Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 21/06/2026Luna learned to ride a bike, to cope with loud noise in the city, to come back when I asked her (no small thing) and almost mastered stairs. (She would famously refuse to descend if she thought they weren't solid enough - much laughter and a few fireman's carries from that one.) 3/5 5603
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 17/06/2026I for one would like to see more Francis Bacon portraits of pets. 030
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 12/05/2026Impressive! Might even beat my 2013 monster... 120
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 12/04/2026I think the big dog/SUV thing is often overstated. If you're not travelling huge distances then most dogs love being on a bike cause it's open air and people talk to and pat them when you stop at intersections. Here's a friend with his 50kg Bernese: 24112
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 02/04/2026Sidenote: here's a stool I made from a single elm tree here in Ōtautahi. The wonderful thing about these skills is that there's a deep familiarity to doing something that people have done throughout our collective history - it's like learning to breathe again. 4110
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 21/03/2026Thought it was you 🙂 I have a custom bigger version of his BLT that was dubbed the Greyhound Bus, as the dimensions are based on a comfy couch for our dog. It's definitely bigger than necessary but it's like having a ute, and I use it a lot for work. 270
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 16/03/2026Here's Diana AKA Swamp City Basketry sitting in a huge basket she constructed mainly out of Gigantea willow. 120
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 20/01/2026A reminder that hell always has deeper circles: 040
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 10/01/2026Luna says thanks to everyone who submitted on the Greyhound Racing Closure Bill. 2210
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 06/11/2025A heads up for lovers of handcrafts - this beautiful pile of willow baskets and more is for sale this Saturday, 10-3 at the Steiner School Fair. Made here un Ōtautahi by my talented fellow Rekindle teachers Diana Duncan (aka Swamp City Basketry) and Gemma Stratton. #🇳🇿🧶 32710
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 24/09/2025Exciting! All the best things take time. This week I had a visit from Tiana, a Hawaiian weaver and hale builder, to harvest leaves from palms I grew from seed 20 years ago. So happy to be able to help out. 040
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 05/09/2025Very cool! Love how you can drag the audio to identify specific birds. 100
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 21/07/2025So true. Bikes are incredible. For years before getting a bakfiets I overloaded my regular bike chronically and it always took it. Had to replace spokes regularly though! 030
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 16/07/2025There's a failure of imagination in our incrementalism on transport issues. Why shouldn't the elderly take over bike lanes with their mobility scooters? Who said you need an SUV to take your dog places? Why don't businesses use cargo bikes for their sub 10km trips to avoid being traffic? 7/7 061
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 16/07/2025Thinking about this a lot as I haul gear all over Ōtautahi this week in our cargo bike. E-bikes and particularly cargo e-bikes could really transform those areas in Aotearoa where sprawl or geography makes cars the current choice. But which interventions would enable the shift? A 🧵... 4305
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 29/05/2025A favourite tree! Great example of heteroblasty. Here in NZ they hybridise readily with other Pseudopanax sp. Cool highly camouflaged seedlings too. 271
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 24/05/2025I really enjoyed this, esp. the business idiot's enthusiasm for AI. This line stuck out. 010
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 18/05/2025I mean, it couldn't be easier on this platform. 150
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 02/05/2025A few shots from previous years of Open Christchurch. 062
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 26/04/2025If you see this, post a picture of a tree~ #ArborDay 071
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 25/04/2025Being a card carrying wood nerd, @cleftcraft refers to the magical technique of cleaving - controlling splits in a log to get a desired shape or sized piece. It never gets old to hear the musical pop sound before it splits open. 050
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 21/04/2025Here's today's wooden cup rough carved. It cracked from my placing too much force on the soft, spalted alder so I won't bother finishing it - I'll keep it as an exemplar of what not to do for my upcoming class in May. Will definitely need some fresh wood before then! 1120
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 21/04/2025Rainy day wood carving here in Ōtautahi. I'm making a giant tea mug or kuksa out of red alder, because the cold weather turns one's mind to hot beverages. 🧶🇳🇿 #greenwoodworking #woodcarving #kuksa 3291
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 13/04/2025I've only ever worn it off so no tips sadly... Came down from the garden in the dark - time to start wearing a head torch. Cut down a 5m tall self sown cherry plum and turned it to woodchip today. Pulled out expired tomatoes and harvested dry beans to make way for autumn veg. A good Sunday 😁 040
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 08/04/2025A first for me. The amaryllid Brunsvigia josephinae flowering after I bought a bulb about 18 years ago from the now defunct Parva Plants. The inflorescence stands about 85cm tall from a huge bulb and was worth the wait. I wish I'd thought to buy a few more though... 🇳🇿🌱 2131
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 08/03/2025The tool that made them for anyone interested. 050
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 08/03/2025Sometimes what we produce as waste is just beautiful. Drawknife shavings from my prep for tomorrow's beginner spoon carving class. 240
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 20/02/2025Today's view from the nursery that will soon be replacing our lawn. Glad to have some rain today as hand watering is taking longer and longer the more I propagate. #aonzgardening 070
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 05/02/2025(Just had to re-up this from @fietsprofessor in the bad place 😁) 131
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 01/02/2025Following up because this is delightful @aimeew.bsky.social. Finally got a message back from Scoundrel this week about their summer break days not being posted physically. Turns out there was a good reason! 210
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 28/01/2025Great to see this little pocket of life on busy Brougham St outside Prima Roastery in Ōtautahi. Nyctemera annulata - makokōrori or NZ magpie moth caterpillars feeding on a daisy relative. These weeds could easily have been sprayed or pulled. Nice to see what the alternative looks like. #nzgardening 1182
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 25/01/2025Having an enjoyable afternoon industriously spent with @jostle.bsky.social making copper tags out of old spouting for our orchard trees. 160
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 14/01/2025Because our grapefruit is taller than the house spraying is out so I've been trialling biological control with some tasman lacewings from Bioforce. The picture shows lacewing larvae eating the smaller whitefly larvae. Should know in a year or two whether it's been successful. 120
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 10/01/2025It's huge, I forget how many hectares. We spent a couple of hours and didn't even get to the track down to the water where you can apparently see sea lions. 260
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 10/01/2025Throwback to last week's visit to Fisherman's Bay Garden on Banks Peninsula. A thoughtful blend of perennials and drought tolerant plants with natives. I walked away with a full brain and a handful of salvia seeds after a nice conversation with Jill Simpson the owner. #nzgardens 2170
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 02/01/2025Hairpins are also fun to carve from smaller wood. 230
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 30/12/2024Up in Whakatū this week visiting family, and one of the highlights was buying this knife from local knifemaker Richard van Dijk at the weekend market. 160
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 10/12/2024Why I'm talking about it? I've had greyhounds since 2009 and met lots of volunteers and a few trainers through the groups. Over that time the industry PR offensive has really scaled up, as it became obvious their days were numbered. Here's Luna our 11yo hound demonstrating her sundial pose. /ends 170
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 03/12/2024Thanks! Yes we're usually looking for wood like in the photo. About 15-40cm diameter is the sweet spot for usability. 230
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 03/12/2024Just had to share this. A lovely scene of freshly cut walnut wood being shared around by some of the members of Ōtautahi Spoon Club. It's growing into such a kind and fun group of people. 6406
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 13/11/2024Meanwhile here in the southern hemisphere, I submit my own somewhat grislier version of #treebybike 😉 0181
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 19/10/2024Astonishingly low, almost totally unusable. The only rack in New World Lincoln, NZ supermarket carpark. For context the surrounding carpark has space for 150 cars at least and several wind turbines to signal its progressive stance on climate 🤔 192
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 16/10/2024The RHS book Propagating Plants is a great resource if you ever come across it. One of my favourite references. It describes propagation techniques and then lists what works best for each particular plant. 220
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 23/09/2024@cyncharron.bsky.social here she is the day she discovered that our bed (very off limits) gets glorious afternoon sun. That expression - no sense of wrongdoing whatsoever, just pure bliss. 140
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 13/09/2024LOVE our cargo bike. It's fantastically useful and has been a game changer. But at 2.9m long it's like having a half car in the garage. These should totally be borrowable in Ōtautahi. Just like a car, they spend 98% of their life not moving around so sharing makes sense. 120
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 24/07/2024LOVE big dogs, but do not understand the point of huge ones. Size can be relative though - I've had a 25kg staffy x put my back out, but see 34kg Charlie below, who was my tiny mother in law's constant companion in her late 70s. Watching that dog wait for her to catch up on the stairs was 💔 060
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 19/07/2024NEVER before has this 24 year old fridge magnet felt so relevant. (The bucket is much more important than you think.) #beprepared #crowdstrike 050
Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 16/06/2024Was listening this afternoon to @seaqub.bsky.social on The Detail talking about fragmentation of society and breakdown of community in NZ, and it makes me deeply grateful for the communities I'm part of. Today was our annual basket willow harvest at Kainga. Community in abundance. 3284