Guard straightening in the rain

A pensive Ben and John look on as Tania is amused and Hap enjoys his cake. Do the alders heavy with berries suggest a harsh winter ahead?

These trees planted about four years ago are doing well, especially the Italian alder and some of the birch with a few oak also showing good growth. However they have been battered by the wind in places and as the deer are quite a problem here we need to try and keep the trees straight and as protected as possible, so spent a rainy but not unpleasant morning straightening up guards and banging in stakes. Quite few trees were big enough to remove stake and guard completely so we accumulated a store of useful spare materials where they were not too damaged. Quite a few stakes were reused on other trees with broken stakes and the rest were taken back to the nursery. There is more to do here. We were, Hap, Philip, Tania, Ben, John and myself. Cake was a delicious fruit cake. Philip was particularly proud of a new tool belt and I was excited about using my new camera only to find after taking one group photo it had run out of memory so had to resort back to my phone for 'the belt'.

Geoff

'The belt'

Scammonden scamps

Jess' cropped trousers were discussed.

Today we popped up to Scammonden reservoir to feast our eyes upon our works of the last few years. All looking pretty good. We were there primarily to fix overblown tree guards and trees, but Philip and Duncan were also taking an academic interest in the whole "when is best to take guards off altogether" situation. Conclusion seemed to be that where guards had been taken off, deer were having a bit of a nibble. So best to leave them on? We did retrieve a few from out and out failures though (not many).

We were: myself, Jess and Lizzie the Dog, Duncan and Harvey the dog, Peter W., Philip, and Ben. Cake was blueberry muffins, freshly made with blueberries out of mum's garden.

Before

After

A big push for Wessenden valley

Hap grabs some Chocolate cake

A three line whip got a good turn out: myself, Hap, Tanya, Geoff, John, Philip, Ben, Dave and Steve. We think we finished it all today, both the Butterley bit and the far end up by Blakeley. After Thursday nights session as well I am now officially knackered. But all those thousands of trees are now seeing a good bit of daylight, and should get a couple of months good growth in before the darker months.

And we begin the planning for those darker months now, site visits, and sourcing of trees and materials.

In the photo below, in the distance you can see tree guards that we have exposed in the bracken on the hillside.

Steve, Tanya (hiding), Geoff and Hap.

Yet more bracken bashing

Steve and Cath

Tonight there was more slashing and killing than a whole season of Game of Thrones. We were: myself, Steve, Cath, Philip and Steven. Bracken is getting quite high, as you can see, and is completely shading many of the small tubes of Hawthorn and Hazel. Good night for it though, as there was a brisk wind, and the midges were cowering in their underground hovels.

We found a pack of new hare guards hidden in the undergrowth, so added them to the stash for next season.

Four men and a psychotic Jack Russell

Bracken now as high as the tree guards.

This evening myself, Philip and Geoff went up to Butterley and spent a couple of hours knocking back bracken from around the trees planted last season. Yorkshire Water made a generous contribution to our funds on the basis that we weed this planting for the next 3 years. Weeding will help maximise the success rate, and the young trees do seem to be doing well. It was a lovely evening, though we did need our insect repellant and midge nets. As we were leaving we met Dave who had been working on his wildflower meadow nearby. Dave had his small dog with him though. The dog is somewhat unfriendly, and had to be restrained from attacking us. We also saw a dead stoat.

Marsden Mechanics volunteer recruitment event

This evening Ann, Dianne and I attended the volunteer recruitment event at the Mechanics. We stood proudly beside our roller banner for a couple of hours, and did manage to get two names and make one useful contact with another group. I kept the anniversary film on loop on my tablet for punters to get a look at, but didn't manage to sell any DVDs.

Blakeley Reservoir Bracken Bashing

Geoff, Ben, Stephen, Dave and Hap.

This morning we walked up the Wessenden Valley for a bracken bashing session beside Blakeley Reservoir. We were: myself, Geoff, Ben, Stephen, John, Dave, Hap and Steve. A nice breeze kept the midges off, so all we had to worry about was the hard work involved on the steep slope. Clearing the bracken from around the newly planted trees will allow them to receive light and more nutrients. A couple more weeks of bracken growth and these 1.2 metre tree guards would have been completely engulfed, and the trees inside left in the dark for the whole Summer.

I was asked to include some of the break time conversation topics in the blog, which were, for the record, Mark E. Smith, incontinence, and the fact that Mallard ducks are inconsiderate lovers.

Before

After

In the distance, on the right hand hillside beyond the reservoir, you can see several areas planted by the CVTS in past years.

Old guard remove guards

Transfixed by the view.

It sounds like a Guardian cryptic crossword clue, but describes what happened. Trevor, Brian, Duncan and a fellow that I don't recognise from the photo were up at Scout Top, Marsden, removing stakes and guards from trees that no longer needed them. Looks like it was a very pleasant morning.

The view they were transfixed by.