and in the end? a Dark Knight construction tale

 Maddie paying suitable attention to my safety talk

More Acrow props, poles and timber wedges

Final phase of Dark Knight construction, 'discrete' exposure

Yep today marked final phase of the Bat cave upgrade. Started in the workshop with Mike on 'clamp' duty where this time with the aid of WD40 plus a vice I ensured we had sufficient working swivel and fixed clamps.  Mike meanwhile scavenged around the yard for more timber for ceiling supports. Morris, our Dark Knight, met up with us at the Sherborne offices and we set off once more for the Bat cave.  Usual duties applied leaving me outside on safety and butterfly watch {whites, peacocks and red admiral today}with Mike & Morris continuing construction.

Lunch time review revealed that we were running out of materials and the overall amount of work was exceeding estimates i.e. we wouldn't complete today! Other good news was more scaffolding poles were needed today and the really good news was three 21 foot poles were available in the nursery. They just needed a volunteer to carry them over to the workshop for cutting down to size, good job my mornings work hadn't been too strenuous so problem solved. Still I did manage to observe a kestrel , several swallows , house martins and a fiesty swan chasing off 2 canada geese on Sherborne brook as I slowly carried the poles back to the workshop. 

During the afternoon Morris and Mike carried on with their stirling work with Maddie and me on duty outside. Ended the day with an appraisal of what was left to do, what extra materials needed to be found and when was the next session. Sadly I'll be away for final completion but hopefully Mike will record details I can view on my return. Of course the clock is ticking since the bats will be slowly returning to this roost during September, but by then this upgrade will be done. A good and very cost effective piece of conservation work down to mainly Mike and Morris with a little help from their friends {me, Simon and Maddie} !

With a little help from...

Main 'gate' to Lodge Park

This weeks task began with re-gravelling the 'old' entrance to Lodge Park. Two key helpers were the tractor and Maddie, who provided valuable support to Mike & I, albeit with very differing roles. Seven Tonne bags of gravel later the job was done and although much energy was expended I wouldn't have like to have done it without the tractor and Mike's expert skills at the tractor controls.

Woodland menace!

Self portrait, at the edge of  Ragged Copse?

Thus far I have resisted in sharing my frustrations with some of the issues I have come across with our countryside mainly because generally I like to be upbeat and genuinely enjoy my time in the great outdoors. However I can't resist a bit of a rant about tree damage by that 'cute' little grey squirrel some clever person(s) decided to introduce to this Island in the period 1876-1920. It stems from my short walk around Ragged Copse at Sherborne in my lunchtime followed by the work we did to make safe the woodland play area for local school children  at the Pleasure Grounds.  Although I did enjoy the lunchtime walk around Ragged Copse , especially seeing healthy growth of the ash planted this year, the gloss was taken off by observing the really bad squirrel damage to the line of young to maturing broadleaf {mainly Beech}  trees. This was followed up by  even more damage to young broadleaf trees at the Pleasure Ground area we were working in, these trees will die, or when Mike can fit it in his busy schedule, will be felled.  Unfortunately I have seen such damage in most of the woodland areas both at Sherborne and in the wider North Cotswolds NT sites. I have also read articles which question whether Squirrels do that much damage and even suggest that young trees are not at risk. What nonsense, I can only hope that the results of the Forestry Commission survey regarding this issue, due 2011, come up with something that will make a difference {I haven't yet tracked down its conclusions/action plan}. 

Growing pains

broken willow branch down in the water meadows

• Its quite staggering what heavy rain interspersed with the odd warm dry day will do for plant growth this time of year. In the space of a couple of weeks footpaths, streams and woods that have been maintained look overrun with vegetation. This is the pain bit since on top of usual tasks there is now a regular piece of essential maintenance to clear access points, signs and paths. So the first example of this was all to evident at Rack Isle this week. The water courses especially the one in front of Arlington Row was  covered in a thick layer of vegetation in spite of early work to keep it under control.  At ground level there was no trace of the fisherman path to the river  Coln. 

• So it was not surprising that the first job with Mike this week down in the water meadows, to make safe some of the willow trees, required both strimmers along with the pole and chain saws.  Last time I was down this way the ditch was dry and there was a clearly defined pathway. So the day consisted of a good deal of clearance with strimmers so the bridges, signs, parking area and access were visible again. On the positive side when the power tools were off the water meadows and adjacent woodlands of Century, Commons and Picardy was a great place to be. Not a person in sight or that much wildlife but the usual buzzard & rabbits, a glimpse of a deer in the deep grasses and a lesser whitethroat. There was also a brief sighting, with the aid of Mike's binoculars,  of a an unusually coloured buzzard perched in a large willow.  The only other sign of life all day was the sounds from the Wildlife trust team working further down the windrush/sherborne brooks developing habitats. 

Sculpture in the making

Chosen ~200 year old ash

A request from a sculptor for a substantial piece of wood for a project related to Nelson Mandela is to be satisfied by a recently felled ash at Sherborne's Pleasure grounds. So todays first task with Mike was to cut the above ash into suitable lengths {~2m} each weighing in at  ~ 2 tons! Quite a challenge to cut through this size of tree but Mike was up to the challenge. Fortunately the tree was on flatish ground so I didn't have to worry about Mike or me being crushed by the wood if it rolled our way. Needless to say even we were not strong enough to load this monster onto the trailer something Mike will deal with using his tractor and a suitable load bearing trailer later. Feeling confident Mike turned his attention to cutting up a nearby sycamore tree almost as large as the ash but on more of a slope. Tricky but again the job was completed safely.  I ought to stress both these magnificent trees were previously felled by tree surgeons because of serious damage.  Such mature wood will provide useful revenue for the trust.

We moved on from here to the East Belt to complete the excellent work carried out by the 'ANTS' plus M&M removing Laurel and giving the opportunity for some healthy ground level plant growth.

Locals putting me under pressure

The challenges of the day weren't quite over as Mike had one more clearing job to do at the bottom end of the Pleasure grounds in an area called the 'Bowling alley'.  A large limb had dropped off a beech tree falling down over the Ha ha ditch and over the stock fence. Before we could reach the area I had to open a gate with an awkward lock and then lock it again once Mike had driven through. The audience above, especially the bull,  did make me a little nervous but I managed. We arrived at the site where quite a bit of clearing of brash was needed before Mike could access the large limb which was leaning upright against the beech trunk and resting on the ditch bottom. This was not an easy chainsaw job, not least because of the lack of space on the Ha ha wall where Mike had to do some of the cutting. However with the aid of some rope and extreme care the Beech was blocked up and loaded onto the trailer. The Ha ha wall sustained some damaged but was 'gently' pushed back into alignment. Good job done so we headed back up the field to the exit gate. The herd however were clearly keen on again putting me under pressure and started running from their quiet grazing back towards the gate. This included the Bull but fortunately I unlocked the gate in record time and managed to close it before too close an acquaintance. Was Mike smiling, all I know is he was happy to be driving and not leaving the vehicle.  

One small job to do before end of play but this was helping out one of the locals and included some refreshment and pleasant local engagement.

Power rangers meet 'leisure' furlong

M&M unfazed by size of task

On full power helped by tractor

Not much 'leisure' down in Leasow Furlong where most of the work this week took place.  Mission was to make safe and prepare this area of Sherborne woodland for a local scout troop camping trip later on this month. Not much time so the full team,  {rangers Mike and Martin plus volunteers Simon and me}, combined to get it done. Armed with chainsaws, pole saw, strimmer and for extra power the tractor we set about clearing the numerous fallen larch, which were casualties of the April storms. Was worth the days effort spread over two days, extra revenue from the fallen larch and a good looking & safe area for the scout camp. With the sunshine we were blessed with, its safe to say we all would have enjoyed some  actual leisure time at this location. Lucky scouts!

which topping would u go for

As we finished early afternoon Martin and I shot over to Dovers Hill for a quick chat with the olimpicks organiser. Bit surprised by the local advertising displayed on the NT fence, although agreed with its message for careless dog owners.   Helpful discussion regards the installation of the 'Beacon' hopefully common sense will see this approved and in time for the start of the games scheduled for beginning of June. Completed the day with a visit to Littleworth wood where we made safe and cleared woodland paths blocked by fallen trees. Busy week, glad for the break before next weeks surprises. May even try out a pizza. 

Stormy weather

Who lives in a house like this..see below!

Rain stopped play, { last weeks ranger duties},  but back in play this week to face the clean up of the storm damaged trees. Started in the rain with Martin at Crickley hill where urgent action was needed to make safe 2 badly damaged beech trees one of which had one of its huge limbs sheared off. Both trees were close to public paths so needed to be sorted quickly even though its never good to work in the wet! Needed to use the landrover winch to pull the heavy branch free followed by some careful chain sawing and then some fancy rope work to pull down some branches which were precariously balanced high up in the surviving part of the tree.  On the way to the next task we discovered a recently fallen ash tree which needed to be dealt with and removed from one of the woodland paths. While doing an on the spot survey of Crickley trees, prompted by the stormy April weather , we squeezed in some clearing work around two youngish Oak trees hopefully allowing their growth to proceed more successfully. We finally managed to get around to inspecting a more mature Oak tree Martin was concerned about. Those concerns were well founded as the Oak tree buttresses were lifted significantly off the ground. Given this and the Oak's proximity to a main path Martin sadly decided the tree needed to be pulled down.  Again some smart work with the winch and chainsaw saw the tree made safe and the area suitably cleared. Some day with no casualties and an interesting inquiry by a Sculptor who was seeking to source a sizeable piece [2 tons +] of wood for an upcoming project.

Over dozen larch blown down in April storms

Casualties :Large Beech and  Horse chestnut {background}

At last some dry weather working with Mike at Sherborne. Started the day with an inspection of the blue tractor now out of action because.. 'a robin has its nest in the engine compartment !' aint nature marvellous . Surprisingly the morning was spent blocking and splitting in the nursery , it seems the demand for wood continues whilst the coldish weather remains. Had to work harder on the splitting the sometimes green and not so seasoned wood, Mike suffered my moans stoically. The afternoon saw us on our way to Ragged Copse to deal with some of the fallen larch and to repair any of the damaged new ash saplings which suffered collatoral damage. Amazingly they were few in number. Sadly two mature broadleaves were badly damaged by the storms over the weekend. The large Beech uprooted was suffering from deceased roots and the Horse chestnut losing a huge branch limb because of 'unbalanced' growth. So the wet April and strong winds tipped the balance! So for both Martin and Mike extra work plus the need to re-inspect vulnerable trees which although not yet damaged may be at greater risk to the public or farmers.

39 Steps ....

If its worth doing its worth doing well, not a bad rule to follow especially where conservation and longevity are concerned. My fleeting experience in  drystone walling provides a good example of this so its especially pleasing, given no act of god etc that the Leckhampton 'wall', could still be doing its job several hundred years from now.

Crickley hill

The basic fact that work in the countryside is never ending means that u seldom have the luxury , unless H&S applies, to revisit work  so poor application is costly and unsightly. That being the case even the best construction has a limited lifetime and mother nature will require u to revisit eventually. So in 2011, after Martin had secured funds from the Cotswold Way [team linked with National trails, was under Natural England funding now under AONB?],  I was exposed to 'step' maintenance in woodland at Dovers Hill. It wasn't until we got to the site where the work was to take place the i realised this was going to take a while. The steps form part of the path through the woodland and were in three parts on a particularly steep  gradient. In all 80 steps! would require replacing those in the worst state taking priority. Given the tree roots, rocky ground and the need to master Martin's new approach to implementing steps in this terrain 6-8 steps per day was the going rate. This was going to be a longterm endeavour but my hammering skills were certainly going to improve! At least the steps in worst repair have been replaced and we didn't have to wait long before they came  through their first test, courtesy of local walkers.