Sunday 8th September 2024 - work party

 There was a heavy shower in the early hours of the morning and we were all in wellies but generally it has been dry and the grass hasn't grown at all. I did get the mower out to cut the right hand side of the main path as the red campion has all seeded now and there are a few spring flowers in there which needs some light.

Mere de menage cooking apple. Widely grown in the 19th century especially in East Anglia.

Members of the group catching up with the latest on the sycamore sooty bark situation.

Lots of snails making use of the damper mornings to climb trees!

Millipede

The apple trees that were planted when we took on the woodland are producing more fruit now. This is a Suffolk Pink.

We completely missed picking the plums this year, they were ready in between work parties and there weren't very many anyway. The path up to the Baldwin apple tree was mown and trimmed back but it is still a bit nettly.

Aside from the regular maintenance tasks there is also the social aspect to the group and some of us stayed to have coffee and homemade muffins and a chat. Thank-you Flossie for the banana muffins!

Sunday 4th August 2024 - Work party

 First, an update on the sooty bark disease situation. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes with some very thorough research by Alex contacting the relevant industry experts for advice though still nothing official from the government. In brief, it seems that the main danger is to those processing the wood and in a quick WhatsApp meeting we took the decision to remove 2 more affected trees close to the entrance and all the cut wood. A local tree surgeon chose a damp morning to carry out the work wearing appropriate protective equipment. The hazard tape has now been removed and although there are more trees with the disease in the woodland, they are not in public areas or in danger of fallen on the road.

There were not many of us but we were able to complete the tasks that needed doing. The vegetation along the road was cleared back to rescue what hedge plants remain and improve the access. This was achieved manually with what I call slashers, not sure of the proper name, and hand pulling.

Painted Lady in the neighbouring churchyard

The footpath between Church Row and The Street, along the churchyard boundary was given a trim to keep it open as it's very popular for walkers in the village.

The main paths and glades in the woodland were mowed as the grass had got quite long.

Main path showing that the grass is drying up now.

Cutting back the path to the Baldwin apple tree

Despite all the bramble cutting we still leave areas untamed and there are plenty of blackberries in the wood.