Harvest time

July 2024. Hopefully, it won't be long before the meadows are harvested for hay. In preparation for this, we have once more been removing clumps of ragwort which can be harmful to horses and cattle.

Unfortunately, the ragwort is not always conveniently situated by the edge of trails. So it's a case of wading through the tall grasses and being mindful of the many anthills and uneven ground. 

Brushing through in this way results in collecting a lot of seeds, mainly down your boots!

There is an abundance of wild carrot in the meadows. I like the way that the flowers eventually curl up into a concave seed head, bit like a bird's nest.

This is fireweed, otherwise known as rosebay willowherb. It looks pretty but can be very invasive.

The Kawasaki jeep hadn't been in use recently after mysteriously spluttering to a halt. Fortunately this happened by the compound, so didn't need towing. Matt checked for obvious signs but was unable to find the fault. 

When the engineer arrived to investigate the problem, we were all surprised to learn that it was down to a diesel bug! (Not a creepy crawly that lives inside fuel tanks, but a microbial sludge that grows between the fuel and a layer of water at the bottom of the tank, when it's been in the fuel for too long. The thick sludge can then clog machinery and filters, causing costly engine repairs).

Thankfully, the engineer was able to clear and treat this. Certainly a new one on us!

The following week, Chris and I were helping Matt at the deer park. He was in the process of cutting the meadow grass (not for hay in this case) but needed our assistance in removing ragwort along the fence-line where his tractor was unable to get to.

We managed to clear all of the ragwort along the Spixworth Road section, plus the fence-line running beside the pathway towards Moore Avenue and along the fences of the gardens backing onto the park at the top.

It was quite hot and muggy, so we were glad when we finally finished for the day!  

There were a few curious visitors too!

This week it was nice to meet the warden's new assistant, Tabitha. She had her first taste of the ride-on mower (around the young apple orchard) and then teamed up with Matt and I as we strimmed the long grass around Victoria pond.

The area around the pond was in need of a trim...

...now that's a lot better!

There was more strimming in the afternoon. This time, Tabitha and I were clearing an area next to the lodge car park (I believe two new benches will eventually be sited there).

We removed the cordon, which was installed when the bank was originally seeded....

.... and set about raking and clearing the strimmed grass, finishing with the ride-on mower for good measure (not on the bank though 😄).

Check out my next blog post on FB in a few weeks time. If you've enjoyed my journal, please don't forget to 👍