Cresting on Sweet Aztec Herb!

July 10, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

Noticed this fasciated (crested) Lippia dulcis (sweet aztec herb) flower stem in the living room.

The next generation: white wagtail

July 10, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

White wagtail (linerle) is a common bird throughout Norway. Last week I took these shots in the garden…the adults were finding food on my veggie plots and feeding a young bird perched on the outhouse roof :)

Birds, Perennial vegetables

Chiffchaff enjoys diamond backs

July 10, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

I was taking a picture of my second Crambe cordifolia (heartleaf crambe / buskstrandkål) flowering for the first time in the garden from my bedroom balcony. I noticed this chiffchaff (gransanger) presumably gorging on diamond back moth larvae (kålmøll). It then moved across to a horseradish, another plant in the Brassicaceae with plenty of food. Both plants are in my book!

Food

Urtigers

July 9, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

Nettle burgers for dinner: Working in the garden all day…didn’t want to spend much time in the kitchen…needed some fast slow food. My helper Daina Binde had left an organic egg mix in the fridge when she left – not totally sure what was in it….on the balcony was a special potato growing in a large pot which had become “infested” with annual nettle (Urtica urens) (well, not really infested as I’d sown the seed :) )
I cooked the nettles quick, mixed with the egg mix, chili, siberian nodding onion, rolled oats and buckwheat flour and fried in sunflower oil….urtigers I reckon we can call them ;)

Butterflies and moths, Insects

Poplar hawk-moth

July 9, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

During summer 1998 I found this poplar hawk-moth / ospesvermer (Laothoe populi) on a ragged jack kale plant in my garden…this is the one and only time I’ve seen this species. I was reminded of this as a FB friend reported that there have been several sightings this year!

Stand

Neil Young’s Global Ecovillage and Stavern

July 9, 2016 Stephen Barstow 1 Comment

Apart from being a well known singer / songwriter over the last 40 years, Neil Young is also an environmental activist and through his 2015 album “The Monsanto Years” with its obvious anti-GMO, pro organics theme, he reached out to many. From 2015, he has invited the permaculture movement to man a stand in a tent called ‘News You Can Trust’ in his Global Ecovillage which follows his tours! Permaculture magazine in the UK had been entrusted to organise local people to take part and I was offered two free tickets to take part. Having never seen Young live and seeing the opportunity to promote both permaculture and my book to a new audience, I jumped at the chance. Helene Bøhler joined me on behalf of the Norwegian Permaculture Association for a memorable day in Stavern!

Here is a selection of pictures from my visit to the Stavern Festival and Stavern :)

Luan Van Le from GMO Free USA has been travelling around Europe and the US with the Neil Young tour and was the coordinator of our News You Can Trust stand :)

Luan Van Le with Helene C. Bohler of the Norwegian Permaculture Association!

Freebies on our stand including Permaculture Magazine special number with Neil Young, Norsk Permakultur Forening, Nordic Tidlskrift on Permakultur, Ren Mat (Oikos) and the LAND project and Planteklubben for Grønnsaker !

The neighbour stand was run by the Center for Biological Diversity

We tried different techniques to attract attention…the issue of Permaculture Magazine with Neil Young on the cover was being used here as bait to haul in the punters… Maddy Harland and Tim Harland: Mission accomplished…all the PMs went to good homes :)

Helene C. Bohler talking to one of the visitors interested in Permaculture!

Helene C. Bohler fell for this chap from the Center for Biological Diversity stand!!

Threatened species… During the visit I spotted only one :(

Breakfast in the BnB…it’s always nice that AirBnBers plant for the guests :)

Alliums follow me around on tour it seems! The BnB had both Allium senescens (Siberian chives / sibirsk kantløk) and Egyptian onions (luftløk)

Bunias orientalis (Turkish Rocket / russekål) en masse at Stavern…nam nam

Memorial for the fallen at sea during the two world wars!

Beach edibles: Sea rocket / strandreddik (Cakile maritima) and sea sandwort / sandarve (Honckenya peploides)

Fjord views, Foraging

11 pm beach forage!

July 6, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

A few more pictures from my beach forage with Daina Binde around 11 pm on 4th July 2016!

Purple saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia

Tripolium vulgare (Aster tripolium) with Glaux maritima and bladder wrack

A single orach (Atriplex spp.) was growing much further down the beach than normal!

I’ve never seen such a large silverweed / gåsemure here. Mental note to check it out later in the season!

In the deep shade of a boathouse, sycamore seedlings and cleavers (klengemaure)

Fjord views, Sun

Sunset on the shore: 4th July 2016

July 6, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

On my garden help Daina Binde from Latvia’s last evening in Malvik, we went down to the shoreline to look at edible beach plants and to watch the sunset. The sun went down just after 11pm. Here are 5 short videos from the beach :) Enjoy!

Birds, Pest control

House sparrow: better late than never

July 5, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

While eating breakfast this morning I spotted these house sparrows (gråspurv) eating diamond back moth (kålmøll) larvae from the undersides of these ragged jack kale plants, sown as a salad crop, but long since given up to the moths… Better late than never I suppose!!