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...

Another couple of weeks passes

Meadowcopse

A busy couple of weeks, but mainly with a small building and DIY job at home between downpours of rain.

Last month it rained conveniently and almost continuously whilst I was at work - handy for the orchard trees transplanted from their large pots to the field.
This time at home, the first few days of my time off were quite dry, so another late evening watering session with the Bowser behind the Landrover.
All the recently planted trees have new growth - including the brown and vulnerable (dead) looking sweet chestnut. In the space of 2 weeks, it has gone from the hint of half a dozen green buds to small properly formed leaves.
Almost an entire week of daily heavy rain has probably helped too (although back at home compromising progress on some unrelated tasks).

A couple of large items delivered - a few lightweight but sturdy folding directors chairs, 100kg of compress Coir cocoa fibre in 5kg blocks (expands to a fine neutral compost when wetted) and a small pallet of sheeps wool & bracken based compost from Dalefoot Composts. This is for summer moisture retention around the next orchard plantings, and to supplement the existing fruit trees too.

Not that much done with the field the last 2 weeks, a session eradicating dandelions and docks, mainly with the strimmer. Also a spell strimming down the grass around the orchard trees (I'll probably be taking the tractor out and mowing all the field in a couple of weeks time - the grass is knee high).  The meadowseet is noticeably in flower and smells pleasant too.

If it's not too hot and dry, then another area of orchard trees will be transplanted from their pots too, with a couple of weeks of additional watering too.

I've let a couple of local people discretely camp overnight. I was in two minds after random interlopers the other week leaving bottles and cans and rubbish tossed around and flattened grass in the middle of the field, but respect and trust works in many ways and it's a gamble I'm prepared to take if it gives people the chance to quietly enjoy and respect their surroundings...

From a wildlife aspect, a buzzard still circles around, owls can be heard at night and a couple of colourful insects in the long grass. I spotted a damsel fly and a dragon fly too and was convinced I heard a woodpecker pecking (although no obvious activity at the hole in the ash tree from last year.
I've seen a couple of voles along the edge of the hedges and ditches and a mole-hill appeared in front of me last week when watering the orchard trees. 

A new orchard

Another busy couple of weeks...

The initial layout of the orchard area down at the field is done and almost half of the large fruit trees transplanted from the collection in large pots from at home.
A bit of a gamble with all the dry weather - but 2 weeks of watering almost every other day from a small tanker behind the Landrover has helped.
Up to now, only a sweet chestnut tree looks 'vulnerable' and not very green with it's leaves.



The plantings include: walnut, heartnut, sweet chestnut, 12 black mulberry trees, 1 white and 1 red mulberry, 5 quince, 1 medlar, 2 pears, 1 fig tree.
Apart from the fruit and nut trees - 7 elms (5 as part of the Great British Elm Experiment for monitoring Dutch elm resilience) have been planted along the west boundary line, as well as the second female black poplar I had in stock at about 1.5 meters tall.

With reasonable soil quality, not much digging was done, but some humus rich compost was added to the planting holes, with 'Rootgrow' mycorrhizal granules added against the roots. The soil around the plantings has been mulched with rotted horse muck and a generous spread of semi-composted woody vegetative chippings.

In the last couple of weeks there seems to have been an increasing number of folk straying across the land despite no path across it and plenty of obvious footpaths elsewhere near-by. Particularly dog-walkers and random strangers / teenagers thinking it's a handy area for a relaxed smoke.
I did however notice on the Cheshire Police rural crime page, that someone got lifted at the end of the access lane for possession of cannabis - so at least there is a police presence now and then.

I brought forward some fencing improvements, particularly along the near-by track-way and path - I think horses being in the field that has a riverside path on the other side of the road has tempted folk with dogs off the lead to use my field. (The middle aged woman kicking a football about for 2 hounds amongst the newly planted trees was a bit bizarre - the condescending "Oh, should I leave then?" didn't help her cause. A few days later a bloke managed to wobble over the barb-wire live-stock fence at the top of the field, twang a wire staple out from the post in the climbing process and seem to grumble at having to walk around the Landrover and Bowser near the gateway.
Being as any more transplanting is on hold of the large pot-grown trees until it starts to rain regularly, at least a bit of time was productively spent improving the older damaged and missing fencing around the gateway.

The grass doesn't seem to have as many weeds in it this year after last summer's mow and an early mow this year - the meadowsweet has survived well and if anything proliferated. It's flower-buds are just formed, so home-brew using a nettle ale recipe will commence in a couple of weeks.

Extra strimming of docks and a few thistles has taken place and a light selective chemical spray of Himalayan Balsam that was growing in the roadside hedge - although the aim is for that to have been a one-off.

Once it looks like rain with some regularity, then the collection of heritage apple trees can be transplanted from their pots at home.
Thanks are due to some handy assistance during the planting and watering schemes.

It seems a bit quiet on the wildlife front.
Some oddly coloured beetles in the grassland and nettles, the dog roses are almost over but some bramble flowers still out, the grass has grown quite quickly since the late April mow as well as some patches of sorrel coming into flower.
Another couple of self-set oak seedlings spotted as well as young ash trees in the roadside boundary.
A buzzard has been flying about overhead and calling - also it flew out of the hedgerow along the roadside at knee height in the area I had previously seen voles.
No sightings of any owls or evidence of the woodpecker lately, but the bees were seen in the hollow tree below where the tawny owl had been roosting.
Quite a bit of mole activity noticeable since the weekend rain (the ground had previously been rather firm and hard) - must make more of an effort to collect the mole hill soil, as it is quite a fine quality.

A busy couple of weeks - elm trees...

The 5 young elm trees I have as part of The Conservation Foundation's Great British Elm Experiment, are now in their final position along the west boundary of the meadow.



A busy couple of weeks down at the meadow, marking out for orchard planting mainly, and watering periodically of transplanted pot-grown trees in the rather dry weather...

Back...

An afternoon visit to the field, some noticeable grass growth after two weeks away, but only modest rain has probably checked things a little.

The dog roses in the south hedge have come into flower and the meadowsweet is quite noticeable now as well as new growth on the cut and layered hawthorn.
A few tufts of grey/White/black hair / fur in patches in the grass might suggest badgers - although no obvious signs of tracks.
Quite a few mole-hills, despite the ground being rock-hard from the lack of rain.
Something has been eating at the leaves of the young Black Poplar I planted, I suspect caterpillars.


For the weekend I'm off to Salisbury and on a guided walk of Harnham Water Meadows...

Next week, a few days marking out and taking a chance putting some of the stock of pot-grown trees in - although I'll be revisiting with the water-bowser to give a good chance of survival whilst it's so dry.

A short spell away...

down south...

A foraging course near Lewes in Sussex presented by Nick Weston, author of The Tree House Diaries:



I really should have taken more photos - excellent weather and an excellent course.
Base-camp and preparation and cooking facilities were in a fine bluebell wood and after preparing some rabbits for the pot, a meander across fields, hedgerows and along a waterway collecting edible vegetation and some important pointers for poisonous plants to avoid.

Surprising how much vegetation out and about that I'd taken for granted and now pleasantly find edible and with fine flavours.
I hadn't done any preparation and butchery of rabbits etc. for about 20 years - sometimes it's important to get back to the basics and respect how food (particularly that which moves) gets to our position in the food chain...

One of the things that impressed me with this course, was how the food was presented after gathering and how it tasted.
I was put off liver at an early age by it's texture, taste and smell - but devilled rabbit livers with wild herbs and mustard were rather fine.
Nettle pesto with freshly done flat-bread, 'chicken of the woods' fungus omelette, wood pigeon breasts, carp stuffed with wild garlic, jack-by-the-hedge and baked in a burdock leaf in the fire embers, potted rabbit prepared and well received at a later picnic with friends...

Mowing - and from April into May...

My proper job over ran by 3 days due to fog, an early mow of the field to reduce weeds turned into a rush, as I only had until Monday 25th. of April before heading down south and two days foraging.

The mower and land-rake dropped off at the crack of dawn down at the field.
A little surprised at how much things had grown on and greened-up in two and a half weeks away, despite an incredibly dry April.
Fortunately the short length of layered hawthorn hedge and the stretch of south low-cut hedgerow have all sprung leaves and the large clusters of dog-roses are quite advanced. There looked to be a couple of small pale violas near the hawthorn stumps, but the wood anemones of last month had all but gone.
The female black poplar tree seems to have survived it's planting out too...



The grass was a sea of dandelions - fortunately just into flower and not at seed (and the reason for an April cut). I spotted a new plant - Lady's smock / Cuckoo flower
The meadowsweet seems to be coming back as well and hopefully will survive the mower.

I also spotted that that someone has been using the cover of the north hedge for a relaxing discrete smoke away from the trackway - judging by the debris tossed over the fence, I'm guessing something more relaxing than just tobacco...

Back home and grey squirrels out of the freezer to defrost, then more groceries from
Hawarden Estate Farm Shop and the tractor loaded onto the trailer ready for morning.
The cooking gear loaded up too (Bon-Fire steel pots and tripod for open fire cooking), and then an early night...

Another earlyish start on the Sunday. Down to the field and the mower coupled up to the back of the tractor.
A small camp-fire set up, kettle on for a brew and a large pot of grey squirrel stew slowly set simmering.

Back to the tractor and by now a scorching summer morning (fortunate, as I wanted the mowings to dry and shrink and be handy to rake up).
A visit from my cousin in time for the first serving of stew and the tractor shut down during refreshments...

On with the mowing, to finish across the wider end of the field. The creamy sweet smell of patches of cut meadowsweet now and then on the air as I went back and forth (not too severe a cut, as I'm hoping to start a brew from it's leaves soon).

Another break for refreshments, Earl Grey tea and the remainder of the squirrel stew.
Back to the tractor, and the mower removed and replaced with the land-rake.
Not too sure on this yet - it was reasonably handy lifting the grass and winter river fine debris the other month, but the topper mower leaves a fine residue, so it might be more effective after a day or two drying.

Back home with the tractor before it went dark and an earlyish night to get over the previous weeks night-shifts...
Monday morning and the mower and rake packed away back at home. Another stunning day, although cooler and I'm sure I got caught with sunburn whilst mowing the previous day.
A stroll across the cut field, the more interesting plants in the grassland seem to have survived and the dandelions seriously reduced.

I'd avoided cutting too near to the hedges, preferring to leave a margin of longer grass for wildlife.
A couple of mole-hills compared to the previous day and a brown vole type creature darting out from undergrowth along the north fence line.

Back home and a final flurry to have everything for travelling south.
I still ended up travelling a bit later than intended, but at least the roads were quiet.
A quick scenic stop-off at Warwick - a caffeine fix and dropping off a pack of flour - Walk Mill, stone-ground locally and from local grain.

Onwards to Sussex, I do like the M40 for scenery, before joining the M25.
Overnight accommodation courtesy of the LandRover and up and about the the farm and woodland location for the foraging session...

early April down at the field

March came and went rather quickly.
A few jobs progressed down at the field, but a brief interruption was a break-in to my workshop at home. Items recovered via the Police and 3 people arrested after a spate of burglaries in the area the same night.
Annoyingly, it happened in the early hours of the day I was due back from Shropshire after picking up 150 young trees from Heathwood Nurseries near Whitchurch. They've been left heeled in for now at home...

A noticeable progression into spring between the start of March and start of April.
Before much had come into bud, more of the south hedgerow trimmed down along about one third of it's length to encourage lower denser growth.

From Meadowcopse 2011

More hawthorn whips put into the gaps too and a clump of hazel and some alder put in where the (to be planted) wood will have a lower height profile before opening onto a small orchard.

A local agricultural contractor came and removed the mature ash tree that fell in February from the neighbouring field hedge-row, there was quite a bit of rot that had set in.

From Meadowcopse 2011

From Meadowcopse 2011

Between hedgerow trimmings, river flood vegetation debris and the upper twiggy branches of the fallen tree, five large barrows of wood-ash from burning (will end up in a compost / mulch mix).
Nearly 2 tonnes of horse-muck acquired from a local paddock too, altogether with a large quantity of dead leaves and shreddings, I should end up with a good mulch mix for around some trees.
I've since acquired a land-rake from local small machinery supplier Danelander and gave it a run through part of the grassland behind the tractor the other evening.
This was to give matted vegetation a bit of a lift and comb through from previous years and to lift things ready for an early mow in a couple of weeks time...

A few more birds noticed in the trees and hedgerows and a couple of large birds of prey over higher neighbouring fields. A random pheasant was in one corner the other evening too.
Clearing the south ditch, a random frog was lurking in the hollow of a tree.
The meadowsweet is coming into leaf, there are clusters of wood anemones along the south hedgerow and celandines here and there too. The buttercup leaves are appearing in profusion already as well as dock-leaves coming up too.
Sloes and damsons in the hedges are into blossom too, as well as the north boundary willows coming into leaf.
The grass itself has noticeably increased in height over the last couple of weeks.

From Meadowcopse 2011

Back at home, it's getting a bit late to lift and transfer bare-root nursery tree stock that I have, but quite a few large-cell pots of ash and oak and birch that will probably cope.

A few considerations for the layout of the orchard area and it's aspect and spacing - almost all the fruit trees I have are in large commercial pots, so I probably wont rush this too much, but would like to make significant progress this year.

I've also partly dug out a nursery bed with wooden edgings and will likely lay out a couple more between the orchard tree spacings for now.

March...

Back home in Cheshire and waiting in for a parcel - a few more root-stocks (apple and quince) and some cob-nut bushes from Blackmoor Nursery.

I might try and discretely photograph the owl in the hollow tree down at the field soon too and work out what tracks are on the ground.

Spring has arrived during my two week absence from land - daffodils and primroses out in the garden at home and the tree-nursery stocks coming into bud (must get transplanting down to the field soon and also get the hedge gaps filled too).

hedging and planting

A reasonably busy couple of days at the field.
The rest of a 120m line of young ash trees have gone in along the north boundary parallel to the roadside fence.
A few hazels planted together, some alder and a couple of willows, as well as some willow cuttings.

Part of the south hedge has had a severe cut and pruning - probably for the first time in 15 or 20 years...
The hawthorn had grown into trees with substantial lower trunks, so they have been coppiced.
There are more gaps than hawthorn, so quite a bit of replanting to do.
The bulk of the twiggy cut waste ended up being burned rather than shredded, the wood-ash will still end up going into a compost mix. Quite a few larger lumps for logs.

Quite a lot of stuff is starting to bud and vegetation is starting to green up and become noticeable.
The east hedge that I layered in November has noticeable buds on the hawthorn and dog-rose.

By the time it was dark, an owl could be heard quite close (probably the one in the hollow tree from last month), but a second hoot could be heard further away too.

private and public woodlands

On a day that the Government U-turned on the inclusion of Forestry Commission land in The Public Bodies Bill, I've got round to the first proper planting on my own plot.
A 1.5m tall female Black Poplar from a small nursery stock of native trees I have at home...

From Meadowcopse 2011

(Probably another 1000 trees to plant yet though).
Also half of a 100m line of young ash trees have gone in along the north boundary (this may be expanded to an avenue, approximately recreating the tree-lined track on the 1800s maps).

Another bundle of 50 hawthorns to pick up tomorrow from Morrey's nursery at Kelsall for filling in hedge gaps.
Down at the field, a lot of willow along the boundary has sprouted into bud, I'm going to try some stem cuttings straight into the ground.

Watching Parliament on TV today, some of the later questions touched on grants and taxation and access regarding private woodlands.
For various reasons, I've not taken advantage of The Woodland Grant Scheme for my own plot, although reading recently - a Welsh version of the scheme (100 metres to the border) is under subscribed and suited for small patches of woodland on farm land.
Something that repeatedly annoyed me from the Conservative side of the house was reference to Forestry Commission sales under Labour (about 25,000ha) - For some years I've belonged to a small trust that bought a patch of Forestry Commission land under John Major's 1990s Conservative administration. A partial breakdown of sales is in Hansard from 1996.
I'm still curious as to what prompted an announcement from 10 Downing Street late at night ahead of the Secretary of State's formal announcement?
I'm hoping the campaigns by 38 Degrees and Save Our Woods had profound effect (together with local focus like Save Delamere Forest).
I hope the Government's change isn't a smoke-screen or a portent to complicated and convoluted changes to UK woodland and forestry policy?

tree dislodged

Away at Oxford and alongside the River Thames at the weekend, an automated text / email to say the Lower Dee Valley from Llangollen to Chester was now off flood alert.
Now back at home in Cheshire and had a look down at the meadow today after last weeks inunndation.
There's light vegetation debris up to 2 metres above ground level in the hedges and trees (and still a bit of standing water on near-by low fields).
I've also lost a semi-mature ash tree from the west hedgerow.
One of a pair close together that made a nice silhouette at sunset against the Welsh hills. It's root cluster has completely lifted out of the ditch and bank.

From Meadowcopse 2011

a start to February and forests in the National psyche

Away from the land until next week due to work:
I've been following with interest the publicity around the Public Bodies Bill and the proposed sale and changes to the Forestry Commission estate.
Public Bodies Bill - documents
Consultation process - DEFRA details
Forestry Commission - Public consultation
Woodland Trust - response
National Trust - canvassing opinion

Save our woods on Twitter is a good one-stop-shop.
Local to me in Cheshire Delemere Forest - documented from Norman times and on the doorstep to 5 million people in the north-west of England, is unlikely to be classified as heritage forest.
Established environmental campaigner Jonathon Porrit makes some interesting observations in his blog.

I'm struggling to see the benefit that changes will bring and also under threat of sale are National Nature Reserves (and maybe land alongside canals in British Waterways portfolio).
After the outcry and rallying of public opposition to proposed changes - particularly after the defeat of an opposition amendment Early Day Motion in The House of Commons, a concerted effort to oppose the changes is gathering support.
Opposition to the bill requires further support, as it is a piece of pernicious 'enabling legislation' that allows Government to make sweeping changes away from proper scrutiny.
Get emailing and writing to your M.P. and challenge them on their outlook and participation regarding the progress of this Bill.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01815/010211-MATT-web_1815661a.jpg

Regarding the overall campaign, don't just think it's about a fence and 'private' sign going on parts of the Forestry Commission estate - the balanced structure of how that organisation functions is about to be ripped apart. The Forestry Commission have since inception in 1919, gone from being just commercial forester previously planting tracts of mono-cultured softwood, to arbiter of sustainable woodland management for almost all interested parties, for about 30 pence per tax-payer per year. A coordinated economy of scale enaables research, conservation and shared knowledge for private woodland owners too.

There is a suggestion that suitable charities could run the designated 'heritage forests' with community input. I seriously doubt the gap left by expelling the Forestry Commission can be filled seamlessly by any existing groups without serious regression or even damage.

I have for several years belonged to a small educational charitable trust that initially took on 30 acres of clear-felled Forestry Commission 'surplus' land when the John Major Conservative Government tried to sell off parts of the Forestry Commission.
Trying to manage woodland by committee and consensus is not an easy task - the Forestry Commission's present activities, performance and direction and coordination would be difficult to improve on.

It is somewhat ironic that the United Nations have designated 2011 as International Year of Forests...

Back to my field and home:
An automated flood alert from the Environment Agency for the lower Dee Valley, with the level coming up at Farndon.
Hopefully it'll have settled by the time I'm home for getting ahead with the fencing and hedging.

A large bundle of apple root-stocks ordered for grafting some selected wayside apples I've spotted on my travels.
I suspect they are from discarded apple-cores, but they seem to have adapted and thrived in quite arduous countryside and give viable pleasant fruit...
(I was surprised that fruit tree root-stocks attract full VAT at 20%, even though entire fruit trees are exempt).

A small quantity of plumbing and hose fittings ironically ordered during this weeks rain and high water - ready for summer watering of the nursery stock at home and to mitigate any dry spells for this year's plantings down at the field.

January 2011

Early January's mix of frost, rain and grey skies meant not a lot done down at the field apart from some hedgerow conservation.
A patchy overgrown hawthorn hedge to the south boundary has had some of the height removed and made accessable along it's base-line for partial replanting / gapping up.
I use a Stihl long-arm chainsaw from their KombiSystem range. I've been careful to keep long established large dog-rose clusters for re-weaving back at around chest height and into the hedge structure when layering.
Part of the thinning is to enable stock-proof fencing to go in and for the gaps to be filled with new hawthorn plants and periodic placing of Hazel and a few ash. It's a compromise between existing wildlife cover and the long-term life-cycle of the hedge.

At home I've been going over a few plans and paperwork and a bit of an inventory of the nursery stock of native broadleaf and orchard trees I have at home. (Really looking forward to a pleasant few days to get on with a planting scheme, once the perimeter is secure against straying livestock).
Looking further ahead to sunny summer days, I've taken the pre-emptive step of purchasing a second-hand water-bowser for maintaining the orchard trees for the first couple of summers. Collection was via Oxfordshire last weekend, so a fine (but chilly) relaxed afternoon in the grounds at Rousham and then around Christ Church Meadow at Oxford.

Mid-January there was an automated Lower Dee Valley flood warning (phone / email from The Environment Agency - a modest temporary inundation about half-way up the height of the field gate, although the ground never seems to get waterlogged under foot afterwards). The River Dee had been getting higher after both a thaw and rain.
I temporarily migrated south to Salisbury, ironically looking at similar terrain and habitats in river valleys (also with raised water levels).

Along a minor road between Stapleford and Winterbourne Stoke, I spotted a similar small field to my own - here there was an area of grassland, a relatively newly planted small areas of broad-leaf young trees and also a small orchard area. One corner of the grassland had a discretely placed shepherd's living van...

Also in Salisbury, a quick nosey in Scats Country Stores and four 2m lengths of picket fence acquired for a bulk compost bed for dead leaves etc. (Another job for the Stihl Kombi-Tool with a cultivator head to whizz through now and then for a few of cubic metres of humus rich mulch).

hedgerow conservation

A couple of random days between snow, frosts and rain and sunshine tackling the overgrown south hedgerow.
No significant wildlife noticed since the tawny owl - although a mole-hill came up just in front of me with a small snout and front paws protruding, but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo.

The hawthorn is quite high in places along the south hedge line, but sporadically spaced along the 150 meter length of the boundary.
There is probably more gap than hedge, although a good few old dog-roses to conserve and bramble to take down quite a bit. A couple of young ash trees to preserve too.
The plan is to layer the entire length, trying to salvage as much of the original hawthorn as possible and to avoid too much wildlife disturbance in the process. The latter will be a compromise - I think the last time the hedge has been touched looks to have been about 10 years ago.
I'll be filling the gaps with new young hawthorn of regional provenance, as well as putting in a couple of alder and hazel and relocating a few young dog-rose plants.
A few young ash trees will be selectively placed as eventual replacements of the existing mature ash trees.
From maps going back to the late 1700s, there is continual evidence of mature hedgerow trees - but in a parallel row forming a lane in the next field. Apart from one lone oak, the hedge and trees the other side are long gone (non-existent apart from a soil-shadow on a 1970s aerial photo).
I'm quite tempted to replicate / re-establish a linear track within the boundary as green leafy access within my own field and effectively enhancing a green corridor along the field boundary.
The hedgerow rejuvenation is going to take me some time and then the installation of a stock-proof fence along the length...

Friday night on the TV, I was quite interested in Carol Klein's Life in a Cottage Garden - particularly as i got a copy of her excellent Grow your own fruit book for Xmas...

trees & wildlife

A New Year and an afternoon at the field.
A quick check of the hedges and fences (a bit of work to do until stock-proof yet) - signs of small mammal and bird activity at ground level along the hedge and a couple of small burrows further out.
Along the track-way, a squirrel and in the field behind a heron again.
A few cobs of partly chewed maize here and there from the adjoining field. Most of the hedgerow berries have gone now though.
Walking along the south hedgerow, I'm mindful of a couple of mature hollow trees - a balance between wildlife and safety. They are far enough away from the footpath to be too much of a worry.
Today, in one of the hollow trees, something caught my eye...

From Meadowcopse 2011

An owl seemingly asleep!
Just shows the conservation value of hollow trees, something mentioned often by conservation groups and agencies.

From Meadowcopse 2011

A few items in the weekend papers about a bit of a turnaround for the fortunes of wildlife in the UK, particularly over the last 10 years - a shame that the very agencies with formal responsibility have a dark political shadow over them.

The rest of the afternoon was spent thinning a corner of the south hedge for layering and fencing preparations.
I'm hoping for a week without frost to get ahead with some tree planting from the native broad-leaf stock back at home.

conservation & compost

A short while ago I had a chat with a respected local conservationist, he recommended that I looked into waste legislation and the Environment Agency website and exemptions, as arboricultural waste might be useful as compost, conditioning and mulch in my planting schemes...

Well worth looking into, but it won't be something I'll sort with form-filling in just an evening.
Receiving and using appropriate green waste shouldn't be a problem - and I only intend doing so on a small scale, but a transfer licence (£s) and appropriate paperwork will be required for shifting anything (like trailer fulls of dead leaves / tree clippings & shreddings).
May as well include "D3 - Deposit of waste from a portable sanitary convenience" (portaloo) if there is any camping down at the field.

Until the New Year

Not much time at home or to spend at the meadow the last few weeks due to work and weather delays.
The lack of leaves has opened up the hedgerows a bit - a lot of the rosehips have signs of being nibbled by something - both on the stems and loose ones at ground level.
Quite a few residual maize cobs half chewed along the hedge line and in the middle of the grass - I suspect a fox or something reasonably large finding these and bringing them into the field to eat?
I've scattered a quantity of hazelnuts along the south hedge line - if any are left by the time I get home, the way in which they are gnawed into might indicate what small rodents are there (not sure if dormice completely hibernate, or have some winter activity)?
There are a couple of grey squirrels in the hollow parts of the ash trees (although one less in Bristol, as I acquired a prepared one and ate it in a casserole last week).
A heron has been particularly noticeable in the adjoining field and along the brook / trackway and a thrush and blackbird in the hedges.
Quite a few large fresh mole-hills and something else small has been burrowing a short distance out from the west hedge - too small for a rabbit - a hole nearly 2 inches diameter and soil scattered behind?
Seemingly a bit more wool strands on the fence wires - so I suspect neighbouring sheep are still straying, more fencing to do before the main push on tree planting...

Despite the cycle of thawing and freezing, the River Dee remains at almost drought low level - will be interesting what time towards spring it peaks again.
Someone has been in and partly cleared the main ditch though with a machine - I'll be spending a bit of January sorting the channel along the main road boundary as the Council / Highways haven't seemed interested for a decade or more.

In the post, there was a small selection of seeds to add to the grassland - they've gone in the fridge until the ground is more easily prepared for sowing.
A spell down south - a wander through the tree-lined waterways around Salisbury and it's meadow systems for a few 'compare & contrast' observations.
Still trying to determine if a few large poplars in one of the parks (Churchill Gardens) are specifically black poplars?
An afternoon at Thornhayes Nursery in North Devon for a handy fruit tree training and pruning course.
Also whilst down south, a cultivator head picked up for the Stihl multitool - will do for ground clearance around orchard trees and a few other preparations (Scats Countrystores had a 10% Xmas discount evening - although a bit strange talking plant and machinery to someone dressed as one of Santa's Elves...)

winter stasis

After an absence of two and a half weeks, a light lunch on the hoof whilst walking the perimeter of the meadow.
White with frost and a hint of un-thawed snow in the shadow of the hedges, I'd hoped that if it was still snow covered that there might be some wildlife tracks to identify.
Just a few yellow brown leaves on the trees along the north boundary, everything else has dropped away and most of the rose-hips have gone.
In the south-west corner where previously there were fox hairs caught on the fence, some chewed rose-hips on the ground, but not sure what has been eating them.
Not much wildlife apart from a couple of crows leaving the top of the the tallest ash tree. In the field behind the large oak is surrounded by a frosted carpet of golden brown oak leaves.
At the end of the green lane a couple of lesser-spotted chavvy youths with extra layers of Lacoste and accompanying small ugly dogs.
Back at home a few more packs of meadow seeds have arrived, now in the fridge for false wintering until the ground is soft enough for sowing them in.
I think it'll be a few days indoors catching up with plans and paperwork rather than anything great in the great outdoors.
I've just finished reading the excellent and inspiring The Tree House Diaries by Nick Weston. Quite light and upbeat in style, it details six months living and surviving in a woodland tree-house in Sussex. It's packed with fine recipes and sensible and practical observations.

The Grasslands Trust

Not sure how I missed this during research regarding meadows and field systems:
The Grasslands Trust
An organisation dedicated to the preservation of this disappearing landscape type...

yellow rattle and seeds

I've just ordered some yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) from MAS Seeds and also from Emorsgate Seeds - together with a few other species and a hedgerow flower and grass mix to go along the ground slightly disturbed by the recent hedge-layering.

I hope to get the yellow rattle sown handy when back home and over-wintering for germination in spring.
With about 1 acre (0.4ha) to be left as grassland / conservation meadow - I've chosen this because it has a parasitic action on grass that will hopefully reduce some of the grass vigour and assist in establishing more traditional meadow-flower plants amongst the grass over a few seasons.
(The soil is reasonably good and not particularly the poor fertility type that is suggested as best for wildflower meadow establishment).
I'm still deliberating with respect to overall grassland species selection - I have a trial pack of a general northern meadow mix seeds, but the aim is to proliferate species favoured by the conditions and also locally prevalent.
The meadowsweet that already exists is something I wish to keep and encourage for brewing drinks from the flowers and leaves.
I need to come up with a scheme to reduce buttercups and docks (and dandelion) - preferably without chemicals (this year's mid-summer mow probably helped reduce the amount of seeds for next year)...

The Great British Elm Experiment

Now signed up to The Great British Elm Experiment with:
Ulmus procera (origin: Upper Swell, Glos)
Ulmus glabra (origin: East Meon, Hants)
Ulmus x vegata (origin: Castle Acre, Norfolk)
Ulmus minor (origin: Colesdon, Beds)
Ulmus minor (origin: Boxworth, Cambs)

The 5 trees arrived promptly and sensibly packaged (pot grown) from Trees Direct. a couple of weeks ago. I intend to plant them inboard of the west hedgerow.
The Great British Elm Experiment is organised by The Conservation Foundation.
The origins of the young trees are from cuttings taken from mature parent trees found growing in the British countryside – which appear to have resisted Dutch elm disease for over 60 years and have been micro-propagated.

There is an expectation to report on progress for upwards of 15 years, with a community webpage via The Conservation Foundation...

water & wildlife

The river water had drained away after a few days and the ground isn't too saturated underfoot.
A bit more post & rail fencing put in, but still quite a bit to do to get the boundary live-stock proof.
The over-grown willows in the culvert at the side of the main road could definitely do with some thinning to avoid an accumulation of debris and to help drainage, but the Local Authority were 'vague' about responsibility...

With the brief spell of water, a noticeable quantity of lady-birds along the tops of the fence-posts, the odd call of waterfowl from across the fields near-by that still have water on them. There was a heron this afternoon in the middle of the field to the south and the odd owl-hoot now and then as it became dark.
To the north west corner, a squirrel was ambling along the fence-line.
A few other small birds along the hedges, but difficult to tell what they were.

inundation

Another automated call from The Environment Agency and the flood warning for the lower Dee valley has been stood down.
Still some water on the field though:

From Blogger Pictures

The west side is higher and drier, but I wont be doing any planting this week or finishing the fence line.
I'm not too bothered by the flood risks, it was why the land was cheap and the established hedgerows with their variety of trees and hedgerow plants would suggest oxygen suppression in the soil isn't a problem (it only seems to happen during the dormant winter months).

In the post today, 5x various Elm tree clones as part of The Great British Elm Experiment and quickly and reliably despatched as cell grown young trees from Trees Direct in Shropshire (worth contacting to discuss order details).

Back at home I need to sort through both young woodland trees for my planting scheme and also the mixed orchard trees to finalise a layout plan.
At least I can quickly visualise the higher ground after the River Dee coming over at the weekend. It seems to be running off quite steadily now too.

fencing and seasonal river height...

Tuesday I tried to sort some field stuff, and then it rained :(
Consequently i still have a large amount of young trees at home rather than planted up - especially holding back on the orchard trees until the fencing is sorted to keep any straying sheep out.

Wednesday I put a new field gate in and discovered that I had to break through 2 feet of compacted limestone sub-base from when the track-way was reinstated during the by-pass construction. With over 3 feet of the 8" square gateposts in the ground, I hope I don't have to replace them any time soon.

From Blogger Pictures

I ended up down at the field until after 9pm, just the odd hoot of an owl now and then - until a couple of monster tractors and trailers tried to squeeze down the track and do a sharp turn.
They were getting round-bales out from the next field and suspected the river might be coming up after the rain. The Environment Agency's monitoring page showed a rise and a plateau of the River Dee.
No cause for concern just yet though...

Thursday and Uncle gave me a lift with some fencing and a willow tree over-hang tidied up with the chainsaw.

About, 1am on Friday I got a recorded phone message saying flooding was possible in the lower Dee valley between Llangollen and Chester - an issue I was aware of prior to purchase (hence a cheap price). I had spent a bit of time studying the trees and vegetation prior to taking it on, as the land is liable to flood (I was born relatively local a few miles north, so reasonably aware), but it isn't waterlogged or saturated ground and only happens seasonally when the leaves are off the trees.
Friday lunch-time the brook along the track way was about a foot higher than normal, but rising about an inch an hour. The sheep from the surrounding fields had been moved to higher ground.
Below Holt Castle the river was well up in it's channel, but still below the top of the banks.

From Blogger Pictures

A couple of hours later the brook had come up onto the trackway and had quite a flow

From Blogger Pictures

Still half a meter below the field and there is a fair bit of neighbouring land lying lower to fill first.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

By 6pm it was a few inches below the low end of the field and there was some ponding. Time to give up on the fencing for now...

From Blogger Pictures

Saturday saw a trip to Carmarthenshire on an informal tour of a woodland, fine hospitality and interesting landscape and tree & undergrowth varieties and decent chat with like minded people.

Cross-country to Bristol and probably a look-in at a walled-garden at Wrington

something for the weekend...

The last two weekends I've been away.
Firstly to Stourhead on the edge of it's fine grounds in Wiltshire - the Farm Shop had an 'Apple Day' in rather uncertain weather.
A slightly understated affair, but an excellent range of local grown historic apple varieties. I can't remember the name, but there was an excellent small apple that was crisp, yellow with some pink striping and tasted of strawberries...
Venison sausage hot-dogs with apple sauce were quite pleasant too and chunk of smoked cheddar cheese and fresh bread rolls picked up for a picnic later.
(Together with a mixed bag of heritage variety apples, from which I'll keep the pips to see what hybrids they give me and if there is any viable fruit in a few years time).

Stopping in Salisbury, I took the opportunity to wander around Harnham Meadows - a deliberate flood-meadow landscape now managed by a conservation trust.
With natural low-lying land and deliberately constructed channels for seasonal flooding, I was particularly interested in tree and hedgerow varieties to compare with the meadow here in Chester which has the risk of natural flooding occasionally.

In Salisbury, I picked up an excellent book: The Tree House Diaries - 6 months sustainable living in the woods and full of useful recipes, tips and practical advice.

On the journey home, I picked up some graft-wood from a roadside apple tree in the hedgerow south of Stonehenge. A particular tree on an exposed elevation that has reasonable fruit still on the tree in late December in all weathers.
Near Boscombe Down there was another graft-wood acquisition opportunity from a deep red apple too.

Taking the Pewsey road to Marlborough, I dropped by a small nursery and picked up an established pear tree (Beurre Hardy) in a large pot.

A week of pottering about down at the field - out with the measuring wheel for more planting scheme ideas, some pot-holes in the access track filled and the leaves on the mature ash trees turning and falling in the first frosts.
Looks like sheep have been through again, so hedges and fences are now stepping ahead of initial planting, especially holding back on the orchard layout until it's stock-proof.
A spot thinning in places of the meadowsweet now that it's come back after the summer grassland mow - a few clumps potted up for division into a nursery bed and then 'champagne' from the flowers and ale from the leaves next year...

Another weekend away, this time to Whitby, North Yorks for a Goth music weekend. With a semi-nocturnal long weekend, opportunity taken during relaxing days in Becketts Cafe on Skinner Street to try to finalise the small woodland and traditional orchard planting layouts, at the same time indulging in relaxed chat with friends and rather fine home-made cakes...

The week ahead includes a quick service of the tractor, hopefully the new gate, posts and east fencing going in and getting the plot ready for planting.

History and travel

A few hours spent in the County Archives in Chester last Thursday, a couple of estate maps to look at - including a 1735 'Enclosures Map' and associated documents on parchment.
The neighbouring land to the south has a collection of documents from the late 1700s to late 1800s including descriptions and field names.
From Tithe Maps around 1835 onwards, my field was previously owned by a William Rowe, his will of 1854 leaves it to his son and a field name of Castle Meadow is possible the same field (to this day, Land Registry have it listed as 'The Meadows'.

A quick visit to the field and the layered east hedge from a couple of weeks ago still has a hint of leaves, som it's still alive.
There were also about 15 sheep in the field from a couple of fields down the trackway - just about managed to herd them out and back through a couple of patchy hedges to the larger flock.

This weekend I'm down in Wiltshire, initially for an 'Apple Day' at Stourhead Farm Shop - quite a few historic varieties to munch through and then to Salisbury for a wander around the historic conservation area of Harnham Meadows (after reading the book Water Meadows.
Ignoring the soil structure differences, I was interested to see what trees were growing in this low lying area and the hedgerow content.
I also picked up a fantastic new book from Waterstones in Salisbury... The Tree House Diaries - 1 guy living as a hunter-gatherer for 6 months in a tree-house.

Out along the roads, I picked up some graft-wood of a reasonably prolific hedgerow apple tree between Salisbury and Stonehenge.

History

A couple of evenings spent going through online archives for land history.
From National Archives I found some searchable ancient deeds for the land around and presumably including my field plot at Farndon.
Some of the land rents around the 1400s include a pair of gilt spurs or a rose presented at mid-summer to the local lord.
Further delving brought up some documents held locally at Chester at the County Archives.
I've booked a map table and a folder of documents from the 1700s to view at the end of next week...

Other stuff unearthed includes the field used to launch an attack on the Holt Castle across the River Dee during the Civil War.

Hedging

Just about finished the east boundary hedge between the field and trackway, layered the few existing hawthorns and tried to preserve as much of the wild roses as possible.
I've put in 25 young hawthorns, an alder and 2 hazels.
Didn't get as far as replacing the field gate and posts though.

From Blogger Pictures

Quite a few folk out and about along the footpath over the last week, including neighbouring landowners, which was handy for introductions and a chat.

In the south boundary hedge are a few mature ash trees - one has a Woodpecker hole a fair height up...

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

The weekend, trees and hedging

A busy few days down at the field...
A minor trim of the overhanging willows from the north (by-pass) boundary, so as to get to the 4 rail fencing for repairs - I've left the Salix viminalis type for now, as that will be handy for cuttings later just poked in the ground.

Saturday was spent at Cannock Chase for a Forestry Fair. Apart from various chainsaw championships and demonstrations, quite a few trade stands and a return home with the Landrover a bit fuller and the wallet a touch emptier.
Mainly hand tools you won't find in B&Q and a few bits and bobs and 80 cell-grown young trees for patching the hedges and planting up.
One handy item was a post-ram for hedging / marker stakes, from a tree-guard and supplies specialist reasonably local in Shropshire.

Sunday was a stunning sunny day - breakfast and groceries from Hawarden Estate Farm Shop, then several hours work clearing the short east boundary hedge along the track-way.
Badly overgrown and thin and patchy at the base, rusty barbed wire and odd fencing removed, I've trimmed the hawthorn ready for layering and left enough room to establish the original line and to get in for new hedge planting and new post and rail fencing behind.
There were only 13 hawthorn 'trees' in all along 30 metres and a few dog-roses saved along the line too.
The wood-burning kettle on the go most of the day, in shorts and T-shirt weather and with a few stops ploughing through provisions from the farm-shop.
A reasonable sized dragon-fly whizzed by and something larger than a rabbit was moving through the long grass with a cob of maize from the field next door.

Monday wasn't so sunny, still a fair bit done and the east boundary almost ready now for the post-hole borer and a new stock-proof fence and gate...

From Blogger Pictures

planning & planting

Looking ahead hopefully to some reasonable weather over the next couple of weeks:
Some of the pot-grown native trees from home will be planted in the narrow end of the field and maybe some fruit trees too.
I've ordered 200 various tree guards from both Acorn and Tubex - 100 are general spirals for rabbit / small mammal protection and 100 across both manufacturers are more robust various rounded top types to prevent bark damage from wind-sway and enclosed for a micro-climate to assist growth.
I get enough young Ash trees sprouting at home to chance a few with no protection to see how they compare to trees grown in quills.

A bit more research into planting patterns - working roughly on a 2m grid spacing with variations from straight lines and with small clumps and groupings of species and allowance for different growth rates and habits of the trees going in.
As well as considering some Elm, (hopefully with Dutch Elm Disease resistance) as part of a National experiment and specimen Black Poplars in the meadow - I've been looking into a few specimen Walnut trees for future timber use (as well as nuts at the orchard area edge).
The Walnut Tree Co. have a few specialist varieties that are tempting - although 60+ years before any realistic return.
Once the leaves drop for the dormant winter season, I'll be ordering a few species of bare rooted trees for planting, to bring the planting density up, initially over a 0.2 hectare area and rounding off 2 corners and a variation from a straight line along the road-boundary fencing...

Elm trees

Looking further into tree planting schemes, I stumbled across a project to reintroduce elm trees, with hopefully some resilliance to Dutch Elm Disease.
There will be a requirement to report progress through a nationally coordinated scheme via the Conservation Foundation.

Early September

A busy couple of weeks, but mainly at home with a new shed put up for the tractor...
Also at home, the pot grown fruit trees and a few specialist varieties grouped together in the yard so as to help devise a planting scheme - particularly for a heritage varieties orchard.

This weekend just gone, I called in again at Bernwode Plants near Bicester and picked up a couple of young apple trees likely to give a pink juice (Beckley Red & Sops in Wine).
I took a long walk from Lower Heyford to Oxford along the canal tow-path (in fine sunny weather on the Saturday). Part of the purpose of which was to look over various bits of meadow and the general habitat and conservation issues along the Cherwell Valley.
Also a visit on Sunday to Wychwood Forest Fair - a good day out (once the rain stopped) and a lot of conservation habitat information available from various projects and groups. Another heritage apple variety purchased (Châtaignier).

Down at the field the grass has really come on, but still a fair amount of buttercup foliage coming through and patches of nettles at the north and east boundary.
Late one evening the wind was getting up a bit and a noticeable amount of leaves are starting to turn or come off now.
The damaged gatepost at the bottom of the access track was replaced and I re-hung the gate so it can be left closed - just as well as about 20 tyres had been fly-tipped into the brook at the side of the public footpath.
I used the Cheshire West & Chester website 'fly-tipping' on-line report form last Friday and by Monday evening the tyres had been removed.

I gave the south hedgerow mature ash trees a bit of a closer looking over, I'd noticed one was partly hollow about half way up (40 feet?) - most have been pollarded at some time in the past, but the hollow one is one of the tallest in it's natural form and from across the field daylight is visible all the way through.