Bird feeders

Last week I spent some time in the hide watching which birds go to which foods at the feeding station and I put some old apples from work down on the ground as well as pushing some onto nails about a metre off the ground. When I got there today I was surprised to see that all the ground apples had gone completely; no evidence left whatsoever, so I am assuming foxes took them - apples on my lawn stay for weeks! But the apples higher up have just been pecked or nibbled only around the nails.
The pheasants have definitely gone mad for the peanuts I dropped all over the floor; one photo caught 9 in the same shot, male and female. The seed I left in a channel carved the length of a log had gone, as well as most of the peanuts in the standard bird feeder, but the "globe feeder" was still more than half full. The tall seed feeder was empty again - so they have at least worked out how to eat from that now too which is good. What's not good is quite how quickly they devoured the lot - can only have been 5 days.
I smeared more lard on the bark of an alder as that had also been gobbled up - in fact by the time I had walked only 10 metres away, two woodpeckers were fighting over it again! I've set two camera traps at the feeding station. One pointing at the lard and the other along the length of the feeding bar, both over a metre off the ground as I was getting a little tired of trawling through endless videos of pheasants. I also want to know just how many different woodpeckers are coming to the feeders.
The Acorn camera seems to be misbehaving at the moment and cannot make up its mind if it's taking photos or ten-second video clips - not sure if it's the cold or if it's broken - but it keeps randomly switching between the two settings. The Bushnells (my new one) has had a few test runs at home in the garden, and is now spending its first night in the wood. I will go back Wednesday to see how it's performed (and to fill the feeders again no doubt - not sure how long that 25kg sack of feed is going to last!).
I made some lard, seed and nut cakes in old butter tubs too, but completely forgot to put them out, so they are keeping cold in the back of the Landrover right now. Will probably try wedging them in the forks of trees, as I'm still keen to get a nuthatch at some point. Nuthatches are one of my favourite birds, but one I've yet to see at Rais - they are apparently the only British bird to walk headfirst down tree trunks. Loads of Coal tits still and plenty of Jays, Woodpeckers and Robins but no Treecreepers or Woodcocks either. Plenty of time.

Still going for the last few days of 2014

Today we arrived at Rais late morning to tackle the tangle of bramble at the entrance which is to be our parking area.

before

after!

It looked a little daunting when we arrived, but nowhere near as bad as it would have been if we'd tried to clear it in the summer. First job of course was to get a fire lit so we could dispose of them once we had got them out the ground. Despite being covered in frost, the sun was shining and the ground not as hard as we expected, so most of the roots came out relatively easily.
By half two we had almost cleared the lot - the only worry I have is for the poor bunnies who had made their home underneath the bramble cover. There is naturally plenty of other places they can go, but I managed to destroy quite a few entrance holes with my size 5s (not to mention nearly breaking my neck at the same time!).
It was also a surprise just how uneven the ground was underneath - its going to need some serious leveling out before we can safely drive a car onto it. Raymond will be ok but there's no chance my car will get up there. A job for another day.

Retrieved the camera today.... our first Muntjac captured on video!

New road repairs

A quick visit to Rais today and I was surprised and pleased to see that the woodlands.co.uk team have now repaired the lane to the East of the wood and even used the leftover material to create me a clean, off road place to park the car - bonus.

Autumn Construction

So the kitchen has had some more soil added after another digging session now that the clay has softened enough to move. The suitable height has nearly been reached now, so just the "sideboard" to go on and then a roof/shelter to keep it dry-ish. We have taken down the tarps and moved them down into the Alder carr where it's less windy. Ant covered the two new storage boxes with roofing felt and so now things are looking pretty tidy in the wood.

The last few weeks of wet weather and high winds have also taken their toll on the temporary wood store we had made using an old plastic garden furniture cover... so I decided to try to make a simple frame covered in chicken wire that we had pulled from the wood (old pheasant runs!) not sure how or if it will work but it was good fun trying to find the right lengths of willows whips to feed through the "roof".

Lots of Rain!

Shocking how fast the water is now flowing through the wood.... the stream is now fairly deep in places and the gyhll is gushing with a torrent under the two new "bridges". Possibly enough to generate some hydro-electric power given the height it's now falling!

Also noticed the "bathroom" log we had placed at the edge of the water  to allow us to sit and wash in relative comfort has lodged itself in the downstream gap and dammed up the bath so it's now a good 5ft deep! Not sure I would ever want to get in it at the temperature it currently is, but at least we know the work we did clearing the stream this summer was well worth it. Only a few more yards to go and we will have the entire lower section done. Going to wait until all leaves are down though and the edging plants have died back as the last stretch is covered in brambles and so we want the best visibility and access possible to attempt it. Especially with the mud that currently covers absolutely everything!

Autumn Sunshine

It's amazing just how much light reaches the woodland floor now - most of the leaves are down allowing the sun to reach the fungi and the fallen harvest. I didn't manage to get up there directly after the rains had been, which would have shown the fungi in full fruit, but there were still some colourful subjects to get soggy knees for (and test out my new waterproofs). 

The chestnuts were also not large enough to eat, but a quick visit with Bob and Rita next door told me I missed the best ones which were on the Eastern border... better luck next year.
The new hide is actually pretty comfy and I spent a good couple of hours inside reading a book and watching the great spotted woodpeckers retrieve peanuts from among the leaves on the floor. I tested out noises; the odd cough and loudly turning pages and it seems they weren't too fussed which was good, but I didn't attempt to put my lens through the webbing just yet. If there's one thing I learnt about hide discipline in Brazil it's that you absolutely must get the wildlife believing it's safe to come down and eat before you start shooting at them with a noisy camera. The birds seemed to have worked out all but one of the feeders now and the ground feeders are a winner with the pheasants and squirrels. Work has taken me away quite a lot recently and so things are going to take a little longer than hoped in terms of getting hides in place for the winter months, but so far, the first one is definitely on the road to success. The birds know where it is and call to each other when I arrive and replenish. The blue tits are quite happy to perch in the bush above the hide whilst I fill the swinging containers a few feet away.
I took a walk around the cleared areas to see how the Rhodies had responded to their harsh "haircuts" and by god do they sprout! even in this damp dark weather they have put on a good few inches in new shoots at ground level. So by the time spring comes, they should be ready for a good session with the Round-Up sprayer... I feel I am going to enjoy that a little too much. whilst walking around the clearing in front of Rai, I kicked the ground by the fire and unearthed this jaw bone which I am assuming is from a deer with a row of massive teeth still in tact. Gruesome, but awesome at the same time. Couldn't find anything else around the area though but will keep a look out next time we are working in that space.

The changing of the seasons.

Been an amazing summer at Rais, very sad it’s over, but immensely proud of our achievements so far. We have cleared and burnt a huge number of Rhododendrons and created dead wood piles all over the place with the storm-damaged trees we’ve cleared. You can now see quite a stretch of the downstream ghyll and there are 3 new crossing points (using the term “bridges” is possibly stretching the truth a little), as well as a fair

number of new steps of course.

We have learnt a load we didn’t know we needed to learn and a lot we were hoping to discover along the way. Ant is mastering the machete and has made a great start with the chainsaw, and I can now identify at least 4 woodland butterflies without a guide book, at least 5 birds by sound alone and am almost there with the different trees. Going to get harder as the leaves fall of course, but it’s a start.  

caught on my camera this monster of a pheasant is super-stunning

We have registered the land with the Rural Payments Agency and aim to get our woodland improvement grant application completed ready for consideration by the Forestry Commission next spring. I’m excited by the changes in the wood and the coming of my favourite season – the harvest of Autumn.

I quite fancy having a go at some Leaf art too but this year but fear I will miss most of the best bits of Autumn with all the holidays I have in October and only a few free weekends available. I had hoped to find a day when rain has fallen overnight and it’s not too cold (a bright day, but ideally slightly cloudy) to photograph the fungi at the wood. I really enjoyed crawling around the undergrowth (on a training course) last year with the camera – would also give my new waterproof trousers a thorough testing.

We need to find time to burn the ever-growing piles of Rhodies too before the wildlife has a chance to get comfy in it for the winter.

The mind is awash with ideas for tihngs I want to do at the moment too… plant the cut willow whips to form a living seat structure along the banks of the stream? Use the spindly tree thinnings to weave single-person bird hides? Listen for the sounds of the male deer as rutting season gets underway, but ultimately we need to finish work in the bottom left as soon as possible. We need to leave the south-west corner where the outlying badger sett is as undisturbed and attractive as possible to encourage the wandering young male badgers to take up residence for the winter. They will be on the lookout for setts of their own in the coming weeks and I want them to choose ours.

example willow dome - similar to the one I created at St Mary's

Ooh, I have found the Oak I aim to climb first too, and chosen the “workhorse single” rope I need to do it with - http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ropes.html (who knew there were so many types of climbing rope!?!). It’s ideal as it’s massive and on the edge of the clearing, so the views of the buzzards and owls from up there will be awesome. It also has a massive kink in it halfway up making it quite an interesting shape for a potential tree-seat/hide (as well as being host to the only tree fairy I have found so far – one special tree). 

Burn baby burn

Spent another fantastic weekend in the wood - first on Saturday with my Mum clearing yet more Rhodies from the stream area - can now see the bathroom! Then when the boys turned up later in the day a huge bonfire cleared the majority of the two huge piles of prunings leaving only a small amount to go.
I spent an hour or so remaking one of the canvas beds using stronger, straighter poles, to the point where I debated swapping my own bed for the new one - nice and high off the ground with a much more horizontal sleeping platform, but instead decided to give turning my poles around a go first - glad I did - as it did the trick perfectly.
I also managed to spend a satisfying hour or so clearing brambles and their roots from the northern path and some more from the clearing to at least make a start on getting them under control. Since exposing the ground in the clearing all kinds of plants have germinated and I'd like to keep as much of a variety as possible, but the brambles have to go. There are plenty of them growing along Oogy pass and they taste pretty good too, so taming them to grow where I want them is definitely my preference.
Saturday was the first night round the campfire with most of the camping crew (with the exception of one very valuable member - her pokey fire stick was pretty lonely all night). The rain held off and we were in for a good night's sleep - or at least we would have been if we had gone to bed at a sensible hour! Still it allowed us a lie in until gone 9am which was nice - my sleeping bag and Bivvy combo was well worth the money spent.
Feeling slightly overwhelmed at how quickly things grow and beginning to realise why people resort to Glyphosate to eradicate certain species. It's going to be the only method I think for us to gain control over the Rhodies and soon the brambles. But since it is best to spray in June/July we still have a long way to go with the pruning and burning method before we have to think about getting a knapsack sprayer.
The CPH number arrived from the Forestry Commission too this week and so we have nearly everything we need to write the management plan and submit it with the completed grant application forms.

Visit from the Forestry Commission

A lunch-hour trip to Rais yesterday resulted in a wealth of knowledge from our lovely West Sussex Woodland Officer, Dave Rogers. Very reassuring to know that the work we have done so far is absolutely the right thing we should have been focusing on... Rhodie clearance of course! We wandered down to the clearing camp, taking photos along the way and Dave asking questions about our intentions for the wood. He was impressed with some of the Oaks and agreed the entrance Holly was a great specimen - although he did warn that Holly can spread rapidly if not kept in check.  He offered advice on the best way to get the Rhodies under control and how we are in a good position to obtain a "Woodland Improvement Grant" to help. Rhodies are deemed to destroy the health of woodlands and so financial help is available to those that apply with a written management plan. Dave is going to email me with all the details and instructions for the steps I must take to get there. The first step is to apply for an "SBI" number, then a "CPH" number which will allow me to register the land with the Rural Payment Agency (RPA). Sounds complicated, but promising at the same time.
Next Dave pointed out the Alder Carr, which he says would be good for making charcoal should we wish to, it also coppices really well which is something we should consider after the Rhodies have been tamed to allow light to the woodland floor and give the wildflowers a chance to shine.
It was also news to me that there are apparently 6 or so different species of Ash in this country, a few of which we have, including one that he was unable to identify, so he took a twig and some leaves to get a better idea back at the commission.
He advised on the Ash tree which has grown into a Rowan and how perhaps there is a chance we can still save the Rowan if we employ the services of an experienced tree surgeon who is willing to section up the offending branch and bring it down safely.
He also made me realise that the water courses that are at the bottom of ravine type formations that we have been referring to as streams are actually known as Ghylls. We clearly have so much to learn! but thankfully I feel a renewed confidence and enthusiasm for the Rhodie clearance now - it seems that working in sections, starting with hand cutting, and pulling the roots out where we can, then cutting them down to size is definitely the best way to do it and certainly the most ecologically sound. Unfortunately this will not destroy them and the best way to do that is to invest in some industrial strength glyphosate (Round Up) and a knapsack sprayer which we can wander round spraying the regrowth with next June. Hopefully by then we will have some grant money to help as the size of the infestation we have at Rais is not going to be cheap.

The Covenant

This is designed to ensure that the owner and subsequent owners do not use the wood for anything which would be a nuisance to neighbouring woodland owners such as vehicle racing, or anything noisy or smelly. It also prevents subsequent division of the ownership of the wood into smaller units or erection of signboards.
Wording of the covenant (or "legal promise") for the transfer
The purchaser hereby covenants with the vendor that the land shall not be used in such a way as to create a nuisance to the neighbouring owners (including the vendor) and specifically the purchasers shall not, and not permit others to:
do any rough or game shooting or pest control at times or in a manner constituting a nuisance or danger to any neighbour;
use the land or access tracks for any sort of racing whether with motor bikes, cars or other vehicles;
use the land for a commercial campsite;
use the land for clay pigeon shooting;
conduct any business from the land apart from forestry or agriculture;
use the land in a way which will damage the access tracks.
The purchaser and successors in title shall not erect any signboards visible from the public highway
The purchaser and successors in title shall not sell the land except as a whole specifically not in such a way that it could be registered in separate titles or in separate ownerships.

Summer days

So so busy, both at work and up the wood - just haven't had time to update anything! but basically the last month has seen a lot of rain, a lot of wind and even more sun, which has all resulted in monumental growth at Rais; the bracken is now 9 feet tall in places, the brambles are threatening to take over the clearing and the heavily-hacked Rhodies are already bouncing back with new growth! but on the bright side, the camera has caught some new visitors in the form of foxes, a scruffy-looking juvenile pheasant (we think) and a very large Tawny owl.
The water mint has gone mad and smells gorgeous - haven't brewed any tea with it yet, but have plans to stay over next weekend and so may give it a go.
This weekend the boys stayed overnight through yet another torrential downpour but instead of making a temporary shelter, they created two more "A" frame beds with a tarp over top which was a huge improvement on the last experience for them.
The boys and I spent about 4 hours Friday afternoon turning sun-baked raw clay into something that resembles soggy modelling clay which will hopefully have dried out enough to use next weekend. As a result of pounding the clay by hand to break it up I now have extremely painful thumbs and have split the skin under my nails on just about every finger on both hands - not a good look for attendance at a big family wedding yesterday.
Rain (and of course the wedding hangover) stopped play today as hurricane "Bertha" skirted Sussex bringing strong winds and plenty of miserable drizzle. Thankfully we cleared the stream again under toad bridge and so things should flow freely once more. Hope to find time to start work on the upstream section next weekend which is overgrown with brambles and will require serious protective gear - it's only a short stretch, maybe 25 metres, to get round the corner to Holly bridge, but there's a large fallen dead Birch which will make life quite difficult until we can remove it.
Raymond (the landrover) has undergone some serious renovation over the last month with a repairs to rust holes, door frames and dashboard and a new paint job.

I have started to try and take note of the butterflies I see too, not an easy task as they never keep still for very long in the sunshine and of course they don't come out in the rain. This first one is a Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) and was in and around the thistles where I park the car.
So from my pocket guide to butterflies of Britain and Ireland, I can tell you that you won't find this particular species in the Shetland Islands, it has a long flight period, and the first males start to appear in May - most abundantly around the chalk downlands of Sussex. We should see them well into October and they are one of the few butterflies that can also been seen flying on overcast days. They also like to feed on bramble flowers which explains why I have seen so many at Rais.

Meet Raymond..

We are now the excited owners of a 27 year old Defender 90, in badly flaking Hammerite black with white roof. He needs a bit of care and adjustment, but Ant has already stripped out the four fold-down buddie seats from the back, had a tinker with his bits and pieces and jet-washed his engine. So with a new name and new locking wheel nuts, "Raymond" took his first trip to the wood and sat proudly in the 4x4 spot whilst we lugged fresh water and supplies down into camp.
I cleared another stretch of the stream; from Toads, half way to Holly bridge before I slipped one too many times down the bank with arms full of debris and had to stop to put in some more steps. I love working in the stream and managed to get past the bend where the bath-pool is and only stopped when the Rhodies were replaced with brambles... My sensible head told me that an impending posh hen do means I should come armed and wearing something suitable for it instead - I'm going to struggle to pull off a "Lady" at ladies day as it is, without my arms and legs in shreds too. After lunch Tracey turned up to help with Becky, and together we cleared the last of the Rhodie on the south valley clearing - felt damned good to get that one out.

Creeping Thistle

Ant cleared and burnt another 4 or 5 huge piles of pruned rhododendron branches and Tracey and I set to clearing the disused stream bed and bank to form another large pile of dried debris ready to burn.
Dug out some more of the clay slop from under Toad bridge for Tracey to cover a little more of the end of the bridge and for me to load up the bank on the other side. We are hoping that little by little we will be able to dig out some small pools in the stream to encourage more wildlife down to live in/by the water.
Clocked another 3 new wildflowers on the way out too, so all in all another magical day with the splinter count now on 6 (3 removed and another 3 just irritating) no doubt the counter will have increased by morning as my fingers swell with the as yet unseen ones. Amazingly though, the bite counter did not move this weekend... Marmite doing its job :-)

the morning after the night before

Woke up quite a few times and there will need to be some minor adjustments made to my bed before next time - mainly leveling - I kept sliding down towards my feet end and waking up half way along the tube.
Also need to make a better pillow for next time. the boys however faired much worse than me... they got pretty wet when they slept, but fair play to them lasting out til at least 9am in a soggy bed!
We moved the tarp from under the trees yesterday to the new tiered bank area which held off a lot of the rain but I had to cover the clay ground in bracken to a least be able to walk on it without heavy lumps of clay attaching themselves to your boots. The folded piles of chicken wire Ant spent all week pulling out of the Rhodies made a great springy base to put all our stuff on and keep it off the ground so not all bad.
Had a lovely fry up on the fire for breakfast which miraculously only took a few twigs and some snot rag to get going again after the torrential downpour, (a damned site better than mine and Helen's failed attempt yesterday!).
The boys left soon after lunch time and we weren't far behind. Our week off has been excellent fun, and very productive, but it's also been exhausting, painful at times and agonizing at others. I didn't even know I had muscles in my fingers, but every single one of them aches. I've eaten 4 batches of homemade flapjacks, (now named "power jacks"), more sausage sandwiches then I have eaten in the last year and even swallowed a bug of some kind - not to mention the multitude of germs I am now playing host to. I need this afternoon to make myself (and my finger nails) presentable to an audience of customers in Poland tomorrow. Bring on the bathtub.

First all-nighter!

Chucking it down with rain, so Ant spent the morning sewing canvas bed tubes and I went to the office to catch up after a week off and prepare for a couple of days working in Poland.
When the weather cleared and we got down to the wood, the camera trap had a lovely collection of deer shots on it from around 630am this morning.
The canvas tubes fit like a dream and after some faffing with wooden tent pegs and bungee cords we both had dry, off-ground beds, under tarp to sleep in. Which was a good job as the heavens opened again and very quickly the bank was a slippery mess. Paul turned up with the boys in the afternoon and quickly set about doing what boys do ... tipping buckets of muddy water down the bank to slide on! They were covered head to toe in mud whilst Paul was busy building them a shelter to sleep in - brave is not the word. By the time the den was finished and beds made it was time for dinner and dry clothes for the boys. The fire quickly turned into both a cooker and a laundry dryer and eventually the clouds cleared and the odd star was spotted before we turned in for the night.
Getting into a sleeping bag and then inside a waterproof bivvy bag proved a little tricky balanced on the canvas, but once in, it was truly toastie. Took a while to get to sleep, but thankfully no mosquitoes round the head which was my fear. No sooner had I got to sleep than the heavens opened again and the noise was incredible, not only sploshing from the trees onto my own tarp, but on the tarp in the clearing too. It was a good hour before it stopped and I was expecting to hear the boys get up due to den flooding, but heard nothing.

Friday

Yay - bought some navy waterproof material and some green fabric canvas from Baldwins this morning and hopefully have enough to make 4 tube beds.

Dug out the cooking area and formed a couple of tiers in the bank.
Not sure what to do about the contours of the ground - to step it or to slope it? will see what happens when it's wet. Shouldn't have to wait too long as forecast is not good for the weekend.
More Rhodie and dead wood clearance and I took a wander looking for new wildflowers. Found a few as well as this funnel web in the moss.
Ant started sewing at night but the machine we have was way too loud so we had to give up and go to bed.

the first rains

Today was another busy one and thanks Dad for naming yesterday's white frothy flower as Common Marsh Bedstraw (Galium palustre) no wonder I couldn't find it in my book - it's definitely not in there!
we dug out some of the bank today to provide a level (ish) cooking area - looking at Bob and Rita's patch yesterday, it became clear we really have got the bumpiest part of Blackfold wood - we think there could be flat ground enough for maybe four 2-man tents around the camp area, but anymore than that and it's shovel and spade time for sure.
The camera caught a lovely deer checking out my clay seating just before we arrived, as well as a squirrel on the bank about six this morning.
We alternated digging and dead wood clearance and didn't manage to find anything suitable in canvas to finish our A frame beds yet, but will keep looking. The weather doesn't look too good for this weekend anyway, so not sure if it's too much of a problem. Still doing enough muddy work and gaining enough injuries each day to warrant a long soak in a Dettol-spiked bath when we get home.

By six o'clock the heavens opened and the noise was incredible - the tarp quickly sagged with water and I was desperate to go check out the newly cleared section of stream, but had stupidly left my mac in the boot of the car. So we waited it out and cleared away before trekking out in a light drizzle.

Wednesday

On arrival, we saw our new neighbours were in and so we stopped to introduce ourselves to beekeeper Bob and his wife Rita. Lovely couple, retired and "pleased as punch" with their new purchase. Bob followed us down to our clearing for a nose about and stayed for a couple of cups of tea and a good natter about all sorts. What a fantastic start to the day - sun shining for the fourth day in a row too.

We cracked on with more deadwood and Rhodie clearance - the two piles are getting quite large now, but the woodland floor is finally receiving dappled shade and feels as if it's opening up a bit more - instead of the gloomy deep shade and the sense of being slowly choked in rampant non-natives it looks marginally lighter, airy and optimistic.
Ant with his new bedding and me with my determination to sleep over this week at least once, we made a start on our "A" frame beds this afternoon. Looking promising but still need the "mattress" parts to be able to sleep there. After pondering re-using the chicken wire to form a tube between the two horizontal poles (like a stretcher) we decided the risk of tearing our slightly inflatable sleeping mats was too great and so we are going to look at getting some waterproof canvas instead.

I also hacked another new pathway through the east side from Rais down to the log bog. There is still one section which is a bit tricky and ideally requires another bridge, but I will tackle that tomorrow.

The bracken on the top of the wayleave is already chest high and I spotted another new wildlfower today (pictured) which I cannot find in my book... it was in a boggy area, and so probably not common enough to be in my Collins guide so I now have an evening of trawling photos on the internet; It was right next door to the ragged robin which I love.

clearance and camp bedding

We went to town today and bought camp bedding for the captain as he suddenly realised he had absolutely nothing other than the double sleeping bag we use in the van and a single bivvy which the sleeping bag definitely will not fit into. We also managed to pick up some small cool bags for our packed lunches (fed up of carrying the massive cool box in and out) and a tick remover (nice).
I started clearance in the eastern wood and spent most of the afternoon with secateurs clearing the rhodies whilst Ant brought down the precariously balanced dead trees and all the dead wood dangling on other branches in the eastern wood as well as clearing more of the mangled chicken wire fencing that was presumably designed to pen the pheasants. Rhodies growing through most of it and much of it buried... a pig of a job.

Monday

We've erected a temporary square tent (which is actually a garden swing cover) to keep some things dry in the wood, before clearing the stream some more under toad bridge, and putting in a couple of steps down to it to make the approach slightly safer.
Hacked a path from toad bridge, north-east to the bracken area to provide a circular (albeit short) walk in the wood.

Sunday

Tracey and I set to work clearing out the stream in the wayleave and got covered in mud, clay, scratches, bruises and thankfully smiles. It was back-breaking work and required a fair few stops since we were working yards from the raging inferno the boys were feeding with all the remaining brash and greenery. Such an epic bonfire - Flee even burnt a hole in his hat and I came close to passing out but it certainly did the trick - first batch of Rhodies destroyed!
We had cleared so much of the stream it now required a bridge and since we had uncovered a couple of toads in the mud, we of course named it Toad Bridge - no doubt our first of many bridges.
The boys took out a dodgey leaning tree or two and Mum popped up to deliver a chainsaw which was fantastic, it's amazing how many people we know have them or at least access to them that we didn't expect.
We want to set up some kind of sheltered "cooking area" and so we needed to put in some upright posts to hold the tarp initially so we can stay dry whilst we brew up / cook etc. Holes were dug, logs were dropped it and the clay soil compacted back down around them. They are a little tall at the moment, but will be chopped off when we see how tall they need to be. Another back-breaking job that Flee made look easy.

start of a week off to spend in the wood...

The Captain dragged all the brash on the southern valley and stacked it along the southern boundary to form a row of "council houses" for the birds which you can just see along the top of the photo. I put in a couple of new steps into the bank by what will be the cooking area and then repaired the first set of steps we built (knowing what we know now!) and filled in the cracks in the clay seat which inevitably appear when it dries and shrinks.
Whilst clearing the area we came across this perch on a fallen-but-only-partially-dead tree which crosses the stream... judging by the low height from the ground and the collection of feathers, we guess it to be the favourite spot for a Sparrowhawk to take its prey at feeding time. So we set up the camera trap nearby to see if we catch anything.

Seat still not dried out

Second time an accident had closed the road – this time a motorbike - and so the gang struggled to actually get into Rais. But finally after 90 mins of hanging around the entrance they drove in and were rewarded with the sight of 3 deer in the meadow - one of them pure black or Melanistic as I later learned - never seen that before.

We cut another storm damaged tree down and had mammoth picnic whilst the kids explored the wood for the first time. 

We used the chopped tree to make a temporary "Log Bog" (big hole and sofa-like support seating) before sausages sandwiches and excited chat. Roll on the summer!

Getting ready for the gangs first visit

Finished the main set of steps in and thank god as it was roasting hot. They look awesome, we are both ridiculously proud of them.... and they work!

The rain had collected in a pool at the base of the clogged stream as it approaches "base camp" and so I started digging out the sticks and leaves and crap in order to give it more space for water should it rain again. But in digging, I discovered yet more clay, so with the hole now half full of water, I carried on digging and got absolutely covered in the stuff - slopping it out onto the side of the hole which was rapidly turning into a mini-pond. I then used the clay to make a seat in the bank opposite which I hope won't crack too much when it dries, but who knows. I left it to dry out for a few hours and come the afternoon it was still nowhere near dry, but fairly firm and malleable at least... so I made a bum print in it in the hope it would make for a more comfy seat during prolonged periods of wine-guzzling round the campfire. The captain of course then came and did his, and to my horror I discovered that my arse is actually a good deal larger than his... git. I got cleaned up in the marginally flowing stream and decided to enlarge the arse further with some bacon and prawn kebabs. Followed by my second attempt at flapjacks which were infinitely better than the first.

Sadly nothing on the camera trap except 67 pictures of exactly the same empty scene with a Rhody leaf pulling a variety of different poses in the top left hand corner of each shot - D'oh!

quick dash between the rain storms at lunchtime

Managed to strap the camera in to try and see what's using the badger sett at the moment. I'm convinced something is sheltering inside, but suspect it's probably only foxes... not enough excavated soil/bedding to be badgers and there are no identifiable paw prints to speak of. Will dash back at lunchtime tomorrow if I get a chance.

Scorchio Sunday

Despite the cuts, bites and scratches of yesterday still a bit raw and the aches and pains just faintly starting to creep in, I was up and baking flapjacks at 7am ready for the day ahead and what a day it was.

Almost safe access in!

We took the car (on account of snapping the accelerator arm on the campervan on the motorway on the way home last night) and parked easily on the bracken-covered verge just off the track; no sinking, so must be drying out. We loaded up with the heavy duty sledge hammer, water and cool box and set off along our newly created path…. Both grinning J - I don’t really know what we expected.. .that it had somehow disappeared overnight? But it still looked pretty obvious as a path – we still have an area at the start to clear, but pretty much there now (for one half of the northern boundary at least).

Anyway the steps were looking just as fine as yesterday and the clearing was already bathed in sunshine (and hot). We moved the fire slightly further out of the path and set to work once again on getting the kettle going.  A surprise call from my brother halted work for a bit in the morning whilst I wandered up to the road to guide them in for a nose about, and then an hour later a surprise visit from my Dad on his motorbike!  So impressed with everyone’s interest – soon we will be able to accommodate people and cars for proper celebrations.

The boss got started on the access steps to get down into the clearing and I made a log wall jigsaw in the camp area to give Bruce and Sheila (our woodmice) some better cover back and a load of nooks and crannies to hide in. We did see them again today crossing the log stumps, so thankfully yesterday’s activities and fire smoke did not scare them off. Although the smoke certainly killed my own lungs. I steered well clear today and managed to get through the day with only one minor additional injury. 

First full day in the wood

Wow - I ache in places I never knew were possible but have had such an amazing day.
We started by hacking and clearing a path from the edge of the wood beside the track to the clearing underneath Rai (the electric pylon). Didn't take too long and we were soon nursing an infant fire with our new kettle on the go.
Next came the creation of our first set of steps - to get from our "camp" area, up the muddy bank into what we have started calling the south valley (it's really only another dip in the bumpy clearing, but it is further south and has the stream running through it). It was obvious the deer use the bank in the same place as there was a ton of prints and slot marks where they have been scrambling up the side - I hope our new steps haven't made life harder for them. Whilst clearing the Rhodies from the bank we also uncovered a number of mouse or vole holes and even saw one of the wood mice scuttling between the undergrowth a few times whilst we were having our brew. He didn't seem to mind us being there at all and tomorrow we will be building a wood wall in front which will give him back some of his protective cover as well as giving us a bay shaped campfire seating area (if the plan works anyway!).
The boss made good use of his chopper to take down an almost dead, storm-damaged silver birch which was resting dangerously on a nearby healthy tree and so it had to come down. Some of the wood was then used to create a 4' square "bunker" for our old tools so we don't have to keep carrying them in and out of the wood. Not very secure, but we figure if people want to go to the effort of finding, uncovering, removing and carrying a bunch of old garden tools out the steep banks to steal them, then they clearly need them more than we do.
Can't wait until tomorrow, when we put in the second set of steps from the top of the clearing down the opposite bank into camp. It's a windy path and steeper, but we have worked out how to make them now so should be a breeze. I can't wait.