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In: feature, science, trees

I undertook an expedition to Kyrgyzstan in 1997 to collect walnut seeds from the wild walnut-fruit forests. Following our last day collecting walnut seeds in the mountains near the spectacular Sary Chalek lake (see post) we travelled back to the capital Bishkek via a three hour jeep journey, first throughContinue Reading

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In: feature, health, trees

A book published in 1922 captures the spirit of childhood almost 90 years ago, when children would spend days on their own exploring the countryside, building shelters and catching their own food …Continue Reading

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In: feature, forestry

World food shortages are anticipated by 2050 but what are the implications for growing trees? If faced with starvation, I know what I would choose but I would have had to have made that decision 50 years before.Continue Reading

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The rushing of the mountain river, whose banks we cooked on last night, soothed me to sleep. I woke up to another beautiful sunny day; the sun striking the steep mountainside beyond the river. Its glowing red rock is covered here and there in junipers, walnuts and scrub. Our ‘guesthouse’ is bizarre. It is quite nicely built but had no glass in its windows and has no running water …Continue Reading

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So, we left Gava – all six of us in the ancient Russian jeep: Mamajan and his son, Askar, Sergei, Peter and me. After a couple of stops for food, including 50 minutes spent negotiating the price for some meat, it took eight hours to reach Sary-Chelek, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.Continue Reading

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In: feature, nature, science, trees

If you are lucky enough to have a kitchen garden and to grow your own rhubarb, you should be aware that a danger lurks in the form of the walnut tree.  Juglone, a natural but toxic compound found in walnut trees, will kill rhubarb as it is very sensitive toContinue Reading

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Just as we thought things were going very well – last night we were told that our hosts needed to make a phone call. Ordinarily this would not be a major event but here at Gava, this means a round trip to the nearest phone that will take at least six hours! Continue Reading

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Rest day! I feel much better, especially after a lie-in; the clocks went back an hour. Actually, they went back yesterday but our hosts decided to tell us today! At last we have had some time to wash our clothes (10 days into the expedition), and thanks to the sunny weather they were dry by evening. The family have been winnowing sunflower seeds and bagging them under the shade of the apple orchard.Continue Reading

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Some years ago I had the privilege of visiting a leading maker of fine guns, James Purdey and Sons of London (Est. 1814), where I met their wood expert and buyer. The common or English walnut (Juglans regia) is the wood of choice for gunmaking as it has superior strengthContinue Reading

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In: feature, science, travel

We’ve been here one week today but time seems immeasurable: it feels like a lifetime ago that my companion, Peter Savill, and I left London Heathrow. We had another good day collecting walnuts; this time in a new area further East. Mid-morning, we’d stopped in a remote area for our usual snack of chai and lepyoshkas …Continue Reading