Would they do this at home?

Unfortunately, some things never change when it comes to the thoughtless and inconsiderate people among us.

You can always guarantee that the park side of the fence by the bus stop opposite Appleacres on St Faiths Road will be covered with litter. 

In fact, the whole fence line down to the traffic lights seems to be a prime spot for litter louts (just chuck it over the fence, it's someone else's problem then)! 

 Anyway, moving on. With the help of our new volunteer Chris, we completed the first session of revitalising the wooden sculptures. These need several coats of oil each year to protect them from the weather.

Back at the lodge, it was time to trim back the hedging along the front. It was becoming so tall that you couldn't see out of the office window.

The lodge itself has had a recent makeover. Some of the wooden cladding around the back had started to rot, as it doesn't get much sunlight there. Matt coated these with a wood hardener, and the college volunteers gave the whole area a fresh lick of paint. 

It's now the middle of May 2024. With so much mowing and strimming to do, I decided that I would make use of the last of the recent good weather. Not my normal day of volunteering, but a satisfying one in terms of getting things done.

Here's a photo of a freshly mowed and strimmed climbing area.

The meadows have started to grow. The buttercups are looking particularly lovely at present.

Back at the bus stop, some bushes and tree branches were starting to grow through the fence line. 

 

That's Matt using the hedge trimmer/loppers. I followed up by clearing the cuttings. It was an opportunity to also sweep up the leaves along that stretch of pathway.

Next stop, Repton Pond...

The fountain needed cleaning as it was down to two constricted jets of water.

As the fountain is in the middle of the pond, access is by telescopic ladder stretched across. 

After carefully crossing on hands and knees, Matt was able to clear the blockage and restore the fountain to it's former glory!

Back at the park, more mowing and strimming ensued. 

As May draws to a close, the weather has definitely become unsettled.

Our final task this month was to cut back hedging along the approach to the lodge car park. This was a mammoth job.

Armed with loppers and shears, Chris and I set to work.

The plan was to create a view across the park. As you can see by the photo, the bushes (mainly blackthorn) had grown quite tall and wide.

Most of the cuttings were barrowed round to the woodchip pile and heaped, ready for chipping later.

What a transformation! 

I couldn't believe we managed to finish it, however we were lucky weather wise considering the forecast. 

Next month we will be preparing for the arrival of the fairground. 

I hope you have enjoyed catching up with my monthly journal. Looking forward to more exploits.