Fencing in the sun, only the brambles draw blood!

Some old friends in the middle paddock, Sandy Hill copse in background

Down in lower paddock all posts in place, alongside Crookmoor Ash 

Nice straight post line, extra support for middle strainer

Hottest day of the year, so obviously a good time to start erecting the new fence at Sherborne, down by Crookmoor Ash,  a continuation of the fence clearing work in March.  I & Ollie joined James in the 4x4 and trailer loaded with 40+ posts, wire and tools. Mike drove the tractor which provided essential help in clearing cordwood, brash, flattening the fence ground with flail and driving the fence posts securely into the ground. There was however plenty for James and I to do in putting in place the middle strainer and tampering in one of the end strainers. While I positioned the posts James finished off some of the remaining fence clearing by felling an ash and sycamore which would prove a risk to the new fence in the future. The day passed all too quickly and by the end all posts were in place and the ground cleared of brash and cordwood.  It would need another session to erect the stock fencing and complete the work for the lower paddock. All that remains! is to continue the fencing work for the middle paddock, noting the dense shrub shown in the pics above to remove first. Then the fence boundary by Sandy Hill copse in the upper paddock awaits, so no shortage of work in this small piece of the Sherborne estate.

Lastly, is it time for me to go completely green!, some useful manifesto refs.

Spring arrivals and one farewell

Dense growth over the fence line by Crookmoor Ash

Missed the March bat count but the total count carried out last week was a healthy 174 lesser horseshoes a good deal higher than last years 114. This could be explained by a cold snap deterring the bats from moving to their summer roosts. Joined Mike at Sherborne wednesday where the day started with a visit to the horse 'pastures' which are bordered by Sandy Hill Copse, Moors Copse and Crookmoor Ash.  Accompanied by Ollie we took the Clarks Close route joining the trail through Sandy Hill Copse. It gave Mike a chance to check out this area of the estate for fence & tree damage, as well as observing how the hedges planted a while ago were doing. The hedges by Clarks close/ Sandy Hill were progressing well and it was also good to see a very healthy number of new lambs in the sheep pasture in this area.

Curious locals investigating our presence in their pasture

Was greeted by 4 horses as we entered the first of the pastures and as we stopped to inspect a ~500 year Oak which had fallen Ollie had his first close encounter with these large animals who were curious to see what we were doing. The size of the Oak and its large limbs proved to be too much for us to tackle so we headed on to inspect the 'fence' line boundary by Crookmoor Ash. This fence line certainly needed a good deal of work given vigorous tree growth and fallen branches.  It was certainly going to occupy the whole day in clearance work, with chainsaw and pole saw. Even with the 'help' of Maddie in the afternoon there was plenty left to do for the volunteer group later in the week. By the end of the day we had created some significant brash piles, which the horses seemed to appreciate as an additional food source, and a good proportion of the fence line was cleared to hopefully allow a new fence to be erected.

Snowshill nestling in the Cotswold hillside

This Friday marked an emotional leaving do for Linda, Snowshill Manor head gardener. Also my last visit to Snowshill Manor as a volunteer, all good things come to an end eventually.

A meaningful agenda

Bat cave compound, bit of a jungle 

A little busy of late so a brief summary of July thus far. Started this years renovation work in the Sherborne bat winter roost aka 'the bat cave'. Morris directing on this with Mike as support engineer and me on security duty. On reaching the entry to the 'compound' ( in which is located the bat cave) with heavy bags of building clamps we were faced with a wall of vegetation. So it was a good job Mike had the brush cutter although it was a tough going to find the path through. It proved to be a hot and sticky session for me outside but good progress made in cooler conditions inside on construction.

Young oak, minus tree guard

This week was to be a continuation of construction in the bat cave but sadly Morris was sick so it was back on tree guard construction. So fully tooled up we set off with tractor and 4x4 with trailer to the previous site below Crookmoor Ash. Was glad I was following Mike in the tractor as he discovered some soft wet ground which I probably would have got stuck in. Turned out that there was an underground leak in a mains water pipe in the pasture we were working in. The old tree guards we were replacing today were pretty badly damaged but fortunately the oak trees they were meant to protect were in good condition. On the Broadwater today the swan family were all in good health ,although the adult male was absent on a visit above the weir, a pair of small egrets were on show along with the usual herons. On my return to the estate offices I also came across a large grass snake, not sure who was more surprised.

Martin Harper with an environment agenda of worth.

New kid on the block

New cygnet looking up to mum

Resident female cleaning up

Started the day at Sherborne expecting to start this seasons work on the bat cave now all resident bats have moved to their summer roosts primarily in the bothy(58) and kennels(175) where the latest count totals a healthy 233. Unfortunately Morris couldn't make it so new plans had to be made. This was however delayed a little due to the visit of a local hornet which caused some disturbance in the estate offices until it decided to leave by the window realising it wasn't wanted.  Eventually Mike and I were able to proceed with the tree guard repair work down from Crookmoor Ash. I drove the 4x4 with trailer and before Mike arrived with the tractor, I managed to disturb a local fox. As we began the repair work a juvenile buzzard flew in and perched on a nearby oak to see what we were up to. The morning flew by, with eagle eye Mike also spotting a sparrow hawk, and then a well earned lunch break was upon us.

As usual spent lunch down by the Broadwater with the the resident swan family looking in good health along with the usual ducks, herons and sheep. Also spotted a kestrel which was pleasing given they seem to be scarcer this year. However a new pair of swans with a single cygnet were on show on the brook up from the weir. They were quite friendly and swam across to greet me and I suspect they were quite a young family possibly related to the resident mute swans downstream.

Continued the tree guard work in the afternoon session with a green woodpecker making a brief appearance and maddie trying her best to make things more interesting by lying down right where we were trying to work. Another rewarding day ticked off and one big positive was the 'biting' flies left us alone. Not so good were the English sports results covering rugby, cricket and football, the less said the better!

Yellow Rattle in a Yorkshire Fog!

Nursery 'tiger'

Starring the new NT strip!

Pulled out all the stops & kit for continuing the tree guard work at Sherborne down from Crookmoor Ash /Moors copse. So on a hot day we completed the new guards protecting the young elms and replaced one of the existing broken guards with its maturing oak {see pic}. Next steps are to replace the rest of the damaged tree guards so more hammering, drilling and sawing to keep me busy. Not sure about the new NT 'postman' branding for our green and pleasant countryside though!

Some serious grassland analysis

Thursday was spent with the Wildlife Trust at Winyard's farm initially tackling removal of Himalyan Balsam. The volunteer team was lead by Richard who also squeezed in a couple of educational sessions on assessment of the grassland environment in this area. In the session I was part of we tackled one of the two grassland fields, the one on a slope. It proved more interesting than I thought and there were more plant/grass species present once we began to look more closely. They included clover, speedwell, vetch, sorrel, mouse ears, hogweed, orchids, yorkshire fog and the 'special' parasitic yellow rattle. Lots of new information to absorb, for me especially, delivered in fine style by Richard revealing the relationship  between plant diversity and fertility i.e. diversity increases the less fertile the ground. If a particular plant or grass dominates then ability for other plants to thrive decreases and so this is where Yellow Rattle reveals its true colours. Because of its parasitic nature towards grasses the dominant grass plant is controlled allowing other plant species to grow. Management of these grasslands and the application of topping, grazing play a key role in how rich in diversity the grassland is. Of course the geology and type of soil {alkaline, rock, water, terrain etc} provide constraints along with the farming techniques applied {or not} to the land.  Out of all this gradings such as SSSI are derived and hopefully application of appropriate land management to sustain or create important grassland beneficial for wildlife and hopefully landowners. The results of the survey of the upper grassland field which had a flatter terrain provided some differences in the plants present which demonstrates the impact of what appear to be small 'environment' differences can have on the diversity. Overall though both areas scored  around 5/10 which doesn't mean its not important but it doesn't get into the category {SSSI, County level..} which makes it a high priority when competition for resources are tight.  On the Balsam front the days effort certainly can claim a high proportion of existing Himalayan Balsam has been removed from this area which will protect further spread down the River Eye which is quite close to this local springs environment.

More on a related topic curtesy Mark Avery.

Five inch nails!

No rails, wire netting loosely fixed

Completed tree guard 

Not an alternative to the band 'nine inch nails' but signalling a return to the tree guards partially constructed last year to protect the new elm saplings from the local sheep. Todays task was to be dedicated to completing the construction of as many tree guards as possible and suitably armed with tools, rails and wire fencing we headed over to Moors Copse via Sandy Hill Copse to the work site. Before we reached the work site however the gate by Sandy Hill Copse required some repair to its 'catch'. This was duly carried out plus it also allowed me time to see how the hedges we planted last year in this area were doing and they seem to be coming on nicely.

So why the fascination with nails, well I have been waiting nearly a year to use the new 5 inch nails and at last that wait is now over. The good news was that the young elm trees are progressing well so the temporary tree guards did their job. Further good news was Mike had bought two new wire twisters which were a great success protecting my delicate fingers! and also we had the use of the 'Silky' saw for cutting off the excess wood on the rails. So the morning was spent getting my muscle memory back for some serious hammering of nails and staples. By the end of the morning we had got two tree guards with the top rails fixed and the bottom wire fencing suitably tensioned. The afternoon, with little help from Maddie, saw three more tree guards partially fixed plus a fourth completed. So more work still to do but a satisfying days construction although my arm/wrist may feel a little sore tomorrow from some major hammering. True to form Mike observed that 6 of the older tree guards in this area would need to be replaced having suffered 'tractor' or storm damage over the years. Also to add to the task list would be the removal of a sizeable ash tree which had fallen over boundary fencing. No letting up then in the workload for the Sherborne estate , just as well Mike's assistant is now on board.

Mum showing off 3 of 4 offspring

Given the weather forecast for the immediate future looked dire had to take advantage of fridays unexpected dry spell by dropping into Sherborne. Hence this late addition to this week's blog. Was rewarded by my first view of this years Cygnets {born after my wednesday visit}, not as many as last years 9 but the 4 still a good sight on the Broadwater. Proved to be a good day for birds with a siskin, number of goldfinch, willow warbler, lapwings, red kite, buzzards, cormorant and heron.  The lapwing were clearly unhappy to have me walking anywhere near their nests, with their cries even more pleading than Maddie's. Bumped into the Barrington estate's gamekeeper & wife who exposed my lack of knowledge in the abundance of wildlife in this area. This included information on water rails, grey shrike, grey partridge, hares, otters, owls, bittern, snipe and a 'white chaffinch' and some of the plans/management techniques he employs on the estate. Interesting to hear of a plan to create a 'snipe bog' habitat along the Windrush.

Lapwing telling me to go away!

Sheep escapades

Walkers gate, sheep escape route

Today at Sherborne was a resumption of 'Elm defence' with the completion of tree guards in the sheep pasture below Crookmoor Ash. Before we reached the pasture we came across some escapee young sheep by Sandy Hill Copse which Mike rounded up using the 4x4 Ranger. They had squeezed through a 'walkers' gate {by Clarks Close} between chains which were designed to prevent this but clearly not well enough for these youngsters. So yet again the sheep were surprising us, noting their attack on unguarded Elms a few weeks ago. We continued on to the first of the newly planted elms where the hard work of constructing the tree guards began. 1 tree guard [the 4 posts already in place] comprising of 2 sections of heavy duty wire fencing,  8 horse chestnut rails requiring 24 large staples for fencing and 32 -5" nails for rails meant a lot of heavy hammering. Mike lead on the drilling, tensioning and extra grunt when I failed to penetrate the occasional knot in the wood which was too often for my comfort. I was pretty pleased when lunch intervened and I could rest my aching forearm.

All present and correct

Over lunch spent time down by Sherborne Brook where I was pleased to see that the swan family were all in tact and enjoying a leisurely paddle down the brook with mum & dad as escorts. Also good to see the tufted duck family, 2 herons, swallows and grey wagtails. It was soon time to resume work on the tree guards and on route along from Northfields barn car park we spotted gold finches, yellow hammer and chaffinches in the hedgerows. Yet again sheep needed rounding up by Clarks Close where Mike set about closing off their escape route by reducing the space in the Walkers gate with 2 strands of wire. We were soon back to the hard work of building the next tree guard where unfortunately we ran out of 5" nails and had to use 6" ones. 1" difference doesn't sound much but I can assure you it increases the effort considerably. However we completed the second guard and got half way through the next. Bad news on the journey back as we saw 3 sheep had forced their way through the Walkers gate, obviously a little more work on Mike's design was needed. I was relieved , though satisfied to see the end of days work, only 6 more tree guards to go, hopefully with a new supply of 5" nails!

Latest on archeological dig was a surprise indicating the probability that the construction was that of a Roman corn drier linked to a Roman farm.

Late update on CAP from RSPB and its impact on wildlife

Resistance, hopefully isn't futile

Moor's Copse looking towards Sherborne village

Last years planted hedge, Northfield Copse on the horizon

Later start today, but fair weather contrary to expectation after a hot bank holiday and one of my favourite tasks to look forward to! This was especially true since we were to spend the whole day planting Elm trees which were of a strain which is hopefully resistant to Dutch Elm disease. Part of the work was selecting the best sites for planting the Elms. This included locations in some of the hedges planted over the last 1- 10 years and open pastures near to dead or dying trees ensuring the landscape retains its impressive looks. The location of each of the trees planted was recorded along with the 'root stock' so in the future it will reveal how well the particular Elm strains have fared.

There were 6 sites visited during the day and the first was a hedge line {~5 years old} on the northern borders of the estate close to Northfield Copse but on the Leasow Furlong side of the road. We next crossed over the road and planted the next Elms in the hedge built last year which has Northfield Copse at one end and Clark's Close at the other. Next was new hedge 2 and then a hedge line backing onto a paddock {with 2 friendly young horses} which was adjacent to Crookmoor Ash. On route we passed along the edge of Sandy Hill Copse with view of Sandy hill farm and the North West boundary of the estate. Quite a bit of scrambling for me over the Hedge fence lines some with barb wire and plenty of maturing thorny Hedge to restrict my comfort zone as I dug the holes to receive the Elm trees. 

The afternoon offered a change in approach where the locations were 2 fields used for sheep pasture the first down from Crookmoor Ash/Clark's  Close and the second next door and down from Moor's Copse with some splendid living Oaks and some dead ones providing good habitat for insects and lambs!.  Only had time to plant the Elms with tree protectors, in strategically chosen locations, the tree guards needed to defend against livestock would be the next task when Mike returns from holiday. Twenty splendid Elms were planted today a worthy effort and an enjoyable experience in some of the best scenery provided by the Sherborne estate .