A long, long time ago

Earlier work reveals wall/room boundaries 

First break, most of concrete covering removed

Some finer troweling revealing 'Mike's wall' 

Quite a change from countryside work at Sherborne as Mike and I headed over to lend a hand to the archaeological dig, started on Monday, at the Chedworth Roman villa. On site was greeted by Martin and Nancy the archaeologists leading the activity and ably supported by a capable team of 'young' volunteers, that is until I arrived! A good deal of work had been carried out which had already revealed an impressive mosaic which had been re-covered with soil for protection, so I had to make do with a picture. It also had defined the 1700 year old room boundaries containing potential mosaics and the Roman walls. My first task as an 'archaeologist' was surprising since I had the opportunity to use a mattock, sledgehammer, metal bar and lump hammer, albeit with care, to remove a layer of concrete covering the  top of the room walls. It was here that I uncovered my first Tessara which was but one cube forming a part of the mosaic. Its fair to say the work was harder than I had anticipated given the removal &  loading of many buckets and wheel barrows with concrete followed by transporting the contents to a large skip.

However the real work was to follow with the painstaking clearing of soil & concrete to the level of the Roman stone walls using a trowel. This needed to be done carefully so as not to damage any Roman artifacts and was also under the close scrutiny of the public who were showing a keen interest in the 'dig'. I was pretty much occupied for the rest of the day on this work whilst others more experienced were either directed to work carefully on the top soil covering the room mosaics or on uncovering the top of the stone walls, a job Mike proved pretty effective at. All in all a worthwhile experience with an enthusiastic and friendly group of people. A good deal still needs to be done to reveal the secrets this dig contains after which it will be carefully covered up until such time a suitable cover can be constructed ala the existing  West Range cover building.

Good message on Badgers from the Wildlife Trusts but is this government listening, although there is a little more chance given the exit of Owen Patterson who clearly not only lost the plot but was never 'on plot'.

A worthy Celebration!

Sherborne's cygnets almost adult size now

Wednesday at Sherborne was spent at Lodge Park with some brush cutting, tree tidying and stone collection for the Cotswold wardens who were repairing a wall in the village. More importantly I got to get inside Lodge Park for the first time where Emily the Lodge manager was making final preparations for an exhibition showing part of Mike's impressive photographic images of the Sherborne estate where he has been working for over three decades!

Puts some of my photos of Sherborne to shame but I can't begrudge Mike's  well deserved place in this spotlight.  Even better the exhibition at Lodge Park {access available weekends through to 31August , includes bank holiday} provided an ideal setting to show off Mike's selection of photographs of the living landscape of the Sherborne Estate where he has made a serious contribution to its care over many years. He represents what I think is an all too scarce breed which quietly, modestly and diligently looks after our beleaguered countryside, which in Mike's case not only includes its 'flora and fauna', but also the community living within it. Talking of the great variety of fauna to be found in the estate one of the villagers was lucky enough to spot an Osprey {6 august } catching a trout in the Broadwater. It was no doubt on its way back to Africa and Sherborne was a handy stop on its lengthy journey.

Hard graft raking on the Cirencester flood protection bank

Today was out in Cirencester with the Wildlife Trust at the old Nursery site close to the river Churn. The main activities were raking up after the brush cutting/mowing by the Cirencester council staff, clearing the fence line at the entry to the site which runs along the Palladium Way and cleaning up the small stretch of the river Churn. Notable wildlife sightings were 3 frogs {which survived the brush cutting}, kestrels having a bit of a fight overhead, a kingfisher, trout and the unwelcome Signal crayfish. A good turnout on a pleasant day delivered a better than expected outcome for Will who led the days activities.

Worth selecting this particular Mark Avery blog on the long running Hen Harrier debacle.

Downtime for volunteer tasks but not the environment

Mirror image? as one gatekeeper about to land on another

Common blue female, Leckhampton

Common Blue, Sherborne Water Meadows

Quiet time on the NT and Wildlife Trust front at the moment but plenty still happening on environmental issues. Whilst hen harrier persecution provides a lot of attention {quite rightly} there are still many other issues bubbling under the surface e.g. Neonicotinoids is not 'going away'!, neither is Fracking, Fracking2 and a challenge from Wildlife Trust/RSPB.

Butterflies seem to be enjoying the hot summer, especially the 'blues' with more showing in my local hillsides and Sherborne than I have seen before.