Stung into action!

August 2026

My last visit of the month involved digging out a 'run-off water' gulley, cutting down several dead elm trees behind the fence-line on Spixworth Road and trimming the hawthorn hedge by the lodge car park.

This is another annual task. 

It's looking quite neat don't you think?

September 2026

First job was to finish trimming the hawthorn hedge, as we ran out of time the previous week.

Then on to give the wooden sculptures their second clean & oiling of the year. 

The following week, while Tabby was strimming around Victoria pond, Chris and I had a go at removing some of the duck weed/algae that was covering the pond.

We used an old 'tennis court' net which we threaded a long length of rope through. The idea was to stretch it across the pond to create a sort of boom, slowly dragging it (and the green film) to the edge. This seemed to work reasonably well. 

We then used a fishing net to scoop it out (including some floating bottles and cans). It wasn't as much as we would have liked to have removed, but it was a definite improvement 

 

This is Shaggy Parasol. 

We spotted several of these near the barn owl sculpture whilst carrying out our next task....

....The plan was to 'crown raise' two oak trees to increase the line of sight across the park.

As you can see in this photo, the low branches and scrub obstruct the view beyond the tree.

Armed with loppers and hand saws, we set about removing everything around the base. There were lots of branches, which we dragged into various sections of undergrowth. I then made use of a hedge trimmer to cut back some dense patches of bramble, and Tabby reduced the scrub with a strimmer.

Quite a transformation, wouldn't you say?

The second oak tree was less labour intensive, but still produced a similar improvement.

Autumn is now officially upon us. 

We spent the morning removing fencing around the overgrown 'soil banks' by the lodge car park. They looked a lot smaller once Tabby had gone round with the strimmer! We also tidied up the outgrowth from the picnic area along the adjacent fence-line.

The willow tunnel was looking good in full leaf and new growth. It just needed a bit of a haircut and several clumps of weed removed from the internal 'woodchipped' path.

We've had 'Summer Branch Drop' again this year.

Another large oak has shed one of its limbs. 

With all of the hot dry weather this year, I'm surprised that there hasn't been other casualties (there were three instances last summer).

October 2026

Another warm and sunny day greeted us on the 1st day of the month (gradually climbing to 20°C after a cool start).

We started with a bit more 'crown raising' (one of my favourite tasks), before heading off to the top of the park for some mulching.

First we loaded up a trailerful of woodchip and then began clearing/strimming a young planted bed near the fence-line by the back of the village hall.

Unfortunately, work had to stop shortly after, as Chris disturbed a wasps nest and got stung a couple of times in the process!

Following a break for treatment and refreshments, we decided that only half of the bed could be mulched to avoid the swarm. We did manage to make a start on the next bed along before the day caught up with us.

There's a new team of city college volunteers. They've been clearing a large section of brambles on the edge of the west woods.

Tabby and I were tasked with removing the cuttings. This is not always easy, as the heaps get entangled by the thorns making it difficult to pull apart. We eventually loaded 3 to 4 trailerfuls and transported them to a suitable area for disposal.

The afternoon was spent clearing sweet chestnut husks from the car park, this always gets carpeted. 

Latest news: There's been another oak tree casualty at the park, but not 'Summer Branch Drop'.....

We believe that this was a combination of old age, decay and drought, as the tree has completely uprooted.

Several branches have snapped during the fall.

Well, that's it for now. Hope to catch you in a few weeks time.