Nature boy

Its always a shame to split up the workforce, as a large part of the reason to be there on a Saturday morning is the social aspect, but, sometimes there are things that need doing.

So this morning we had a nursery party, myself, Dianne, Peter W., Ben and Solo the dog. And an out and about party, Philip, Geoff and Steve.

The nursery party cleared paths and covered up allotment beds with landscape fabric (donated by Duncan). This gives us access and space for storage of the Winter planting stock.

Philip and Geoff visited a prospective site at Bolster Moor, and then joined forces with Steve at Wholestone Moor to weed, straighten guards, and perform general aftercare duties. The trees are doing well. Some of the more recently planted nurse species are doing their job of growing quickly. The oak are growing, all but slowly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JquzYr-5bE4

Messing about in the shrubbery.

Bad to the bone

This evening I went up above Marsden with Sarah and Neil to take a look at the ash die-back in their field. Very sad, not every tree is affected, and most that are affected still have new growth from this year, but have lost their main upward stem, the leader. Forestry commission advice is a bit unclear. They don't advise outright destruction, but do say that coppicing from diseased trees is likely not a good idea. Coppicing was Neil and Sarah's original plan for these trees. Luckily, they have other trees, and other species in the same field.

Diseased stem, it will work its way back down the stem.

The leader (top stem) seems most often the one to go.

Classic "lesion" on stem.

In the flat field

This morning we went to Wham to do some weeding, it is not very often that we are in a more or less flat field. We were; myself, Dave, Philip, Jess, Ben and Solo the dog, and Adrian.

And a wildly inappropriate bit of goth rock this week.

Machine gun

Another solo session up Wessenden. Guy and Stephen have done their turns, and today I went up and did an hours weeding. Lovely day.

On the way back down I passed some re-enactor sorts on their way to Uppermill for one of those 1940s days. Quite bizarre to turn a corner and see a small tank trundling along the road.  Albeit the most pathetic tank ever made, the Bren Carrier, complete with (hopefully) replica Bren gun on the top of it.