By Jupiter - that's a good pic!!
On the 1st February 1979 the spacecraft Voyager 1 photographed Jupiter from a distance of 20.3 million miles (32.7 million km) and got this really clear image. This set the bar very high for any NCV photographers. Could they, on this 43rd anniversary of photographical wonder, possibly achieve the same level of clarity of the volunteers from a slightly less remote position? Well - judge for yourself. The evidence is laid out below for all to see, along with the hedge at Picking Gill reserve, so carefully prepared a couple of weeks ago and now awaiting pleaching. As you can see from the initial briefing there was
a great turn out today - 20 NCVs in all!
Good job too as the first task was to shift an enormous pile
of giant pencils that had been delivered in error.
They had to go back to the sawmill to be
swapped for some the right size.
Then there was that little issue of the two large brash piles
remaining from the last visit that needed burning
(as well as any new brash that was produced).
'You know who' were soon on the case.
Luckily the majority of the trees were
fairly thin. Nice and easy to pleach!
So pleached they were - by a number of teams.
Nice axe action there Brenda.
You too Friedy.
First time hedge layer, Chris, turned out to be a natural.
Occasionally Liz and her chainsaw were brought in to hurry up the process with the more sturdy stems.
Liz also provided additional sustenance at coffee time.
The most DELICIOUS christmas cake was passed around
and gave everyone a much needed energy boost.
The alcohol level in the aforementioned cake required
everyone to sit down and be breathalysed before driving home.
Things got a bit awkward near the gate.
Ken looked on in awe as Paul made the job look easy.
First timer Chris was given the
honour of pleaching the final stem.
As the hedge was laid, posts were inserted.
Banging the posts in was not easy, unless you could
tower above them like Osian (aka 'Lofty').
Next the rails were nailed on.
"Make sure the rail line runs straight lads - up a bit at your end David?"
Finally the posts needed cutting off to the right height.
Thanks Tom!
And there you have it - a beautifully laid hedge.
(Picture taken from the same place as the 'before' shot above.)
Even the section beyond the gate was completed.
Whilst all this was going on, higher up the hillside
there was another kind of hedge being created - a dead hedge.
A beauty at that!
The wood for this came from some trees that
had been blown over in the recent storms.
One had damaged the stone wall.
This fallen stem didn't succumb easily, getting hung
up in the neighbouring tree - Liz - chain saw please!!
This group also cleared the path next to the neighbouring farm
which was full of fallen branches.
Will spent all morning litter picking along
the roads in the immediate vicinity.
This is just some of what he collected.
So - what's the verdict on the photographs? As good as Voyager's? No? You are right. But then the NCV cameras didn't cost a great deal in comparison, so they were working at a disadvantage. Still at least you have a rough idea about what went on this week.
Finally - remember that tiny war memorial up on the hill? Well Ted Flexman, a local resident involved in the reserve, came along to explain its background. Apparently the three men that it lists were all locals who went off to fight in the first world war and never returned. The gate post has been brought from nearby 'Butcher's Field' - so named because the field was used as a holding area for local animals destined for slaughter in the Sawley abattoir. The field belonged to the family of one of the men. The post was used in preference to a piece of bought stone, very fitting given that all three of the men were from the farming community. An especially nice touch is the poppy carved into the adjacent wooden bench (made from half a tree trunk).
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