This is really November's work party held a week early to get the wood ready for the Halloween event on Tuesday. Autumn means leaves and being a woodland there were are lots of them. Some of the work was done on Saturday but there was still plenty to do.
With wheelbarrows, rakes and big rubble sacks, the paths were cleared of leaves which were collected in a large pile in the corner of the woodland to rot down into leaf mould. This can be used to mulch round the fruit trees or added to the forest floor. Most of the leaves that fall are left to add to the leaf litter as it is such an important habitat for invertebrates and fungi but it is useful to define the paths and let as much light as possible get to the sparse grass underneath.
In the glade area, the height of some of the hazel was reduced to let more light get to the Baldwin apple tree. A few snagging brambles were also removed.
Off site some more of the small way marking discs were being prepared to be put up at a later date to make the wood more easy to find. There are seedheads, berries, ivy flowers for bird and insect food and more leaves to come down, still nice and dry for shuffling in.
