Towards the end of summer...

After planting more fruit trees at the field from the stock back at home, a steadily busy time with other tasks around the field, before returning back to my proper job for a couple of weeks and a little less intensity down at the field.

From Meadowcopse 2011

Unintentionally, the apple trees yielded quite a bit of fruit (I nipped the buds out earlier in the year as they are still relatively young trees).
Quite a range of flavours, but not greatly developed apples as such, so a bucket full was pulped and pressed to make juice, that was quite good (although the small quantity worked out at about £5000 litre, if you take in the cost of buying a field, trees, tractor, mower etc.

During a riverside walk, I spotted a rather old orchard on the Welsh side of the bank at the same level as the field, alaying any concerns about the winter flood water risks as the trees seem rather established just down from the ruined castle.

From Meadowcopse 2011

The spacing is reasonably consistant with my own planting scheme and the established orchard recently visited (during a fine lunch and weekend away) at Barley Wood Walled Garden near Bristol.

Flooding is the least concern at the moment with the dry weather and yet more extra watering carried out.

From Meadowcopse 2011

Turning up with the tanker on a warm summer evening seems to have caught a couple of amorous folk out too as it draws dark - although one couple seemed to be about to get down to things even when my Landrover was blatently parked in the middle of the field.

Rather chuffed by mid-August to now have the bulk of the orchard planted at a low density spacing and some handy help doing so and with the watering after-care too.
Into the second half of August and some slightly more mundane tasks but some far from mundane days (and nights) at the field.
The Topsoil I had for levelling a couple of low spots has been spread and levelled (the resident moles seem to like it too, the other day a new mole-hill was appearing about every 20 minutes, despite rolling it)!

From Meadowcopse 2011

I spent nearly a week with the tent - giving each day a more flexible and open timetable and relaxed working into darkness.

From Meadowcopse 2011

A couple of fine cooked breakfasts over a camping stove as well as the handy and wholesome Look What We Found brand of ready meals in the evenings washed down with locally brewed ales. An extra pleasant aspect was Deli-Fine across the River Dee at Holt - decent coffee, decent light breakfasts and handy take-away baguettes with local produce.

From Meadowcopse 2011

A short walk either along the ancient track-way or riverbank to the old Holt-Farndon Bridge, a relaxed breakfast in Holt, then back to the field.
A mix of people out on the fine days as well as the regular locals that venture as down the track as far as the field either dog-walking or circular walks back along the river. A bit more time to talk, both of local history and what is going on at the field (already a subject of light harmless speculation and gossip).
I think I surprised a few people by remembering the by-pass being built in the 1980s as well as having reasonable local knowledge and familiarity (I was born and lived only 5 miles up the road).
Some very interesting chat all the same, a couple of insights about the track-way and also historical curiosities back to Roman times for the area.

The walking back and to from the village revealed some wild hops in the hedges as well as a suspected 'chicken of the woods' fungus.

From Meadowcopse 2011

From Meadowcopse 2011

The ditch at the side of the track has hardly any flowing water, but is reasonably alive with small fish and plant life at the edges. It runs into the River Dee, a bit of research suggests Mr. Appleby lived at Crewe Hall. (The late 1700s map with land enclosures might turn up a few clues regarding drainage and field layouts - the double tree lined south boundary is on it).

From Meadowcopse 2011

By the time I'd finished camping, the planted trees had all got a bit of mulch spread about them for moisture conservation and weed suppression.
Still lots to do, but a couple of weeks of less intensity will give the wildlife chance to re-assert itself.
The bees in the hollow tree for a second year are quite happy by all acounts (spoke to a couple of bee experts at Shrewsbury Flower Show about them).
At night time there are quite a few owl hoots and warbles and fox howls and other small quadrapeds shuffling about, buzzards during the daytime ad hedgerow small birds.

A busy start to August

Quite a bit done down at the field recently...
Out with the tractor and mower, but mowing around the meadowsweet which is coming to the end of it's flowering and forming seeds that I want to disperse.
A little more rain recently meant as well as quite long grass, the existing recent orchard trees haven't required so much supplementary watering. Some of the grass was layered badly from recent rain and where uninvited campers had been - The small local group I'd given permission to however, had responsibly left no trace of having been there.

From Meadowcopse 2011

I'd arranged a delivery of topsoil from Dandy's near Chester, to level some low patches and for dressing around newly planted trees (over and above the bracken / sheep wool compost from Dalefoot Composts that went in the holes around the large pot-grown fruit trees).

From Meadowcopse 2011

From Meadowcopse 2011

Another delivery down at the field, was a couple of tonnes of shredded tree waste as a mulch for around the planted trees from local tree-surgeons DKC Contracts also near Chester.
Delivered on a busy day with variable weather prospects, a handy gazebo covered the brewing and cooking gear (stew on the go over an open fire).

From Meadowcopse 2011

What looked like a casualty from amongst the earlier orchard planting of 14 mulberry, 12 walnut, 5 quince, 2 pear and a medlar and a plum tree, was a sweet chestnut. bought-in mail-order bare rooted, then potted up in April this year, it hardly had much more developed roots when transplanted in July and soon had it's leaves turning brown:

From Meadowcopse 2011

It did however recover recently with new growth and had a bit of corrective pruning.

From Meadowcopse 2011

Another job was some new fencing near the neighbouring field. Since they have been grazing horses this year, random dog-walkers seem to be taking a short-cut over my fence rather than sticking to the footpath and the wire fence was starting to suffer. The post-hole borer on the tractor also proved useful for tree-planting preparations with a larger drill-bit fitted. New posts with 4 rails have now gone up (in a "get 'orf my land" sort of way, as dog-mess and random sticks aren't fun when mowing grassland).

From Meadowcopse 2011

The next orchard planting scheme has gone in - doubling the quantity of trees with mainly apple trees:
Bramley, Tentation, Golden Delicious, Orange Pippin, Lemon Pippin, Arthur W Barnes, Elstar, Ribston Pippin, Sops in Wine, Herefordshire Russet, Beckley Red, Limelight, Jonagold, Pitmaston Pinapple, Rode Boskoop, Elison's Orange, Châtaignier, Crimson Gravenstein, Gascoyne's Scarlet, Tom Putt.
Three quince were also planted: Champion and experimentally the understocks quince A and quince C to see what they actually produce as trees.
Two recently acquired young walnuts from Oxfordshire were added to the existing lines.

From Meadowcopse 2011

From Meadowcopse 2011

I also acquired a Cambridge roller, although I had to be a bit selective with price (I guess the scrap metal market prices have pushed things up, it's fairly heavy).

From Meadowcopse 2011

Cheers to a couple of people who have helped out with materials and planting.

Wildlife down at the field has ranged from bees still in the hollow ash tree, 2 buzzards, pigeons, swallows, voles, moles and beetles and wasps chewing at willow leaves. Quite a few toads and the occasional frog.

mowing

Took the tractor and mower to the field yesterday, but mowed around the patches of meadowsweet (in flower) for now.

A buzzard came down and picked up something to eat and there were also a few toads at the gate end of the field.
With the dry weather the fruit trees are going to have a couple of watering spells from the Bowser behind the Landrover...