Ragwort 2 The Sequel

July 2023. In preparation for cutting the long parkland grasses (hopefully for use as hay feed and/or mulching), our attention turned once again to spotting and removing the toxic ragwort. Some work had already been undertaken in various sections of the park, however this time we were concentrating around the picnic area. A lot of the park had seen quite a reduction in ragwort growth following our previous efforts to eradicate this.

For a comparatively small area, there was quite a large amount of ragwort. In order to remove it by the root, you need to pull as near to the ground as possible. This is easier said than done as you're wading through grass which is around 5ft tall. At this time of year, the park is alive with wild flowers, moths, butterflies etc, so you're soon covered in seeds of all sorts plus the odd bug or two!

There were at least 20 bundles like this.

Opposite: A Cinnabar caterpillar

 

One of the many Burnet moths

We still managed to oil a few of the wooden sculptures before the day was out.

There was a break before the next planned work, so I decided on a litter pick. However, soon after entering the park via Church Street, I noticed a few patches of ragwort emerging from the long grass and decided to tackle this first. Every time I thought I'd got it all, another patch would appear and I ended up with quite a bundle.

As I was heading to the lodge with my heavy load, I noticed that some of the parkland meadow had been harvested.

As you can see, there were quite a lot of bales, even the dogs were showing an interest! It was then that the farmer arrived and started loading them onto a trailer.

I believe that the bales are to be stored for haylage (a grass silage that is used as a winter feed and more digestible than hay itself).

After dropping off the ragwort, I managed to fill a couple of sacks with litter but not before spotting some unusual looking inkcap mushrooms which had risen from the grass cuttings that we scattered into the woods about a month ago.

My last attendance of July involved the annual pressure washing of the main gates by the South Lodge entrance. Algae was once again covering large areas of the metal gates. It takes a while for Amy and myself to sort out extension cables & hoses, and the area needs to be cordoned off. Needless to say, this is a full day's work.

                        Spray that again!

Look out for my next post in a few weeks time.

I think I've caught a bug

2023. Most of June continued to be hot and sunny. Working outside in those conditions can be challenging, so the most strenuous tasks are either undertaken first thing or planned with location in mind.

One such task was sorting out the yard behind the lodge. This area has quite a bit of shade, especially in the morning. We managed to shift quite a few items to open up more space and generally provide easier access around the yard. 

In preparation for the arrival of the funfair, there was work to be done to facilitate the route for the HGV lorries and trailers. Turning into the parkland by the lodge requires plenty of space, so several of the log posts lining the drive were removed. Due to the height of these vehicles, we also 'raised the crown' of a few trees between the carpark entrance and the parkland turning point (crown raising simply means the removal of the lower overhanging branches).

It was a wet start to June 29th, and my waterproof is not as waterproof anymore! Hey-ho, once you're wet it can't get any worse, unless you're lopping sycamore branches.

Having recently cleared the pathway on Oak Lane, we were back to sort out the low branches and holly along the approach from buttercup meadow to the car park. In order to cut back as far as possible, I (being the taller one) got hold of each branch and pulled down so that Amy could lop further up. Bearing in mind that it's still raining, we get a further soaking from the leaves as each branch was removed 😀. 

Also, we discovered that the leaves on the sycamore branches were swarming with greenfly, so every time one of these got lopped it created a cloud of the pesky pests and we were covered from head to toe 😝. The good thing about being wet meant that it was easier to brush off the greenfly each time. It's nice to think positively!

With a couple of short breaks to dry off a bit and fetch more tools for clearing up, it took us most of the morning.

2023 BC? (before cutting)

    

          2023 AD (after drenching!)

Thankfully by lunchtime the rain had stopped, so we ended the day with a large litter pick, mainly along the west woods and the fence-line of St Faiths Road (always the worse affected area). 

It's now July and the funfair has been replaced by Circus Cortex, I remember them from last year as they have the largest percentage of Ukrainian artistes in the UK 👏.

With the recent wet weather, there was plenty of strimming and mowing to do. I started with the ride-on mower in an area just in front of the lodge. 

The Hall School was hosting its annual fun day there, and was using the picnic area for the various games and music.

Then it was off to the Victorian Pond for strimming whilst Amy carried out other strimming around the many park benches. It is sensible to take care when strimming, even with headgear. It is not unusual to be caked in the flying grass but it won't be the first time that I've been stung by bits of nettle. There is also hogweed and the like, the sap of which can cause blistering, especially if you're wearing short sleeves (the fun never ends 😀). 

It's always amazing how quickly it grows!

 




       I wonder how long that will last!

I finished the day back at the picnic area, mowing the various pathways and edges that had started to become overgrown.

All in all it's very enjoyable being a volunteer.