TUBE CHECKERS R US!
This week the NCVs returned to the beautiful Banks Wood, part of the Summerbridge Nature Reserve that has recently been awarded SINC status. The last time they were working there was 18 months ago when they were coppicing and working on the path through the wood. This time they were checking the many trees that have been planted to ensure that tubes were weed free and upright before the autumnal gales start to blow.
The photos below should give you a feel for the day....
The morning got off to an exciting start when James Bond
arrived in his classy sports car complete with ejector seat.
Needless to say, within seconds a group of (male) NCVs
had gathered around wanting to see what other devices Q
had engineered into its construction.
Chris studiously ignored James B and
focused his attention on some unwanted balsam.
Once the admiring petrol heads had been dragged away to
start the task we found our way barred by a Beltie.
Luckily it blinked first.
And here was where the NCVs were working.
A hillside covered with hundreds of tree tubes.
It was going to be a day of much kneeling and bending.
Some trees were tall and poking out of their tubes.
Others were so small you needed
a pair of binoculars to see them.
Some tubes had nothing growing in (or the tree was dead)....
....in which case the tube was left at an angle, so that places
that needed new trees could be easily identified.
Others were chock a block with grass, that may
or may not be hiding a live tree.
Occasionally we came across 'thistle trees'
that had ideas above their station.
They thought that we may not notice they were only thistles.
Out with the thistle and there was a little tree.
Coffee time was spent up at the top of the hill by the deer fence, admiring the view.
Anyone in need of relief was able to try out the new 'green loo',
a bijou little structure in the woods.
After coffee there was a lot more of this....
Anita's hair parting was just about as straight as a tree tube, thanks
to her careful coiffing earlier in the day.
At lunchtime there were various conversations,
including thoughts about the upcoming PM's announcement
on the new CV19 restrictions and, more interestingly,
how Tony drowned a woodpecker to eat.
Sorry - misheard - a sparrow hawk did the drowning and the eating.
Meanwhile, Andy was blissfully unaware of any of the conversations.
He had obviously been working harder than all the rest.
Three interesting little finds:
... and a newly sprouting acorn at the base of a tree tube -
probably dropped in by a Jay.
The little baby tree was carefully rehoused elsewhere,
with its own tube and stake.
Once the job was done the NCVs made their way back to their cars.
James Bond sped off in his Yellow Peril on a top secret mission
to save the world from a dastardly plot of Scaramanga's.
Everyone else just settled for a cuppa and a hot bath.
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