Eye of newt....

Lodge front door, with steps, fortunately opened for the wood!

Lodge pond plus Newts

A varied morning, centred on wood supplies, was spent at Sherborne today. Initially James on chainsaw and me on axe to produce a good half load of wood for delivery to Lodge park. While we set to on this task in the nursery Mike raided the wood store with the tractor & bucket to deliver wood to the nursery garden.

Whilst James and I delivered our wood load to Lodge Park Mike set off to Snowbottom belt to start collecting cordwood for loading into the tractor trailer. At Lodge Park we unloaded the wood, using a wheelbarrow, into the 'large cauldron' [no frogs or witches present], large fireplace and video room inside the Lodge. This should keep the fires going for the wedding event to be held this coming weekend at the Lodge. As we exited Lodge Park , on our way to meet up with Mike at Snowbotton belt,  James had a surprise for me at the Lodge pond. He was able to introduce me to this years newts plus waterboat men which seem to be doing fine again in this oft overlooked pond habitat within the Sherborne estate. We finally met up with Mike where we helped him to fully load the factory trailer with well seasoned cordwood produced in the previous winter season. No wildlife sightings or conservation duties but still a worthwhile mornings work for all.

A little bit of everything

Some tricky chain sawing of fallen willow 

River Dickler, close to Rissington Bridge

Scrub clearing over water course which runs out of lake

Wednesday morning was spent at Sherborne with both Mike and James. James was on chainsaw,  I was on wood processor loading the cord wood {plus occasional axe splitting} and Mike was operating the wood processor. Should have been quite straight forward to build up the stocks of wood for the depleted wood supplies but not so. The main difficulty in achieving maximum efficiency was the quality of the cord wood we were using i.e. relatively small in diameter and not straight! This meant much more work for all of us and by the end of the morning we had only achieved one trailer load albeit an  extra large one. The only good news was we hadn't wasted any wood and the remaining cord wood pile for the next session looked to be much better 'quality'. Highlight of the morning, apart from my moans about the wood, was that a sparrow hawk which was hidden on the ground near where we were working flew right in front of us, clearly fed up with the noise we were making.

Today I made a comeback with the Wildlife Trust out at Greystones where a sizeable team led by Will and Richard were to carry out brush clearing close to the river Dickler near to Rissington Bridge on the outskirts of Bourton on the Water. The water course coming out of one of the gravel lakes, adjacent to Greystones reserve, which ran into the Dicker needed some serious scrub clearing. Once completed {more than one session would be needed} this would provide a better habitat for water voles connecting the gravel lakes and Dickler. Previous work in the past in this area already showed encouraging signs of water vole and hopefully this current work would improve on this and make sustaining it much easier. Although I only had a short time on brush clearing my 'sawing' skills proved not to be too rusty and the two fires for burning the large amounts of scrub were well fed.

Still life in the old dog yet...

View from a trailer, at Windrush end of Sherborne

The 'old dog' {not me} still doing the job!

A frosty,  fresh start to the morning at Sherborne, could the winter have finally arrived. James was away at Newark Park so I was back driving the 4x4 with trailer and Mike on the tractor. Task for the morning was to deliver wood supplies to customers in Sherborne village. The location of both customers required driving through a picturesque pasture to gain access to the properties to unload much needed wood into their rear gardens. Nothing too challenging here except to be wary of the still saturated ground which fortunately was fairly flat.  The first drop went fine and we even secured a nice cup of tea from a caring local. Unfortunately on the return trip across the pasture the 4x4 got stuck and it was time for the old faithful tractor to pull it out of the mire. After guiding the 4x4 back to the estate offices my job was done and the tractor was left to deliver the final load across the surprisingly challenging terrain. Mixed feelings from Mike possibly as the heroic tractor is to be replaced by the end of February by the one Mike trialled early this year.

What a load of Bull?

Some large company for Ewe pen work

Prep for last bit of walling at Ewe pen 'bull' paddock

Clearing wall line, springers observing!

Most of wednesday was spent at Ewe pen where we were to put up a temporary fence to protect the drystone wallers from the paddock residents. Start was slightly delayed while we sorted out the trailers as the rangers James and Michelle needed one for work at Bibury and we needed one for Ewe pen and wood deliveries. The first job however was a wood delivery to Windrush where we received a warm welcome which included refreshments. The next job was to travel up to Ewe pen to construct a fence and prepare the area for the drystone wallers who were to repair the damaged wall over the weekend. I noticed after we had started on the new fence line that the gate at the bottom of the paddock was wide open which was a little unnerving as the resident bulls had access to the work area.  This wasn't a great position to be in especially since Mike was sporting the new bright red NT colours. We completed the fence work late afternoon and then had to rush over to Windrush for another wood delivery. Another warm welcome greeted us with yet more gratefully received refreshments which included some delicious fruit cake. Maddie and Ollie didn't miss out as the customer provided them with some dog treats, her spaniel Benson quite happy to share.

Missed out on the April bat count which took place on Tuesday. It turned out to be a new record for Sherborne with 249 lesser horseshoes. Some good points in Mark Avery's anniversary blog.

An 'exuberance' of springers?

Guarding the wood piles

2 cheeky youngsters

playing near the Pleasure grounds ice house

fighting off a hungry Ollie and interested Pepper

Glorious weather at Sherborne today and a second introduction of Ollie to Pepper another energetic, young english springer. It was a day spent at the nursery where the Sherborne wood service was needed to complete pressing orders of wood supplies. Although Ollie and Pepper were happy with each other there were clear boundary rules set by Pepper on her den & toys at the estate offices so Ollie was to escort Mike and I to the nursery in the back of the 4x4.

Lunchtime was spent at the Pleasure grounds where Pepper happily showed Ollie around the woods at speed  whilst we enjoyed the good display of spring flowers {snowdrops, crocus, aconites} and ensured the dogs didn't interact too much with the 'half term' visitors. 

The afternoon was spent producing more wood and delivering loads to a nearby village and locally to Sherborne. Ollie had company in the afternoon with Mike's springer Maddie who as the adult managed to remain in her own world largely ignoring Ollie's attempts to play. The good news was Maddie accepted Ollie in the back of 4x4 with good grace. It will be interesting to see how the relationships develop between all the springers over the coming weeks. 

Slightly disturbed by the strange actions of the Forestry commission and Woodland Trust over this woodland in Northants, I have to hope this was an anomaly if not what other areas of woodland have or may suffer  in the future with similar development initiatives. Good news is a good outcome achieved in this case no thanks to FC, Woodland Trust or certain staff of the Northants district council.

Otter 'des res'

Site of Otter holt, down on the left by upper lakes

Path to site by first lake, source of the river Eye

Lots of wood for building material, in great location

Front entrance to Holt, phase 1 of the build

Brash gathering for phase 2 of the Holt build

Richard 'fine tuning' brash layer forming Holt roof 

Interesting week considering the heavy rainfall recently and it began at Sherborne where I squeezed in a hard session on the wood processor with Mike. Two interesting things to note:

the first being the large size and awkward shape of the cord wood being processed which proved to be my toughest workout ever,

the second being a sighting of a snow bunting earlier in the week at Sherborne by Anna.

Today I met up with the Wildlife Trust at Greystones where over 14 people gathered before splitting up into 2 teams which then drove to the Rockcliffe estate. Here each team were to build 2 Otter Holts hopefully for use by the resident Otters  as 'second' temporary homes. One team went off with John and Alan whilst I joined the other team led by Richard.  Have to say the site for the Otter Holt by the Upper Lake area {source of River Eye} was impressive, made even more so by the warm sunny weather. It was difficult to believe its mid November and it wasn't long before clothing was discarded to combat the warmth. Obviously for Mandy wearing waders an unplanned dip into the cool lake water was the preferred method of combatting the excessive heat, something she is getting quite good at. The build started with us volunteers clearing some of the surrounding area to provide lighter building materials whilst Richard using the chainsaw felled a willow/alder which  sourced the  large cord wood for the Holt's foundation. The Holt situated close to one of the Lakes was built in layers with reeds providing a good 'light seal' and then lots of lighter brash 'the roof'. Unfortunately I had to leave early but the construction was well on the way to completion with the Holt hopefully looking like a natural feature of the environment. Another 'first' for me in the conservation build arena and a very  enjoyable one in yet another cracking location. I also managed to get home in time to feed a hungry puppy and take it for a great walk whilst the sun was still shining!

Pause for a pup!

A neighbourly lunchtime chat

A good wash by the weir

Heavy rain early morning but fortunately it cleared for Wednesdays session at Sherborne so another good September day weather wise for what will be my last bit of volunteering for the next few weeks. The length of my break will depend on how well my English Springer pup settles in we'll have to see.

Not surprisingly wood processing was to be the task to meet the rising orders for wood now Autumn's here. This second session with the new Posch wood processor provided an opportunity for introducing some fine tuning learnt from our first experiences. After the first trailer load was delivered to dairy cottage we had created enough space to use the wood lifter for the first time. The next load went to Bill in the village with the second manual unloading featuring launching the split wood over a barbed wire fence and wall of brambles onto a narrow path. The last load of the day was at the oldest house in the village where we enjoyed a well earned cuppa and biscuit plus a tour inside by its friendly residents of an impressive property

Lunchtime was especially rewarding with the weather rapidly improving and the swan family relaxing by the deep waters by the weir. Was treated to a visit by a grey wagtail and kingfisher who made good use of the remaining bit of the tree still in the brook. Two red kites flew over probably checking out if last weeks sheep carcass was still there. May manage a visit to the Broadwater next week while Mike's on leave and before the puppy arrives. It may be the last time I see this years swan family together.

Short and sweet

Sherbornes' Mallards skittish

Almost time to leave ...

Bit of a delayed start at Sherborne as Mike had to organise the 'ancient & notable' tree survey which included transporting the 3 volunteers to the survey area near Lodge Park. Today marked the end of this impressive one year survey which covered over 1000 trees across the Sherborne estate.  The challenge for today was to use the new wood processor for the first time which meant transporting it to the nursery, setting it up and getting used to operating it. There's no doubt it requires more co-ordination of both arms and leg to synchronise the various levers for the conveyor belts, splitter, saw and 'log grip'.  Needless to say Mike soon mastered it as did I although not quite as smoothly. At this point we decided adding in the 'log lifter' was something we would leave until next time. We did however get a load delivered before lunch which wasn't bad considering everything.

Whilst I enjoyed the pleasures of the Broadwater with the Mallards, egret and almost grown-up swan family Mike had to rejoin the survey party. 

As we were running late the afternoon session produced 2 more trailer loads of wood, short of our target but it proved a good workout for the new wood processor and with some fine tuning I'm sure the production rate will rise considerably.

No surprises in this Wildlife Trust piece

Posch but no Becks!

Interesting colour scheme, but new wood processor is here!

Early start today at Sherborne and an interesting one with a formal introduction to a solidly engineered Austrian wood processor with log lifter!. Introduction was by a Scot {who is a No to breaking away} and we soon got to know how to operate the 'beast' with its extra 'nobs', its going to be a great addition to Sherborne's boys toys. We are certainly going to need it with orders for wood already mounting.

Lunchtime was different today with everyone off to a leaving do which meant I had the place to myself except for Pepper. Good news was I was able to take Pepper for a long walk through the Pleasure Grounds. Enjoyed the experience with such a young Springer but its made me think twice about taking on two springers at the same time.

Temporary fencing up by Ewe Pen Barn

The afternoon was a little intense with the erection of a temporary barbed wire fence around the next site for more dry stone wall repairs by the Cotswold wardens. This was up by the Ewe Pen paddock which usually has at least 2 large bulls but fortunately they were not there today. No doubt the 'wallers' will appreciate the fence we put up when the bulls return! Following this task we needed to carry out some brush cutting both sides of the existing wall to further assist the 'wallers'. As if is this wasn't enough there were some larger shrubs to remove which needed my expertise with the 'Silki' given their size. A long warm day but as always very satisfying.

Something to keep a careful eye on, EU birds and habitats Directive

Poetry in motion!

Looking towards South Park from just below Moors Copse

The promise of a hot sunny day at Sherborne on Wednesday was certainly delivered and oddly we were first to deliver a full load of wood to a village customer at a location which was a pleasure to be in.  In the skies above Sherborne swifts and swallows {on a lower sometimes ground hugging flight path} demonstrated their aerial prowess ,  this nicely captured by a  Mark Avery guest blog featuring this 'swift' poem.  Following the unloading of the wood we enjoyed a welcome drink and biscuit kindly provided by a local villager and whilst still admiring the swifts & swallows witnessed the late arrival of 2 red kites and a buzzard. The rest of the day was dedicated to the completion of four more tree guards down from  Moors copse, still plenty left  to do on this task. My nail, staple, sawing ends of rails  and 'wire twisting'  skills are certainly being tested! Had time to see the Broadwater swans and especially their cygnets who after only a week on this planet were being shown how to cope with the weir. Have to confess I didn't realise how buoyant they were. Lots of other youngsters out on the water {coot & mallard chicks but no tufted duck young yet.  As a slight aside on my visit to Slimbridge tuesday observed for the first time kingfishers at the Kingfisher hyde although their young were not quite ready to leave their 'hole in the bank'.

Hare today….

Thursday acting on information from the Barrington gamekeeper was delighted to 'strike gold' on the hare front {no jokes please!}, I gave up counting after 20.  So lots to learn here like : the early bird…, a bigger telephoto is a must and the footpath from Greater Barrington to Tayton provides a good walk & plenty of wildlife opportunities !

Andy & Will under river Eye bridge, 'models' extra!

Alan using his head, Andy & Will bookends

first Dipper box duly deployed

Survey begins, just downstream from the Mink boat

One still living trout needing some first aid!

Beautiful demoiselle female, watch the spider...

Today saw a return to Greystones with the Wildlife Trust to deploy the Dipper boxes constructed last week and to also carry out a water vole survey along the reserves river Eye stretch and also a part of the river Windrush close to Bourton. I joined Will's team for the river Eye location leaving Richard to lead the team on the Windrush location ( we've still to learn how Richard's team fared in the deeper waters of the Windrush).  Have to say was unsure how: the Dipper boxes were to be fixed to the underside of the bridge,  our team of 5 would be used , the water vole survey would be carried out. The good news was the weather was great, we would be in the water for most of the work in the hottest day of the year and even better we all had waders albeit slightly leaky. The pictures give an indication of the work involved but not how much we all enjoyed the day on a slightly different to the norm outing. Several things deserve a special mention not listed in any  preferential order. Andy & Will showed their flexibility fixing the boxes under the bridge without getting too wet, Alan majored on drilling, spotting a kingfisher, a water vole and impressive water vole feeding & toilet areas, we all walked in the river Eye from the Greystones boundary nearest the farm all the way to the main bridge for the water vole survey without mishap. The day ended all too quickly with the Dipper boxes safely installed and the survey with very encouraging findings,  completed.

Away from the gold cup, a little bit of everything

Sherborne village in the mist, from 'upper' brook bridge

Lodge Park farm buildings,  view from Larkethill wood

Fresh and misty weather dominated the early morning at Sherborne but at least I had escaped the congestion that the Cheltenham festival brings to my local area. A good start to the days proceeding at the nursery as a red kite provided a very low fly by in order to pierce what was a thick blanket of fog. Mike had to fit in a meeting reviewing the Sherborne estate's conservation performance indicators [CPIs] which also included other NT estate/properties. So Simon & I were charged with splitting a number of Ash 'cords' {blocked by Mike} for a new customer order for Windrush and also to measure the cubic metres it took to fill the trailer. Its not often we get the chance to split nicely blocked Ash and it was a pleasure filling the trailer with 'hand crafted' uniformly shaped Ash wedges, the customer hopefully appreciating what a special trailer load he was getting.

Lunchtime, with slowly improving visibility, was spent by the Broadwater on the section above the weir. It looks like we have an additional pair of mute swans settled on this part of the river with our resident pair happy enough with the waters below the weir. Also on show were lots of especially wigeon, coot, mallards plus half a dozen tufted ducks,  a pair of canada geese plus two roe deer. A bonus awaited on my return to the estate offices as I enjoyed a good view of a greater spotted woodpecker in the large cyprus tree, followed by another low flying red kite. 

A departure from normal activities was offered by Mike for the afternoon as he 'kindly' invited me to enjoy the completion of the CPIs for the Sherborne part of the review meeting. This included progress on objectives associated with features like Archaeology and historic background (e.g. iron age Windrush hill fort , long barrow at Lodge Park),  Arable land (habitats and species), Parklands and designed landscapes , Woodland and Trees (e.g. ancient & veteran trees, managed woodland, tree disease monitoring), Views and iconic settings (photographic records of landscapes). Missed the Water( habitat and species- local rivers & water meadows). All enlightening & food for thought for me!

Fortunately Mike & I were able to leave the meeting mid afternoon and in excellent weather re-visited Larkethill wood to continue thinning (and haloing where needed!). An excellent way of completing another storm free day at Sherborne.

Interesting Martin Harper blog on the sort of strategic planning (25+ years) and ideally cooperation needed for effectively protecting our natural environment, plus to Frack or not to Frack.

Spring in the air!

Will our male resident swan better 9 offspring 2014?

Water flow still strong by the Broadwater weir

Slight frost first thing but temperatures soon up to double figures at Sherborne today. The morning was spent at the nursery splitting wood and by lunch we had completed 3 customer orders. Spent a warm lunchtime down by the Broadwater where springlike activities were well underway. A pair of coots had built their nest on the remaining weed patch on the Broadwater close to the fallen oak, a pair of buzzards were perched close together in the copse above the weir {probably preparing for nesting in Clarkes close nearby}, the resident swans look ready to start this years family {can they beat last years 9 offspring!}, and the various wigeon, tufted ducks, mallards were all 'pairing up' on the quieter places upon the Broadwater.

The afternoon with weather still holding was spent up at Larkethill wood initially tidying up the previously cut wood into cordwood piles and the smaller items loaded on the trailer. Mike was then unleashed on some much needed thinning of sycamore, beech and ash. In no time additional cord wood piles were building at quite a rate given most of the trees felled put up little resistance. I only had to use the wedges and tree lever on a couple of trees with Mike using the 'lever' technique to untangle a tree caught up in an adjacent trees branches. Again in this springlike weather, once the chainsaw was silenced,  the birds {males} were certainly showing off their voices. So another productive day out in the country and perhaps we've finally escaped the incessant round of winter storms.

Obviously the flooding this year notably in the Somerset levels and alongside the Thames has and is distressing for those impacted but hopefully an adequate/more long lasting response will come out of this as outlined by most 'experts'/NGOs  illustrated by this WT piece.

Keeping dry?

Winter colour in the Pleasure Grounds

Another wet day forecast (contributing to why this is the wettest January on record} but the show has to go on at Sherborne so I duly reported in and happily was rewarded with fine weather. The day began with a wood delivery to a nearby village and on the way back checked out a few things on the Lodge Park boundaries. The first was assessing a fallen beech branch which will need clearing at  a later date, the second was observing sheep happily grazing in the pasture where we had previously erected the temporary fencing adjacent to Larkethill wood and lastly, because we had the trailer, was to collect some of the wood previously stored in the Eastern borders of Larkethill wood. While doing this a red kite dropped in to see what we were doing followed by a buzzard. By the time we had dropped the loaded trailer of wood in the nursery it was lunch.  After spotting the usual birdlife on the Broadwater with the addition of 2  little grebe I paid a brief visit to the Pleasure Grounds. It was good to see fine displays of snowdrops & aconites and a good number of great tits enjoying the relatively mild & dry weather.

Riding our luck a little with the still dry weather,the afternoon was spent back at Larkethill woods . It is still one of the few areas of the estate where  its possible to use the tractor with trailer and the 4x4 with trailer without getting bogged down in mud and deep water. Before starting to gather up the cord wood stacks I had time to take Maddie for a short walk and wandered over to the Lodge Park boundary to check out the water levels by the river Leach. Surprised to disturb 2 herons by the river and noted the water levels were still high. Soon had filled both trailers and with the rain finally making its appearance retreated back to the nursery to end a pleasant day out in the country.

As seen on TV!

Clear view across ditch, lots more shrub waiting on right!

Out with the Wildlife Trust Monday, at Greystones, the last session for me of the year. The task was shrub clearance of one of the ditches,  again to make the area more attractive for water voles. Two surprises awaited the volunteer team; the first was how dense the shrubs were and my sawing skills were tested to the limit, the second was the presence of BBC West who were interviewing Tom on the Greystones nature reserve, Will on volunteers and John on water voles. Filming took place of the reserve plus work going on during the day at Greystones, including our little shrub clearing exploits. No I didn't star or more to the point talk the BBC crew into the ground!

Magnificent oak down by the Broadwater

Lots of good stuff on the Sherborne estate regards birds but first task of the day was giving Pat a hand in the morning clearing a water channel running alongside Tight Lane which starts at the Sherborne school. For the afternoon,  following a stay of execution on the return of the Wood processor,  Mike had set up a final {really!} wood production session. Before commencing we duly delivered this years xmas tree to Sherborne House and mighty fine it looks to! As in last weeks session we finished the days work in the dark,  our wood stocks now cleared but the wood store full {alongside both trailers with loaded wood}.

On the bird front I spent last Saturday afternoon down in the water meadows where I was treated to great views of Buzzards, over 16 Red Kites many roosting in the 'poplar stands' alongside the Windrush. In addition there were a pair of cormorants, mute swans, a heron, 3 fieldfares, marsh/willow tits and goldfinches. This was complemented by todays lunchtime down by the Broadwater with lots of wigeon, mallards, coots, canada geese, {1 with orange collar}, 1 greylag, heron, pair swans, red kite, buzzard, raven and to make my day a kingfisher. The kingfisher was fishing down by the Broadwater weir and for over 10 minutes I watched it finally catching its lunch. The only downside was I didn't have my telephoto but took a couple pictures anyway with my wide-angle zoom. Yes it is possible to see the kingfisher in my snaps but an opportunity missed for a quality image!

Woodstock ?

Its all about the wood, music would be good too

Weather almost tropical compared with yesterday, and yet another surprise start at Sherborne. This involved the delivery of a Christmas tree, courtesy of the Commons, to Northleach Church. Was impressed by the 13th century church at Northleach and even better by a chance sighting of a kingfisher on a 'tributary' of the river Leach just outside the church grounds. However the main task of the day was to be in the nursery generating as much wood as possible before, sadly, the wood processor is returned to Ebworth. So the rest of the morning was spent filling the tractor trailer which was then duly unloaded into a pretty full wood store. This is just as well since the seasoned cord wood supplies are rapidly disappearing.

Lunch was down by the Broadwater where 2 mute swans {no cygnet}, wigeon, mallards, canada geese , 1 Greylag and 1 tufted duck were on show.

The afternoon included 2 wood deliveries and ended in the dark with another trailer load, destined for the wood store.  So a really productive day with our 'woodstock[s]' in good shape before the christmas holiday demands. As to repeating the 69 iconic festival, I don't think Lodge Park is ready for something that large so happy to settle for the 'peace' and birds of Sherborne!

Final count 2013

Cheltenham avenue, near Bat cave

The morning was to prove damp at Sherborne, but fortunately we were to carry out the last bat count of the year so we were under cover most of the time. Morris was on good form, possibly because he's soon off on a 6 week Australian adventure, and much historic information was imparted on quarries in the local area plus their bat populations. The temperatures recorded in the bat cave were fairly high and the bats certainly took advantage with a large grouping to be found at a 12 degree hot spot. So in the bat cave were 142 lesser horseshoes, 0 in the kennels, 0 in the bothy and 19 in the nursery cellar giving a total of 161. This was slightly down on the last count of 175 but apparently this is normal as some males disperse to other roosts in search of females, so we are expecting at the next planned survey, a higher count in January 2014.

Spent a dry and sunny lunch with a leisurely walk through the Pleasure Grounds on my way to the Cheltenham Avenue to witness the end of the Autumnal colours in the beech and larch. On the way back I had a quick look over the Broadwater where to my surprise was a new swan family with one cygnet {a little late in the season}. They were in the company of significant numbers of canada geese and various ducks.

The afternoon was spent in the nursery with the wood processor, generating and delivering 2 trailer loads for local customers. Bad light and further rain showers prevented further wood processing work so next week will be a concentrated effort to increase our wood supplies as much as possible {we'll probably finish off the remaining seasoned wood left} before the wood processor returns to Ebworth. Clearly we'll need the weather to cooperate so hopefully the expected winter snow will hold off a little longer.

Just in case there was any doubt regards this Governments record on 'being green', Mark Avery's 'nature check' blog reminds us in detail how badly they are doing against their own targets.

The Tree whisperer ?

The Broadwater

First real signs of winter with a frosty start this morning but ideal working conditions on a mainly sunny day. A relaxing start with a wood delivery for Simon, a fellow volunteer, and providing excellent hospitality. This was followed by a trip to the West Belt for a continuation of thinning. It was to prove a  difficult session and one of those days where our patience was certainly tested. The trees to be felled seemed to resist the simple task of just falling to the ground. So rolling, levering using both tree levers, use of the wedge, levering the trunk backwards and 'super cuts' with the chainsaw were all brought into play to bring the trees to ground. I think even Mike was surprised by so much resistance to our efforts and I'm sure a few quiet words were also employed at one stage. It was certainly not boring and at least the last tree to be felled before lunch actually fell to the floor with no additional help.

Spent lunchtime by the Broadwater [part of Sherborne brook close to the village] where the canada geese, mallards, moor hens, coots, wigeon, teal and a friendly wren were all on show. Interesting news from Mike was that 7 mute swans visited the Broadwater earlier this week, a good chance they were 7 of the 9 cygnets that were born here and encouraged to leave by their parents!

The afternoon was spent back in the West Belt but this time on some hedge laying. True to todays form this proved challenging, as the shrubs/trees to be bent into the new hedge were on the large size, entangled with each other and also leaning in the wrong direction. Progress was therefore not as impressive as the hedge laying last week but despite one or two setbacks we did finish the day with a reasonable stretch completed.

The Windrush, water levels high by water meadows

The first short eared owl in the water meadows this season was reported by Andy L {NCOS} so must find time to pay a visit to see if it has been joined by more of these winter visitors.

There's nothing quite like it....

Mud provides extra challenge in the nursery

So after lucking out with the weather for Snowshill Apple weekend , having Tuesdays session with the Wildlife Trust cancelled due to heavy rain, it was fingers crossed for Sherborne today. Well seems my luck is holding as the weather gods seemed to be in a good mood. Fortunately the recent wet weather has meant I now travel well prepared with waterproofs, wellies etc. Just as well I had my wellingtons on hand as  the day was to be spent in the Nursery producing wood supplies in deep mud. Deliveries were to Windrush and our first to the Sherborne village shop where the owners were so impressed with the amount of wood delivered for the first load, concluded that the additional load they ordered was not necessary. Not a problem for Mike as the unwanted load was to get a deserving local home. Further loads were used to top up the wood store which is slowly filling up for the winter demands.

Autumnal colours on show at Sherborne

In the fine weather I spent my lunch in the Pleasure Grounds where I was surprised to see a Comma butterfly and then I bumped into a number of walkers enjoying the balmy conditions. I had chance for a quick look at  Sherborne Brook where I spotted a lone egret , the usual heron, lots of mallards & gulls and to my delight the swan family parents minus their offspring plus a lone swan upstream of the weir. The 50+ canada geese we spotted flying in formation, from the Nursery, were not there so must be enjoying a rest down in the Water Meadows.

This NT press communication could offer a ray of hope on much needed support for our environment from farmers, this being linked to the imminent decision by Owen Patterson/DEFRA on how the CAP funding is used. Wildlife Trust also produced this communication on the same subject, I like the picture of the hare!.

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. 

Taking 'Stock' and the 'swans song' ?

Belted Galloways sheltering on Rack Isle

The only 'swan' [pub in Bibury]  I saw today!

Managed to penetrate dense fog to arrive in one piece at Sherborne today. Mike was 'chained' to the office so I was to visit Bibury to check on the Belted Galloways on Rack Isle and to ensure the electric fence was in good order. Maddie came along for the ride and I managed to get to Bibury before the rush so managed to secure a parking place. Surprisingly, given its October, I was ambushed on my survey of the electric fence by a small army of enthusiastic Japanese tourists. Hopefully the NT won't be too damaged by an enforced 'photo session' down by Arlington Row, obviously they were going for character not beauty!  Soon completed a check of the fence {still charged}, ensured the water troughs were full and all Galloways were present and well. On my return journey back to Sherborne I was treated to my second viewing of the day of the much missed Red Kites, this was a close up view of a Red Kite taking advantage of a road kill of Pheasant. The morning was completed by a visit to number 61 Sherborne to mow its lawn in readiness for the new tenants arriving this weekend.

Lunchtime was to prove a shock for me as the swan family were absent from Sherborne brook, no card or call to let me know!, but hopefully they will return before the young cygnets go their separate ways. So at least the youngsters are flying now. I had to make do with 1 egret, 1 heron and 1 buzzard.

The afternoon was spent in the nursery where I was re-acquainted with splitting with Mike blocking with chainsaw. The wood wasn't the best and I wasn't  'match fit' but in spite of a couple of showers we managed to add a reasonable load to the wood store supplies. More is needed to meet what is an increasing demand for this local wood service. So quite a day with lots of variety and I'll certainly sleep well tonight.

Had to add as a late addition other fine blogs by Martin Harper on CAP {CAP2, CAP3}, it even puts Owen Patterson in a better light. If Patterson follows up his promises I would be only to happy to give him credit on this key issue.