Return of the PALAX!

Busy time down in the nursery

With the threat of arctic weather I succumbed to wearing a jumper for Wednesday at Sherborne. The first surprise of the day was the news that Mike had secured the loan of Ebworth's wood processor, this closely followed by a realisation that in the unexpected sun I found it much warmer than expected. Its a good job we had the PALAX wood processor because we had two full trailer loads to produce and deliver in the morning. All went to plan and by midday I was ready to enjoy my lunchtime in the Pleasure Grounds. Had the chance for a quick survey of Sherborne brook and sadly the swan family was again absent but I still think there's a chance for them to return before the youngsters go their separate ways.

The afternoon was spent in more wood processing, this time filling up the big red trailer { ~2-3 normal trailer loads}.  Part of the load was made up from wood reclaimed from the severed limb of the 500+ year oak which certainly proved a challenge for feeding through the processor because of the awkward shapes of the cord wood. Still by close of play the wood store was left looking quite healthy which should help meet the demand which will be increasing rapidly as the colder weather begins to dominate.

Windrush, Slaughter Farm

Out today with the Wildlife Trust, Will & John in charge, with a return visit to the section of the Windrush which passes through Slaughter farm near Bourton on the water. As usual a good turnout even though the weather was chilly but sunny. Again it was clearing shrub and small trees to open up the ground to more sunlight which will encourage sedge and general vegetation growth in the 'oxbow lake' area adjacent to the river Windrush. Plenty of sawing so keeping warm was no issue. The highlights were some tasty cakes supplied by 2 generous volunteers plus a sighting of a kingfisher which sadly I missed.

Following the reports on the badger cull has been a sad affair and not helped by the failure to complete the cull with an extension to follow. Martin Harper's blog sums it up pretty well, so DEFRA's potential credit on CAP implementation is somewhat offset by this poor showing.