#rural skills

[crazysolaranarchist]

Hedges and how to lay 'em.

(weird first post, I found these photos on my phone and wanted to write something. Sorry if my formatting repulses you- I'm new around these parts, my grammar will be bad coz tired. This guide is only to spark the imagination, please consult a variety of sources before carrying out a task such as this)

Hedges. Not the planted rows Buxus or Leylandii that many in Western Europe have become accustomed to as the staple boundary, I'm talking about the old fashioned, stock boundary hedge.

Tools and equipment

PPE, including waterproof clothing and acceptable footwear.

A billhook or hatchet

A pruning saw

Welding gauntlets

First of all we need to lay some basic principles out. Angiosperm trees can heal themselves quite well in funny ways that make them grow in strange ways, case in point 👇

(Credit: Gardener's path)

As long as layer of various plant based plumbing, xylem and phloem, remains a it can survive an injury such as this one 👇 that I made,

(Sorry the photo is crap, my phone camera isn't great).

Why did I do this? Am I a sick, twisted motherfucker who likes to torture trees? No. Well sometimes on a Saturday evening with consent from all parties, but this my friends is the starting move to laying a hedge. (Note, this should be done when the sap isn't flowing, my preference is January to February, but can be carried out from October to March in the northern hemisphere).

Individual trees on a bank in a row are referred to as pleachers. These require a 45 (ish) degree cut to be made three quarters of the way through the stem. It should then be bent over👇

(Credit: Devon rural skills hub)

This pleacher, if not the first, can be woven into the rest, wear gloves for the love of God almighty. This is an intricate job, a neat hedge should have very little lean and brush should preferably be concentrated in gaps. Cutting the pleacher will leave a pointed wedge of wood at the base of the stem, called a spar, this can impale someone if not cut off so please do.

This is the completed hedge, which is laid in the Glamorgan style.

The trees that make up the hedge will grow into a thick, tall, living barrier.

Hedges must be relaid over generations, and soon enough I'll have a video detailing how to plant a hedgerow.

History

Hedgerows were invented by John Hedge and his husband Hugh Row in 1755...oh no that's my rural history fanfic. Hedges were actually invented by, well actually we don't know. I've heard it said that they've cropped up in the fertile crescent and ancient Rome. My personal theory is that they are a Neolithic or earlier invention which resulted from a failed coppicing attempt (coppicing post coming to a Tumblr blog near you) the individual who happened to do it may have discovered that the tree was still alive and thus the possibilities of tree shaping were extended to barriers.

Now, as an ancom who decries attempts to stifle the rights of the proletariat, I would be remiss in informing you of one important part of hedge history: the enclosure of the commons. Common land formerly was land for people to graze stock, pannage pigs, forage, hunt and collect firewood. The inclosure act of 1773 allowed private landowners to close common off from the commoners thus creating starvation. And it was all done with hedges, eco-friendly opression of the working class! Yaaaaay!

The importance of hedgerows.

Hang on, you may think to yourself, eco-friendly? How is savaging trees eco-friendly? Good question, dear reader. For a number of reasons;

The regrowth of trees means no loss of fruit or flowers in the long run, thus providing food resources to animals.

Shelter is provided to herps, inverts, nesting birds and small mammals through a diverse branch structure.

The general damp and dim conditions provides a safe haven for bryophytes and fungi.

The hedgebank is a bread and butter to the burrowing animal. Foxes, badgers and rabbits all frequently use hedgebank as the entrance to their dens, setts and warrens.

They act as wildlife corridors for animals to travel from habitat to habitat, thereby helping to combat habitat fragmentation.

Hedgerows in Wales have declined 50% since the second world war and the push to mechanise agriculture. 60% of our current hedgerows are in a substandard condition.

There is a human benefit too, and it isn't just the confinement of livestock.

My maternal family are South Welsh rural folk: foresters, shepherds and the like. My paternal family are Romanichal, who lived a nomadic life in former days. Both have one thing in common: life without the hedgerow that provided fruit and meat would have been a damn site much harder than what it already was.

Therefore I advocate the hedge not only to preserve wildlife but also to provide ample wild fruits (though I wouldn't recommend crab apples to eat, other trees like bullaces and medlars are excellent) and meat for the poorer rural working class, the ever increasing rural homeless population and whomever else needs it.

DISCLAIMER!!!!

I haven't covered everything here, so if you don't look up any other sources you'll probably bugger up somewhere. Please do your homework and make sure you don't injure yourself, or potentially harm nature.

#conservation #rural #rural skills #country skills #cottagecore #solarpunk #wildlife #fair shares #permaculture #livestock #don't sue me if you try this and something goes wrong please #hedgelaying #hedgerow #countryside management #countryside #gardening

[hedgehog-moss]

Record numbers of protesters all over France today. Images from Paris, Toulouse, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Rennes, Lyon, Lille, Marseille.

Major highways and bridges along with train stations, ports, warehouses and refineries blocked by demonstrators and unions, many universities and high schools blocked by students, Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe & Palace of Versailles closed to tourists, 25% of workers on strike in the national electricity and railway companies, 15% of all civil servants on strike. Protests were organised in every major city and many smaller ones. Could have added a lot more pics of huge crowds in Strasbourg, Nantes, Limoges, Orléans, Nancy, Annecy, Brest, Mulhouse, Pau, Montpellier, Rouen, Le Mans, Bayonne, Toulon, Tours...

And kudos to Brittany for consistently out-Brittanying itself this month, between the nurses who brought out the catapult again while playing the biniou, and the fishermen who sent a tractor to face down the police’s water cannon Transformers-style, your protests have a special place in my heart.

#frpol #there were small town marches in my rural region that brought out as big a crowd as we can possibly muster :') #i asked my mum if the France TV info livestream had mentioned small town protests and she said ''no they're on strike'' ah well. good #roads were blocked here too but nowhere near where i live or else pampe could have done her part in the national effort #she's used to being on roads for the purpose of being an inconvenience i think she'd have liked to use her skills for a good cause

[frozenartscapes]

EdenAU idea where Loid/Twilight - one of WISE's youngest agents - is assigned to go undercover as a student in Ostania's Eden Academy to look into a few of the students most likely to go into politics. It's all going fine until one day when his gym class has a "wilderness survival" excursion way out on the grounds and he runs into this weird girl he's never seen before. She's about his age - maybe a little younger - but is decidedly not a student (evidenced from her lack of uniform, messy hair, and all the scrapes and bruises). Despite her wild appearance she was really nice and they ended up foraging for mushrooms together. But when he went back to his group no one believed him when he mentioned a strange girl he found in the woods.

He then keeps running into her. Turns out her name is Yor, and that she lives in the city with her brother. They moved there after their parents died and it's sometimes still hard to buy all the food they need so she often goes foraging on Eden's grounds (since it's the largest natural greenspace still within the city proper). He does try to convince Franky that she's real but there's always some kind of wacky circumstance that keeps her from being revealed to the other students. Loid is even starting to wonder if he actually saw her or if all the stress has finally gotten to him.

#I’m thinking Yor is still a garden assassin in this but is in training #and therefore not getting paid top dollar yet #also old habits die hard after starting out in her rural home where foraging was easier #and maybe she’s eventually caught but Henderson is impressed by her elegant survival skills #(or he learns about what she’s doing and decides to help her out) #maybe Yuri eventually gets in this way and now Loid has another problem #spy x family #fic ideas #au ideas #eden au #loid forger #yor briar

[alexjcrowley]

Never getting over Luke Skywalker story being he finds the tape of a political figure he has never seen before asking to be rescued, the old crazy neighbour tells Luke his dad was a mystical space wizard and Luke is like "okay" like he doesn't even ask his uncle and aunt confirmation of that, he just wholeheartedly believes the old crazy hermit neighbour who people say is crazy, so Luke embarks on mission with the equivalent of a very low life thug who tokyo drifts or smth to infiltrate in a government facility and free a political prisoner of whom he knows nothing of, especially NOT the reason why this person is convicted, which could potentially be for actual crimes. In all of that his only relatives die but apparently he already engaged in this side quest so he can't really call it off, right?

Star Wars is truly magical.

#btw this is what happens when you homeschool kids in small rural towns #you think you got them under control WRONG they're gonna be even more rebellious #also luke did uncle Owen never teach you to NOT listen to old strangers who pretend to know your parents #it seems like life skill 101 to ne but okay #luke skywalker #star wars

[wandering-spaghetti]

Today we are darning socks. I’m going to update this post with progress pics once I take them. This sock had a pretty large hole in the heel from wear and a puppy decided it was a chew toy as well. So I’m going to fix it. Because I’m not trying to buy socks right now because I’m poor 😂

Im using a handy dandy Speedweve loom to patch this hole. I absolutely love using this little guy to mend holes. I’ll link to it below for anyone that wants one.

I do have to mention that the rubber bands that came with the one I bought were trash. So get your own rubber bands. But the lion itself is a game changer.

#mending #hand sewing #stitching #fix it #mend don’t buy #sustainable #sustainablefashion #sustainability #i’m poor #we fix things here #southern living #country girl #country living #rural life #slowfashion #slow living #simple #simple life #life skills #depression skills #poor people shit #meditation #I sew because I can’t afford therapy #or socks #I hate throwing things away too #why am i like this

[heelanhomestead]

Busy making window bird feeders.

We all enjoyed this little home school project and it was perfect for a snowy day stuck indoors. Our boys had a wonderful time following the instructions and learning how to use the tools. Now we just have to wait and hope the birds can find it … 🤞

#scotland #lifestyle #outdoors #adventure #handmade #family #homesteading #craft #countrylife #countryliving #rurallife #rural #bird feeder #bird #birds #learning #homeschool mom #homesteader #homestead life #nature #wildlife #animals #home #homeschooling #life #childhood #happiness #wood #woodworking #skills

[pocket-mobster]

should be asleep but instead i'm up thinking about how one time a couple years ago my parents were having lawnwork done and i was sitting in my then-new city car hacking the console (as one does), and the landscaping guy (who i've NEVER talked to before) was like "hey i heard you got a new car" and i, sitting in my new car, was like "...yeah?" and he was like "why didn't you get a pickup truck"

now what i said was "iunno" and the conversation ended there. but nearly three years later i'm deadass googling why people buy pickup trucks cuz i can't think of a good reason to get one let alone for someone to ask why I don't have one. like idk man why WOULD i get a pickup truck? i don't haul shit, i don't tow shit, i don't plow shit, and i certainly don't drive anywhere that isn't a fuckin road. give me a couple seats and a half decent trunk and i'm good.

but more pertinently, what kind of life do you have to live where the numero uno thing on your mind when someone—ESPECIALLY someone you don't know—gets a car is "is it a pickup truck, and if not, why the fuck not"? i need to talk to that guy again and find out what his deal is cuz i can't even begin to wrap my head around this.

#ipj speaks #its probably just a stupid man thing and/or a misfired neg but jfc ur in ur 40s get some social skills or leave me the fuck alone #did i mention idk this guy? americans get shit for talking to strangers but ill have u know that A LOT of us dont #pretty sure its an urban/rural divide thing..which explains some other weird situations ive found myself in

[pepprs]

im going to scream. im actually going to scream

#we are about to watch another fucking graphic video about someone dying in a c*r cr*sh. for no reason. it has nothing to do with anything we #are learning about today which is supposed to be skills for driving in urban suburban and rural settings. like this is making me crazy. why #are we watching this shit as if we haven’t watched different versions of this story every day for 5 days and now 5 more days to look forward #to starting now. going to scream goingto scream going to scream. #drivers ed tag #delete later #ask to tag #purrs

[thresholdbb]

Captain Kathryn “Can-identify-horseshit-by-smell-alone” Janeway

#the 37s #I mean I guess it’s a distinctive enough smell #and they all just take the smelling as completely normal no comment boss you do you #like of course she would know this #where’s that captains as horse girls post cause she was deffo mucking out the stalls #this is why you shouldn’t mess with her the bullshit she can smell it #‘something about this is wrong I can /smell/ it’ #memeish #ah my rural upbringing informing this post I think I also have this skill

[bluemoonrabbit]

Feeling really bad about the US tonight friends. Between dealing with the healthcare system and our continued baffling support for ongoing genocide, I feel so deeply hopeless and angry toward this country.

#the insurance thing is not just that it's personally inconveniencing me #though it SURE is #it's that it could be so easy #we could have a great healthcare system like other countries #but so many people hate the very idea #especially those who could benefit from it most! #and that breaks my heart #reading about rural poor who cling to the 'no government handouts!' rhetoric #and continue to vote for people who won't help them #makes me want to cry #they don't have to suffer but they can't let it go #and as a result we all suffer!!! #really want to move abroad again #but... I like all my stuff here... #(that's it that's literally all that's keeping me here) #(that and lacking the kind of specialized job skills that most visa-sponsoring companies want)

[scarefox]

lol, took forever to find the post again because I forgot WHO posted this scene recently, that I saw on insta and now know WHAT it is from

So Gun was watching Black Mirror ep2 "Loch Henry" 👀 interesting, good taste.

#gun atthaphan #lol there is actually a thai dub i was wondering if he watched in english with his broken english skills but i guess not #the thai dub on a scottish rural plot is an experience tho #but they sound better than most german dubs i gotta say

[seeminglyseph]

9 times out of 10 I’m gonna fuck up and pronounce it “Massive Two Shits” instead of “Massachusetts” and I am very sorry.

My mouth doesn’t do enunciation too good and you require me to pronounce all of the letters very specifically.

#for the record half my family is Eastern European so like my pronunciation skills are a problem everywhere #though the ‘settled communities geeeations ago’ and like ‘the Ukrainians and Polish bonded with the local Indigenous peopl’ #means that those three getting together are responsible for what my English sounds like today #(for the record a lot of Eastern European settlers in Canada were running from Russia. so. very little has changed.) #there’s also the Germans who probably did not help make the already rural accent sound like ‘Good Respectable English’ #I said once ‘you might not place it. people from here do their best not to sound like it once they leave.’ #which feels like it says a lot about how I feel about language policing without context #sometimes words mean different things for different people ‘cause their slang comes from different root languages #gotch are fun because it’s such a common phrase I know but it’s based in Ukrainian and a bunch of Eastern Canadians were talking shit #like that it wasn’t a real thing until I pointed out it was pronounced more like ‘gitch’ and is probably from Weatern Canada more #‘cause more Ukrainian settlers in western Canadian history. #accents. are fuckin weird

[natinalpartisan]

Survival Skills: A Beginner's Guide to Exploring Homesteading

Survival Skills: A Beginner's Guide to Exploring Homesteading is your essential handbook to embark on this rewarding journey. Discover the art of living off the land and gaining independence through sustainable practices. This comprehensive guide equips you with the fundamental survival skills needed to thrive in a homesteading environment. Learn how to cultivate your organic garden, raise livestock, preserve food, harness natural resources, and master DIY projects. Explore permaculture principles, alternative energy solutions, and emergency preparedness techniques. Unlock the secrets of self-reliance, while immersing yourself in the fulfilling homestead lifestyle. Whether you dream of a small backyard farm or an off-grid haven, this guide will empower you to confidently begin your homesteading adventure.

#Survival Skills #Home steading #Beginners #Self Sufficiency #Food Preservation #Natural Resources #Outdoor Skills #Homestead Life #Country Living #Rural Lifestyle

[zorrxchicle]

so about that "the medieval peasant you're trying to scare with doritos is gonna make you feather and butcher a chicken and you're gonna cry" post... is the implication there that we'll have to kill the chicken ourselves? or just that we're gonna have to like, deal with a whole dead chicken? and if the latter, are whole dead chickens that far removed from the average urban usamerican lifestyle? im really lost here

#like i have personally never killed a chicken and i do think I'll find it difficult to do. because of the emotional toll #but butchering a dead chicken is a skill i expect to gain and better within my regular life #just something you do because sometimes you acquire whole dead chickens #so i guess the better phrased question is. is that not a regular thing over there? i think it must be like that's half of thanksgivings #so maybe the original post is about killing chickens #also something not that far removed from ordinary life but yeah. different stages of urban development and rural exodus #if the idea of rural exodus is something that makes sense to apply to north america which probably doesn't #wow this is Barely inteligible. maybe not even that. anyway. out of my head into my blog whoever wants to make it their problem now

[liminalcathag]

as a leftist, i do suggest you keep in touch with like. NPR or something to ensure you remember how to have regular non-suspicious conversations with people? especially if you plan on starting a union

#i live in the rural south so even npr is pushing it #however it’s a useful skill to sort of switch headspaces like that so you don’t scare people you could bait in

[mafuyuakgae]

so envious of writers i wish i could write. yes it’s a matter of practice just like art but i hate practicing things and not being immediately good at it. toxic trait

#trying to write an intro for my theory class essay abt rapid urbanization in rural china and epically failing #epically is not a word #im playing p5r instead of preparing for my two interviews next week T__T i hope i get it so i dont have to write more cover letters #the way that the two firms im interviewing for are ones i didnt even put a cover letter for rly says something abt my writing skills tho #i want job give me job. one of them designed the amazon hq which is sexy but the thought of living in the us scares the shit out of me lol