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Reed Collection 2007-08

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 1 month ago

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REED COLLECTION  for the Oxford Kid's Cottage !

 

Reed Collecting: What to Bring, Wear, and Expect!

 

Thatching information and Resources.

 

Information on Phragmites, Reed Grass for Thatching,

 

Lifespan of Thatched Roofs. http://www.riet.com/levensduure.html

 

 

THINGS TO KNOW IF YOU PLAN TO HARVEST REED WITH US.

 

What to EXPECT . . . What to WEAR . . . and What to BRING! 

 

What we hope to accomplish:

We will be collecting bundles of reeds in order to make a thatched roof on the Oxford Kid’s Cottage! Yahoo!

 

For Workshops, we will follow the schedule for the day. Bring a picnic lunch and snacks for yourself.

You can also bring things to share with others. More on what to bring, below!

 

For Open Collection times, which will happen throughout the winter: We might go out in the morning, or around noon, depending on surrounding circumstances. We have been collecting in the reed fields for about 3+ hours.  You can expect to get about 2 bundles per hour! Together we will get a respectable amount! Take breaks as desired. Bring some water or hot drink and food for “snack breaks”.  Sometimes we travel further, to St. Clair Co. for instance, and will be gone most of the day, usually leaving about 10 am and returning about 6 pm. 

 

What to Bring:

  • Your own picnic lunch, snacks and drinks.
  • Warm clothes, hat and gloves
  • Warm sox and hopefully waterproof warm boots
  • Glasses of some sort for eye protection if you can
  • Backpack or cloth sack to keep your things together
  • Sleeping bag & personal items if you might stay overnight

 

What to Expect:

The collection area may be uneven and/or wet and weather conditions vary from sunny to cold, windy, snowy, etc. Please be prepared to stay warm and dry! Eye protection is required and we havesome goggles available for use. It would be helpful for you to bring your own eye gear.  If you already wear glasses, you are set.  Sunglasses work also.  There are sharp, short reed sticking up in the collection area, so please move slowly and consciously when you bend over to cut reed. The ground may be uneven and areas may be wet with standing water or frozen with ice. So we remember: SAFETY FIRST while working.

 

What to Wear:

These are suggests that might be helpful :) PLEASE BE PREPARED!

LAYERED and COMFORTABLE clothes to keep you Warm and Dry and Happy! Weather conditions will vary. If it’s sunny you may be able to work without a coat. However, it may become windy, cloudy, snowy, etc.

 

Feet: Feet may be the most challengin part of the body to keep warm, so try to be prepared: Wear warm (preferably wool) socks, warm boots. Oversized boots keep feet warmer than tight boots (shoes and socks that are too tight cut off circulation, and feet get cold). Generally, preferably, we are working in frozen and snow conditions.  When it is warmer we might have some water to deal with, so boots that have waterproofing are great. Even in the snow, boots will tend to get wet.  Bring an extra pair of boots and socks if possible. There could be standing water in the marshy areas if things are not solidly frozen. Please be prepared to encounter for a few inches of water. We will try to find optional cutting areas for those whose boots do not have waterproofing on the first few inches. You could bring plastic bags to put over your soxs, which can help a lot.  Snow mobile boots are excellent and can usually be found cheaply at a place like Kmart. Overboots, rubber galloshes that go over shoes can be found at Joe's Army & Navy in Pontiac. Call them ahead of time to see if they have them.

 

Legs: If possible wear insulated ski pants or wind pants, over comfortable stretchy pants such as sweat suit bottoms. (Joes’ Army/Navy Store at Pontiac on M59 West of Telegraph has great things to keep you warm and dry). Layer up! Try wearing long underwear, several layers of sweat bottoms, or wind breaker pants over sweats. Blue jeans are the WORST for cold, wince they are not fluffy or insulating.  Wool will skeep us warm when wet, cotton does not. 

You can always cool down by taking off layers.

 

Body: Layer up, and include wool if you can. A turtle neck shirt will help to keep the neck warm. Consider wearing something wool or a sweat shirt with a hood over the shirt. Coats with hoods are great. Wind-breaking coats are good too.

 

Head: Hats, hoods, face masks and scarves are great if it gets cold or windy.

Hands.  Bring a few pair of gloves or mittens if you can.  Thicker gloves or mittens are great to have on hand too in case the weather turns suddenly colder. Thinner gloves or leather/suede gloves work well if it’s not so cold. They also give greater flexibility and grip the reed cutter handles better.

 

FOOD and Drinks:

Bring your own water, and if you wish, some hot drink in a thermos.

Bring your own food for Lunch (picnic) out in the reed field.

If we have traveled a long distance to the reed field, we might go out to eat locally at a restaurant. Otherwise, we come back home and cook together.  Any foods you might want to bring are welcome.  Apples, potatoes, rice.  Whatever.  Or not.

 

 

Hey, it's great to learn how to be outside and stay warm.  Good skills to know!

What we hope to accomplish:

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