed! Eggcellent news, reader, and without a shadow of a clue: the hens have started laying! Four eggs over a twenty-four hour period! FOUR EGGS! HOW EGGCITING! I should ...more
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The Pond Killer
Hedgewizard on 24/01/2008
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been seeing the world in a grain of sand. Poor Witchypoo. We set up a little wildlife pond at the bottom of the Slope this summer (it's about 6'x8' ...more
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A quick recipe while I fiddle with my toes and think of something more interesting to say.
Kitchen Witch on 18/01/2008
I had lots of fantastic plans to write about the many and varied green aspects of being pregnant (cloth nappies? homebirths? essential oils with which to cunningly avoid stretch marks?). The plans were ...more
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The Clones are Coming
Tom Levitt on 17/01/2008
Anyone fancy eating Dolly the sheep? I am being serious. The EU, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that it is perfectly safe for us to eat meat from cloned animals. Excuse me for missing ...more
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Post Peak Lighting
Hedgewizard on 17/01/2008
Greetings, and welcome to Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been trying not to look down.I hate ladders. I mean I really, really hate ladders. I blame my knees; for some weird anatomical reason I ...more
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Chicken Out!
Hedgewizard on 10/01/2008
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I've been watching the God of Self-Sufficiency on the telly.I'm talking about Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who is of course no stranger to the small screen. ...more
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Pea soup makes everything better.
Kitchen Witch on 10/01/2008
[archive plunder]No, really. I know it sounds unlikely, but it works. Mr. KW came home from work feeling that the world was a little too much with him today somehow, and is currently reclining upstairs ...more
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What to do with all that Christmas cake.
Kitchen Witch on 03/01/2008
So, there you are, surrounded by acres of satsumas, nuts, semi-decayed cake, and quite probably that mincemeat that the cat rolled under the sofa with the other day. How to dig yourself out from this depressing ...more
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The Year In Shameless Flashback
Hedgewizard on 03/01/2008
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week I have been nursing my raspberry gin hangover, and looking back on 2007 in a hootenannish manner. As a commercial grower said to me lately, "You can't ...more
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Chips for Christmas
Hedgewizard on 27/12/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Ho-Ho-Hollow! This week, everything seems to have been about trees. I used to live in a Christmas tree plantation, which will surprise no-one who knows me a great deal. I was ...more
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There are some really odd people out there, you know.
Kitchen Witch on 20/12/2007
A short while ago, I discovered that - horror of horrors! - there are people in this world who do not consider mulled wine to be a pretty good reason for continued life on this planet. It was a harsh moment ...more
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Parsnips - the Undersold Root
Hedgewizard on 20/12/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been eating parsnips. Now, don't make that face. If you just puckered up, chances are you haven't encountered parsnips since your mother indulged ...more
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Our Christmas present to the future
Paul Kingsnorth on 17/12/2007
You might be expecting me to be furious about the outcome of the latest climate change shindig in Bali. Furious about the whole thing, perhaps: 15,000 people fly to this sunny little island from all corners ...more
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Finishing with Chickens
Hedgewizard on 13/12/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been getting my hands dirty - and trying not to go shopping.As I watch the grim faces of the shoppers passing by, I can't help but reflect again about ...more
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Adventures in the world of non-alcoholic beverages.
Kitchen Witch on 12/12/2007
This week, I have mostly been boiling vast quantities of sugar, together with more spices than you can shake a large, and very prickly, stick at. Some weeks ago, I decided that I'd have a bash at concocting ...more
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Just a thought...
Kitchen Witch on 07/12/2007
Dear Father Chrimbly-Festive-Yuletide-Type-Person, If I am very very good, please could I have one of these most excellent woodland dwellings for my Chrimbly present next year? Please note: I am not fussy ...more
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Composting with Worms
Hedgewizard on 06/12/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been stealing from a nearby tyre specialist.For anyone who grows their own food, compost is always at a premium. Moisture retention, planting, mulching, ...more
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Of colds, sneezing, and general patheticness.
Kitchen Witch on 29/11/2007
Of course, it being my birthday, it was bloody inevitable that Mr. KW's cold would prove to be the sort of thing you only have to think about in order to catch. And of course, it would have to mean that ...more
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The Opportunistic Ecologist
Hedgewizard on 29/11/2007
In 2005, Dan Box, Tully Wakeman and Jeremy Smith put together an article for The Ecologist Online called The End of Cheap Oil - The Consequences. It made for sobering reading, but attracted little comment; ...more
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Of mulled wine.
Kitchen Witch on 22/11/2007
A random conversation this morning reveals the startling fact that the chap with whom I share an office, previously considered reasonably sane, DOES NOT LIKE MULLED WINE. This is serious, people. He thinks ...more
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Frog Tarts
Hedgewizard on 22/11/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been saying goodbye to autumn.It looks like winter is on the way, but there's still time to indulge in a spot of celery soup if you're that way inclined. ...more
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Here come the facts. By Paul Kingsnorth
Paul Kingsnorth on 15/11/2007
  Hi, I'm Brendan O'Neill - and you're an idiot That's a fact - an empirical one. Whether you like it or not. Let me explain. Not that I need to explain myself to you people. But let me do ...more
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Capitalism Broke My Wheelbarrow
Hedgewizard on 14/11/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been raging against the machine.My wheelbarrow died today, while I was digging the first of the Three Dreaded Holes. I'm a bit upset about this, because ...more
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How does one look like a vegetarian?
Kitchen Witch on 08/11/2007
The question of how one might look like a vegetarian has been puzzling me for some time. About a year ago, Mr. KW and I finally got round to going to our local pub. It had been a year since we'd moved ...more
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Liberty schmibberty
Paul Kingsnorth on 08/11/2007
Generally, I’m in favour of liberty. I’m not one of these ‘eco-fascists’ that Jeremy Clarkson likes to slobber on about ad nauseum. I don’t use my environmentalism ...more
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Hedgewizard in the City, Part 3*
Hedgewizard on 07/11/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been hunting orcs.A few weeks ago, Witchypoo and I ventured to the capital to sit behind a very pleasant but sadly wide gentleman to see the spectacle ...more
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Of pumpkins.
Kitchen Witch on 01/11/2007
Yesterday being Hallowe'en, aka Samhain, Mr. KW and I spent a happy hour ferreting about with a large orange pumpkin, merrily hurling gobbets of, well, pumpkin goo about the place as if it was going out ...more
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Environment Secretary Eats Hat: Exclusive
Hedgewizard on 31/10/2007
Back in January, the environment secretary David Miliband* caused me to spend a dyspeptic five minutes in my car until I arrived at work where I could tell everybody what an asshole I thought he was. His ...more
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Of chocolateness.
Kitchen Witch on 25/10/2007
OK. Largely from memory, here is the recipe for the rather fantabulous Hot Chocolate Brownie Pudding Cake, with, as aforementioned, optional Turkish Delight setting. Ironically, of course, there is no ...more
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Hedgewizard in the City, Part One
Hedgewizard on 24/10/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I've been learning how to make perfect papier-mâché while I sleep.I'd like to congratulate you, gentle reader. ...more
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The Fan Club
Hedgewizard on 17/10/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I've been eaten alive. Hedgewizard has a fan club. Oh yes, he does. There are several hundred of them, and they're extremely persistent; I had thought about ...more
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Of tomatoes.
Kitchen Witch on 16/10/2007
Some weeks ago I foolishly volunteered various recipes, some of which were new discoveries, while some were old favourites. Who, after all, could experience hot chocolate brownie pudding cake without it ...more
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Of wine.
Kitchen Witch on 11/10/2007
Hello. My name is Kitchen Witch, and I am a compulsive wine-maker. Well, strictly speaking, I am a compulsive wine-maker, and a compulsive wine-finishing-off avoider. Fundamentally, the lesson to be ...more
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Can you hear me?
Paul Kingsnorth on 11/10/2007
In any given week, many things happen which make me think. Last week, for example, I asked myself a number of questions about British politics. Did David Cameron really make that speech without any prompting? ...more
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No to Nuclear
Polly Higgins on 11/10/2007
50 years to the day after the Calder Hall fire at Sellafield (then called Windscale), we find ourselves back at square one. 10 October 1957 was day the world’s first nuclear reactor generating ...more
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Seals and Shaggy Ink Caps
Hedgewizard on 10/10/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week I've got a bit of a fungal problem, and I'm not sure if the doctor can help with this one.It all started mumblety years ago when I was a carefree student ...more
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Of apples.
Kitchen Witch on 04/10/2007
Ad-hoc apple wine, courtesy of a windfall (see what I did there?) from some friends, seemed too easy to turn out well, but so far the signs are good. Faced with such good fortune, it would seem rude not ...more
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Encounters with Wildlife
Hedgewizard on 03/10/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been watching my wife juggle with rabbits.I should explain. The Hollow is situated right on the edge of the most biodiverse area in Britain, largely ...more
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Lime plaster, the wonders thereof.
Kitchen Witch on 27/09/2007
We spent the greater part of Saturday on a lime-rendering course run by the Yarner Trust, an eco-orientated charity found near the North Devon coast in a delicious village called Welcombe. The course ...more
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Drying Tonight!
Hedgewizard on 26/09/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been practising Procrasthenics, my own system of exercise. I've been thinking of marketing it, too - "Work for the ...more
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Culling Keats
Hedgewizard on 19/09/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been suffering from jam-induced sleep deprivation.Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness...It's Keats weather. I can tell this by the smells, as ...more
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Lurking doubts.
Kitchen Witch on 13/09/2007
For me, autumn is the best time of year. There's a definite nip in the air in the early mornings now, I'm happy to say. I like the cool breezy mornings, and the early encroaching darkness. I like bottling ...more
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Of incidental tomato chutney.
Kitchen Witch on 06/09/2007
This week found me making tomato chutney, largely because we appear to have had a tomato explosion in the greenhouse while I was, well, probably farting about with the chickens, if I'm honest. I went in ...more
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The Clampett Factor
Hedgewizard on 05/09/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been trying to reduce the Clampett Factor of the Hollow.For months a little while now, right down at the bottom of my "to do" list, there's ...more
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Of chickens, mark II.
Kitchen Witch on 30/08/2007
So, chickens. Four of 'em. It is possible that previously two was the number settled on. Well, these things are subject to change, without notice, of course. It's all Ally's fault. She's a chicken-pusher, ...more
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String Theory
Hedgewizard on 30/08/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been remembering my onions. All right, so it's not quite Keats weather yet, but the last of the crop still in the ground finally fell over, so I took ...more
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Of knitting.
Kitchen Witch on 23/08/2007
This week, I have mostly been tangled up in a large ball of wool. Admittedly, it's a very pretty ball of wool, but still, being unable to move your fingers because of the rather complicated (and not un-yoga-like) ...more
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Numpties no more! (History, part 1)
Hedgewizard on 22/08/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, I have been relaxing. Just the tiniest bit, you understand, because the Hedgewizard doesn't really do relaxed. There's always too much weeding to do.But ...more
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I can't apologize enough.
Hedgewizard on 16/08/2007
Greetings from Hedgewizard's Hollow! This week, with rain forecast, I have been beetling around trying to do jobs that would get harder in the wet; trimming back bushes, cutting grass, and lifting potatoes. ...more
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Of chickens.
Kitchen Witch on 16/08/2007
We appear to be getting some chickens. First, let me state, for the record, that I didn't, er, intend this. Well, not... quite. And second, again for the record, I did suggest only two. To start with. ...more
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