Hackfall: 28-09-2021

 

This week it was touch and go if any of the NCVs would turn up for work. With a national petrol crisis in full play, would they have sufficient fuel in their tanks to travel to the venue? Would they have to save it for more pressing needs?

As it happened there was no need to worry. Ten NCVs had both time and petrol to spare and travelled to Hackfall Woods for a day of work. The last time the NCVs were working at Hackfall was a long seven weeks ago - back in the halcyon days of summer, balsam pulling and bracken bashing at the far flung corner of the Dropping Well. 

No need for anyone to walk quite that far to their tasks today. They were back on the normal round of general woodland maintenance tasks, working in two groups throughout the area. Without any further ado let's see exactly what they go up to....

Team 1 (Lime House Hill to the Sandbeds):

A trio of holly trimmers.

Sometimes the holly was right in the centre of 

the path and needed completely taking out.

Then the trio had a little more to deal 

with than the odd bit of veg.

Soloist Ros K. got to work removing nipping 

off the bramble trip hazards.

Now and again a piece of balsam had to be carefully dispatched.

A quick coffee break allowed the team to recharge their batteries....

...then it was onwards and downwards to the river, 

dealing with issues at head height like this along the way.

It's ok Tony - the holly has now gone. You can stand upright.

Uh oh. Now that is a big issue!

Where have the Sandbeds gone?

Where's Liz with the chainsaw when you need her?

The team did what they could with loppers and bow saws.

At least now anyone who isn't too tall can 

duck under to reach the beach.

And anyone with very long legs (or with an Olympic 

medal for the high jump) can get over the base of the tree

which is also now nice and clear of branches.

Team 2 (Alum Springs to Mowbray Castle) 

Osian and his gang threw themselves into 

bashing back brambles with great gusto.

The activity left them completely exhausted by coffee time.

David appeared to take to the bottle. 

Alistair looked on in envy wishing that he,

 too, had thought to bring something a little stronger to imbibe.

If anyone needs a home help this team can offer

 competitive rates for top quality sweeping.

It was going to take more than a bit of 

sweeping to get rid of this obstruction.

Alistair waved his magic wand and....

...Hey Presto! There it was gone!

As everyone arrived back at the carpark so an 

ominous bank of cloud came towards them. Although there

 is still some clearing to do it can wait until next time.

 No point in getting wet now is there? 

Glasshouses verge - the final push: 21-09-2021

If you asked the NCVs what they thought of their task this week they would probably have answered "Oh, it was so-so". Or did they mean "sew-sew"? Or even "sow-sow"? Check out the pictures below to see .....

Well - there was no sign of any sewing machines waiting 

with the tools so perhaps not "sew-sew".

Man at work.

He's certainly not using a needle and thread.

Smiley woman at work too.

Of course - the scything of the verge at Glasshouses did need finishing off.

If you remember - rain (and tiredness) stopped play last week.

But by coffee time that job was done.

Now we can return to the so, sew, sowing issue....

Ah. Interesting. This NCV is scarifying a marked 

out rectangle of verge.

Liz - are they garden shears or

 very large dressmaker's scissors?

These two are clearing patches of grass to expose the soil.

A sewing circle?

No - a seed sorting soiree! This basket of yellow rattle seed

 needed removing from the pods.

Gradually a good quantity of tiny seeds (4 big soup pots full) 

was released from the various boxes that had been 

donated from Tony K's wild flower meadow and another farm.

So now we know - SOWING was the main aim of the day!

 Here Ruth demonstrates a good scattering action.

All the available seed was sown in the carefully prepared 

patches in 7 areas of the verge. Not too much - not too little.

Then - along came 'Will the Fill' and 'Graham McSquirter' 

to cover the seeds with some spare soil and 

dampen them down to encourage them to grow and 

parasitize the grass to slow down its growth. 

This will help other wild flowers to flourish.

Job done it was back to the barn to dismantle the scythes 

and try to figure out how to fit all the bits in the box.

That looks about right - a challenging 3D jigsaw!

Time to get on your bike and go home.

The NCVs who cycle to work are now able to leave 

their bikes under cover in the old pizza oven structure.

Glasshouses verge re-visited: 14-09-2021

 

More Meadow Mowing Moments

There was more than one man (or woman) mowing this week. Eleven NCVs were returning to try to complete the cutting of the Glasshouses verge in order to improve its biodiversity. The pictures below allow you to wonder at their mowing skills - particularly impressive given some very soggy conditions!

Here's the state of the verge at start of play.

At least three men definitely went to mow the meadow.

Any more?

Oh yes - here are two more.

And here's another honing his equipment.

NCV A                                               NCV B

These two had a competition to see who 

could carry the most grass.

Possibly NCV A?

Slowly but surely the mowers mowed their way along that verge.

The rain had encouraged the snail population

 to come out and sample the tasty ribwort.

(Mmmm - ribwort. Yummy!)

It is doubtful that this spider's web survived the cut.

The team discussed tactics at lunchtime.

As they did so the benches glistened in the wet conditions.

Ruth, sensibly, chose to remain standing - no wet rear for that 

young lady!

Rain stopped play with about another half hour's work left to do.

Pretty impressive job under the circumstances though!

And here's the remaining swathe.

Hopefully it will have dried out by the next visit.

Well - Tom certainly looks pleased with the effort.

Or maybe he has just found out he has won a lottery?

Or been placed first in the meadow mowing championship?