BEWARE! Scrub Clearance to be done!
When they heard where they were headed this week the NCVs considered running out and buying some health and safety equipment similar to that shown above. They were to return to Cow Myers SSSI in order to carry out 'scrub clearance and autumn tasks' which sounded like shorthand for saying 'cutting down blackthorn with all the usual likelihood of scratched noses and a dig in the eye to boot'. The extra fluffy bits on a face protector such as this would also give some protection from any midges that might try to invade around the edges.
The photos below show whether their fears were confirmed......
Everyone thought that perhaps the work area may be a little
on the moist side when they walked through this gateway.
Needless to say - their thoughts were confirmed 10 fold.
The word of the day was decidedly 'slimy', with NCVs having to squelch through muddy puddles and slither along slippery paths.
However - the good news was that they were not dealing with blackthorn after all.
Instead a stand of encroaching alders, birch, spindle and hawthorn needed
pushing back to allow the special magnesian limestone flora to flourish.
Various bods set to with their bow saws,
leaving the thicker trunks to Liz and the chainsaw.
"What do you want me to do with this now?"
"Just pass it over here and we'll relocate it for you."
"We'll need to do a little bit of whittling before we start mind."
Anita started constructing a high quality brash pile
using a frame of uprights to keep it contained.
A brash pile that sprang up at the other side of the site was
constructed using a more 'laissez faire' approach.
Yes. Well. Shall we move on?
The brash piles contained all kinds of natural decorations.
As well as the main stand of trees there was also this year's
growth that had re-generated from last year's pruning.
The job is a bit like the painting of the Forth Bridge. Never ending!
Ken collected these short alder shoots and
considered taking them home as a bouquet for his wife.
Complete the following sentence....
Jan and Will spent the day:
(a) working their socks off
(b) discussing the best way to use a pair of loppers
(c) debating the pros and cons of the current Brexit situation.
...apart from Ken who had the bright idea of using the very dry area on top of it.
Everyone was very pleased to see the contents of a tin
that Andy had brought along to celebrate his birthday.
The yummiest millionaire's shortbread - and all made by Andy's own fair hands.
Happy Birthday Andy!
Work continued on cutting...
Eventually all the trees that had been felled
were processed and it was time to go home.
Everyone first passed through bio-security trench 1...
...before going through bio-security process 2.
So much mud to get rid of.
So much clean water needed!!
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