Best tool for the job?
Any NCV worth their salt would know that this week's task description heralded the need for a more substantial digging implement than the one shown above. Oh yes indeed! They were not being asked to dig up dandelions or daisies. Instead they had to remove the rhododendron roots that remained in the ground, after the original rhodie clearance, on either side of the main pathway into Fishpond Wood.
What was needed were heavy duty spades, mattocks, loppers and bowsaws - and lots and lots of energy and strength.
Well - that sets the scene. Let's see how these tools were deployed and how many roots were removed......
The day started with everyone donning one of the smart new high vis vests.
These replaced the ones the mice had eaten.
Up in the woods the rhodie roots lurked below the soil looking reasonably benign.
That was until you started digging and realised that the job was NOT going to be that easy.
They were a bit like ice-bergs with only a small part showing above the soil level.
Keep digging Andy!
Andy eventually got this one out of the ground.
As you would expect, the Mighty Osian set to with great gusto and eventually...
...won the battle with this particular monster.
Alistair was very proud to dig out the first of the roots.
No wonder he got this one out so quickly - it was, after all, just a teeny weeny one.
a strategy that seemed to work well for the pair of them.
At least Dave could see where to dig.
Jan fell to his knees in the face of adversity and said a few Hail Marys
in an attempt to help the job along.
Ros E. even attempted the see saw method in an effort to coax
this recalcitrant root out of the ground.
Once the roots were out they then had to be collected up....
...and then used to construct two rather large habitat piles.
It was now lunchtime and everyone had had enough of de-rootification.
Consequently the group moved further along the path to the pond.
Here they pruned back any encroaching rhodies
and even cleaned off a set of steps.
Yes - I think that should just about do it chaps.
Just pick up those clippings please.
During this last part of the day we saw a few interesting things -
such as this troop of fungus which we think may be Sulphur Tuft....
..and this Common Puffball that looked a bit like a white hedgehog.
This hollowing veteran beech was measured and photographed
to be added to the Woodland Trust's ancient tree inventory....
...along with this hollowing birch, added as an ancient tree.
Back at the barn the day finished with the usual communal boot and tool cleaning session.
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