Starter for 2014

River Leach,  Lodge park

Weather was behaving itself for my first session back at Sherborne and Mike was certainly happy to be able to get outside to tackle an ever growing task list which has built up over the xmas break and been obstructed by the stormy weather. The good news was that only a couple of Sherborne's trees suffered storm damage and the bad news was quite a few of the ancient drystone walls out in the estate needed attention. Not quite as extensive as the wall by the estate offices last year but todays task at Larkethill wood required an immediate response. The drystone wall {1700s} on the wood boundary had collapsed in 4 different places and we were to erect temporary fencing to allow the tenant farmer to use the adjacent pasture for his sheep. Fence posts, wire fencing, metal bar , drival and the understated farmers boy all essential to tackle the work. Of course Mike added in some boundary wall clearing, as the large beech trees & hawthorn were obstructing access to parts of the wall, so making drystone wall repair easier in the future. No easing into the work following a long xmas break then and by lunch I was suitably warmed up. Was granted a little respite as we wandered down the pasture to the river Leach and followed it back through Larkethill wood across to the boundary of Lodge park. Not surprisingly in the Lodge Park valley the river Leach had overflowed its banks. Luckily on the pasture side, even with trailer attached to the Ford Ranger, we managed to get in and out without too much fuss given the extent of rainfall over the last few months.

Vigorous water flow through weir bridge

Lunch was spent down by the Broadwater where water levels were high, the usual bird activity {swans, heron, buzzard, red kite, wigeon, mallard, coots..} on show plus a pair of tufted ducks.  Started the afternoon by removing 2 xmas trees from Sherborne house {for later depositing in Larkehill wood},   clearing a manhole cover and then a small wood delivery in the village. We finished the day back in Larkethill wood to complete the fencing and wall clearing. There was some risk in this since we had taken the wood trail down through Larkethill wood and the rain started to fall towards the late afternoon.  Fortunately Mike's driving in these conditions was up to the task but not before we had spent a worrying few minutes struggling up a tricky ridge on the track back up towards the road. So a good start to 2014 and plenty to look forward to especially if the winter remains as mild {not wet} as we have experienced so far.

Hate to end on a sour note but my favourite 'environmentalist' has started 2014 with a bang. I thought 2013 was pretty bad for this Government's attack on our fragile environment with HS2, Fracking,  Neonicotinoids , Badger culls and… but Owen Patterson's latest suggestion concerning ancient woodland beggars belief!. Mark Avery blog captures the sorry affair but not sure about{although understand} the RSPB 'yes if' stance. Can we expect this government to look beyond the 'yes' to the essential qualifiers, I don't think so! Of course if the vast majority of todays society  places little or no value on its natural environment { through ignorance or plain greed} then the choice our future generation face on this subject will be taken out of their hands.