Sunday 1st December 2019 - Work Party

 Despite the dry forecast, we had a mostly grey morning with intermittent showers. The job today was raking the leaves from the grassy paths.

Close up version of photo above!

 This year they all seem to have come down at once, much later than usual

Rakes come in all sizes! There has been squirrel damage to several bird feeders but  we saw a flock of long tailed tits waiting for Richard to finish re-filling the feeders.

We had refreshments in the garage to escape the rain.

Richard has been growing a moustache for November to raise money for prostate cancer research. Well done!

Halloween 2019

Another good Halloween pumpkin trail with lots of pumpkins and children running round the wood. Dry but cold and we were very grateful for the fire pit although the heat didn't reach our toes.

Thank-you for the photo contributions.

Sunday 27th October 2019 - Work Party

Two weeks later and here we are again, many of us caught out by the sudden drop in temperature, it certainly was a chilly morning. This time we were a week early for the November work party so that we could prepare for the Halloween event next week.

The fire pit was cleaned out and the stakes put along the path ready for the lanterns. Firewood was cut into suitable lengths and put in the log store.

Just look at the woodpecker hole on the bird box. Richard put up some bird feeders around the wood to encourage the birds to be a bit more visible for visitors.

The rest of the boundary ditch was checked and cleared. The middle ditch had a steady trickle of water and was pooling nicely, see below. It is very satisfying to have our plans come to fruition.

Sunday 13th October 2019 - Work party

A postponed work party because of the torrential rain last Sunday. It was still pretty damp, although not actually raining, and a small team but we still got lots done.

First leaf rake of the year. Not many yet.

We made a start on ditch clearing. This is the main boundary ditch. It just needed some of the overhanging  vegetation removed and the loose debris in the  bottom digging out.

Some initial thinning of the smallest trees along the road was done to allow a bit more light to filter through.

A walk was done of the main path and anything long trimmed back to make sure it is clear for walking round in the dark at Halloween.

New parasol mushroom circle in the top corner.

Work Party - Sunday 1st September 2019

It was tricky to find much to do this month, I didn't really want to start cutting back just for the sake of it. The woodland is still dry and just bathing in late summer sunshine.

There were a few plums ready to pick and a more still to ripen. They vary from small, black, wild damson type fruit to bigger Yellow Pershore so keep an eye out when visiting the wood and help be sure to have a taste.

In the glade area the honeysuckle had grown again so instead of cutting it all off, a couple of ropes were strung between the trees and the long bits wound round. Maybe eventually forming a canopy.

The long grass was cut around the buckthorn, planted a few years ago, to reduce the competition.

The first blackberries are ready.

The big fungus is back in the ash tree - see the post from September 2018!

Work Party - Sunday 4th August 2019

A perfect morning in the woodland, weather wise, luckily we have lost the scorching heat.

I managed to get the long grass strimmed during the week so we got straight on with raking up and putting the grass on the compost heaps.

All raked up and cleared.

 There were some long brambles that needed clearing from the path edges and some of the paths and glade were mown.

The broken hasp on the fire pit was replaced. I know this was a difficult job so it's good to have practical expertise in the group.

Yellow stagshorn fungus on the main path.

Hazelnuts in the glade.

Refreshments at the end.

A poplar hawk moth found by group members working in the woodland on a previous occasion. Should have been added last month!

Big Lunch -July 14th 2019

Not many attendees this year despite being a nice day for a picnic and the offer of activities to do. Hey ho, I set out my Stickman bits and pieces, including kindly donated fabric scraps, anyway.

Well the few of us who were there enjoyed making an assortment of stick people, reading the story and getting them home to the family tree.
The creations included, a stick bride, a lady with a magnificent hat for a day at the races, and Usain Stick.

Many thanks to Karen Chattell for some of the photos.

Mr Toad put in a brief appearance as well.