Sunday 30th December 2018

It was the last day at Rais before Joanne's return, so Helen and I headed up to burn the piles or brash that have accumulated in the last few weeks, and generally tidy up a bit!

The fire started well, thanks to some dry kindling and some patience, and we soon had a good base going and started to work through the rohdie.

Part of the fallen tree that has been exposed by the rohdie clearance was much more dead than it had appeared and in the last two days it had fallen to the ground so I tided that and it made good extra fuel for the fire.

While the fire was going Helen cleared a bit more rohdie that was straggling across the bank, making quite a difference visually, and I dug up a few stumps. I found yet another burrow that is obviously in
use.

All the brash, and a fair few roots and bigger branches were burned by the time we called it day at around 4

Friday 28th December 2018

Friday dawned cloudy but dry and noticeably warmer than yesterday. Today was a big day as Flee had finally managed to get hold of the mini digger so we could sort out the parking area.

Caution. It all looks a bit raw right now but don't worry, it will soon blend in.

I arrived about half nine with the rest of the ballast liberated from my parents lane repairs to find Flee with the digger unloaded and already hard at work. Over the course of the morning we levelled the area where I generally park by taking the top off the rise there, and then tidied up the very dead Elder tree and levelled the area along the edge of the roadway, down to where you park, to get rid of the dip that was there.

Once that was done we laid the slabs Flee has rescued from the our side passage when he did our patio and then used the ballast to make another well packed space next to that. The rest of it will just stay as earth for now, but it's much more level if we do need to park some cars on there. My dad will probably be digging up his quite large tarmac drive at some point this year so more scalpings might come available then if we want them.

I think we were both really pleased with the result. It's a shame Flee could not get the digger until now so it will have no time to settle in before you see it but it won't take long until you won't be able to tell what was done I'm sure.



We were all done by lunchtime so after lunch Flee resisted the temptation to get to work on the dam with the digger! and instead went and carried on working in the wayleave by the dam to clear the brambles. I didn't get a photo yet but he said he found the boundary and the border of brash you had put along there and he had been building that back up.

As I stared work I noticed activity at the feeders over by the Hive. For the last few weeks, in fact since I first tried my new camera up there, I have not seen any birds at all at the feeders while I have been there. The food does go, eventually, but they are much shyer than down by the yardarm so it was great to watch from 100 yards or so away and see a constant stream of birds to and from the feeders including the woodpecker who spent a good three minutes on the suet feeder (no wonder the wood is going as well as the suet!)

There is a Woodpecker in this picture, honest!

I spent a couple of hours chopping and digging stumps, I think you're going to see a big difference from May, and called it a day half an hour or so after Flee at about half three.

Thursday 27th December 2018

Flee had promised the digger would be available soon so we could finally get started on the parking area. It's not a day too soon as it is getting very slippery up there now. In preparation Helen and I started the day at my parents house to liberate a bag of ballast they had left over from the repairs to their lane a while ago. It was too much to fit on the trailer in one go so we loaded up about half of it, somehow managed to get the heavy trailer down the lawn again without an accident, and headed off to Rais.

It was midday by the time we had the ballast dropped off but we spent a good couple of hours chopping and digging roots on what turned out to be a cold but bright and clear day. Probably the coldest day of the winter year so far (but nowhere near a frost still)

When we stopped for some lunch I was looking down from the hive towards the yardarm and saw the sparrowhawk (pretty sure, the sun was behind him) glide into a perch on the huge holly by the stream, sit there for a minute or so and then swoop down towards the yardarm and the feeders there.  I hope the birds had their eyes open!

In preparation for an early start tomorrow once we got home I dragged Kelson back over to Streat to help me load the trailer with the rest of the ballast so I could get straight to Rais in the morning

Friday 21st December - Winter Solstice

After what seems like weeks of travelling for work (mainly because it was 4 weeks pretty much solid) it's time for a few days off over the Christmas break.

Friday dawned mild and dry, if cloudy, but with the promise of brighter skies later in the day so, after a leisurely start, I headed up to Rais for a few hours at about 11.

There has obviously been a lot of rain and wind in the last few weeks as there is a lot of dead fall and the ground is pretty wet underfoot. There are a few small trees down, all dead for some time by the look of them so the chainsaw will get a workout next time I am there, but nothing significant new. A bird of some kind had obviously come a cropper on the path down to the Hive but nothing else of note jumped out in a quick walk round

After putting some food out for the birds I did an hour of so digging up stumps in the wayleave. So far the job is much easier than I anticipated and I made good progress, the biggest ones are still to move though.

After a quick break I moved to to chopping for the rest of the day and cleared a good area, stumps and all, in a couple of ours before I called it day at about 3.30, just as the sun was dipping behind the trees.

Once I got home I realised I'm a bit out of shape after a few weeks off, I will be achy tomorrow!

Saturday 1st December

It was my last free day before Christmas, so mother nature helped out by providing a torrential downpour for most of the day! Heavy rain in the morning trailed off to more intermittent bursts interspersed by persistent drizzle after lunch. But I've been stuck in planes and offices for two weeks and really want some time outside so in the afternoon I went to Rais for a couple of hours.





It was a pretty dismal view that greeted me, as you can see from this photo I took of the horses in the field!





It was really not a day for working so after putting out a few nuts for the birds I put my waterproofs on and had a good slow wander round to see what was to be seen.
Since I was last there the last of the leaves have come down from the trees and the whole wood seems so much more open and light. It seemed before that a lot of leaves had fallen but it's amazing how many were still up there.

Cassius is feeling the affects of a years rain around the entrance and will soon want some TLC I think, it would be really good if we could find a way to extend the roof a little?

I think Flee and Tracey must have been there last week as a roll of roofing felt for the wood store has appeared. so there's a job for the new year.







There has been some serious wind while I have been away apparently and up by your tent a fairly large, but obviously dead for some time, tree has fallen from the other side of the boundary into Rais. There was no other major damage apparent though.

The stream was running quite full and it almost looked like you have a pond again!



I crossed the dam and worked my way up the southern boundary. I'm sure you have done it but I have never been able to make my way all the way along that boundary before, the undergrowth always beats me, but this time, by climbing over the fallen trees I managed it. In the process I found another den or burrow under the root of one of the fallen trees.

Your neighbours certainly use all of their wood right to the boundary!

Ant had obviously been up last weekend too as more Rohdie chopping was in evidence (sorry, no spoilers!)

The wet and fairly warm weather obviously agrees with the fungi as there were yet more new ones on show (you may be starting to suspect I have a bit of a thing about mushrooms. and it's possible you are right! but in my defence, they are something that changes pretty much every week that I can get pictures of for you) I think I have identified the  Birch Polypore or Razorstrop fungus (Piptoporus betulinus) which seems dead common but I have had no luck with the ones that look like fried eggs even though I saw them in several places or the really big one, although I guess that may have looked quite different a few days ago.

The Oak saplings have finally pretty much dropped all their leaves and something has had a good go at the rotten tree stump by the stream since last time.

When I got to the two streams by the glove tree I found them totally clogged up with fallen leaves, so even though it was still pretty grim I got the rake and cleared the most northerly one, (which was enough work with my cold still hanging on, the one right by the glove tree will have to wait until next time) It's amazing how just raking out a few leaves changes it from a nearly stagnant pool of water to a flowing stream in just a few minutes. I guess the leaves must kill the momentum of the water and end up slowing it to a virtual standstill.

Once that was done I retired to the yardarm, where we may well want to add chicken wire to a few more boards yet as it was wet and pretty slippery, to sit and have a cup of tea as dusk approached. it was getting noticeably dark by 3.45 so I packed up and headed home, pretty damp but refreshed.

Saturday 17th November 2018

It has been a dark and dismal week with fog and drizzle most of the week but the weekend was forecast sunny and clear so after a challenging week at work I was up early to get to Rais. I arrived a bit after 9 and Ant turned up not much later.

After feeding the birds, checking my tent, (only to find the mice have eaten a hole in the floor!) and finding yet more mushrooms down by the yardarm
we started with a fire to get rid of the last few weeks chopping. While Ant got the fire going I started on the stumps left over from last week which mostly came out quite easily as the earth is pretty soft just there.








The burrow I found last time looks like it has been in use as a lot of the leaves blocking it had been cleared away and when I dug up the first rohdie root, which was a good 10-15 feet away, it seemed to expose a tunnel so it does seem like something has made a home there. So I hastily covered it back up and moved on!

Ant and I carried on chopping and burning for a couple of hours and then I went down to the gully and  burned all the brash left over from when Helen was clearing in the wayleave a few weeks ago. That didn't take too long to get rid of and while the fire was dying down I dug up the first few stumps that are left in that section. I've been dreading this area as the stumps are huge and look like they are unlikely to move, but the first few came up quite easily. There are plenty more to do though!

Despite clear skies the dusk came quickly even though it's still a month until the shortest day so we called it a day around 4

Saturday 10th November

There was heavy rain overnight on Friday with more forecast for Sunday so Saturday saw me at Rais. It felt like the first proper autumn day, wet and muddy with a cool or even cold breeze all day. The rain had gone by 10 when I arrived but there was broken cloud , with some sun, all day

There has finally been enough rain to restart the stream and for the first few hours everything was very wet. Autumn is well underway elsewhere too with the bracken going over and the oak saplings are finally starting to lose their leaves.

Wandering around I found another tree losing it's bark, so I guess that is in a bad way.











I was not feeling too good so avoided the pickaxe today and just chopped. I probably overdid it but ended up with a good pile at the end of the day. I did come across a burrow of some kind that seemed fairly fresh,

I think all the leaves were from my chopping

















and I also came back across the potential burrow I found earlier in the year in the stream bank again and it looked pretty tidy so I suspect it may well be in use, maybe we can try your trail cam when you're back to see?

This is this week's clue as to where I was working!

The birds may not come down to the food up by the Hive much when I am there, bit there certainly do after I'm gone, I don't think the new suet feeder is going to last long! Now they have been at the bottom hole too

Saturday 3rd November 2018

Visits to Bristol and Shepperton have meant that I've had two week's off from Rais. I've definitely  missed it!

The weather forecast was not so good for Sunday so I went on Saturday. I expected it to be clear and cold but it was actually quite overcast in the morning and surprisingly mild so I ended up quite overdressed and with not really enough water for the day. The clocks have gone back and dusk is around 5pm at the moment so I made what I thought was a fairly early start, although somehow I didn't actually get there until about 10 only to find Ant already hard at work with a good fire going. He's had the last week off work and been at Rais most days and he's been a busy chap! However, I think the odd surprise for when you are back will be nice, so the only picture you can have of what he's been up to is this one.

There was the noise of what sounded like a big earth mover or similar machine coming from what sounded like over by the new pond in the wayleave, although I did not see any actual machinery. Ant said it had been going all week and he thought he had seen two big lorries of hardcore going down that way, So I wonder if they are are putting in a proper road to access the pond?

To start off I finished the strimming in the wayleave now that I have mended the cutting head, including the bank behind the yardarm, where there are lots of tree saplings coming up, and the steps. (Of course I will be buying some new solar lights again after someone hid all the old ones in the long grass!) and raked the wayleave by the dam again.

Then I went to put some feed out for the birds by the Hive. I could see the mouse has been in the paper shreddings in the hive but he has not got to any of the food, but the birds have been busy on my new suet feeder and pecked away all of the side of one hole!

The new feeder is much narrower than the old one so the hole was quite close to the side, but really! it's really hard wood as well.

Once that was done I headed over to help Ant for the rest of the day, and we got a good amount done.
At one point as I pulled out a rohdie root I found half a red house brick underneath it!! Which got me thinking, how interesting it would be to be able to look back in time and see how it got there?

After lunch I got the ladder out and went up to clear out the owl box and got quite a surprise. There was no evidence that the stock doves had nested there at all this year, even though I did see them in and out several times, but something has clearly started a nest and quite recently too as the grasses and twigs lining the bottom of the box are still green. So after a quick look to check all was in good shape I left it all alone.

The main stream is still all but dry despite a reasonable amount of rain on a couple of days, I guess the ground water will take a while to recover after such a dry summer, but after some rohdie chopping again in the afternoon I decided to rake the streams which were pretty clogged up with leaves to finish off the day. Once I started though I realised that not only are there still really a lot of leaves on the trees just waiting to fall in my newly cleared stream, but there is barely a trickle in either stream at the moment so I think I was a little premature.

Wandering around I saw quite a few mushrooms again, at a least a couple of which are likely rather poisonous

and I noticed that the tree that lost all it's bark so suddenly earlier in the year has now definitely died.

The clouds had disappeared during the day and the late afternoon sun was coming through the trees as we called it a day at around 4. The days certainly seem a lot shorter all of a sudden.

Sunday
I didn't have much to do Sunday and it was still mild and cloudy but dry so I went up for a couple of hours in the morning to carry on digging up stumps in the gully. I was there just after 9 and two hours was long enough to police the area from the hive to the cars and take out about 10 rhodie shoots that were coming back up and also get 15 smaller stumps removed in the gully, which felt like good progress. Next step will be the really big ones just there though and I doubt they will come out quite as easily as today's ones did.

On the way out I drove up the lane a little way to the wood with the pond and sure enough, it looks like a decent road is going in to access it

Tuesday 23rd October

It was a nice day, overcast but with some sun coming through the cloud so I popped up to Rais with my camera at lunchtime.

I opened up the Hive and put some food out for the birds and then had a wander round, I disturbed a male pheasant over by my tent and a large stag complete with antlers on the other side of the stream  but apart from that did not see anything of note other than to notice that the leaves really are falling now. I could hardly hear myself think from the noise of the chainsaw next door though so the neighbors were busy.

The wasps nest in the stream bank looks nearly abandoned now, the entrance is covered by leaves and there was only a very occasional wasp looking to get in. The proximity of the Hive to the nest obviously makes it an attractive hibernation spot though as there were wasps tucked up on all of the windows as I opened them up,

and several flying around and trying to find a spot as I was sat there. I must have asked at least 10 of them to find another spot by the time I left! so I suspect there will be a few more taking the free spots there by the weekend.




I sat for a while with the camera ready, but although I could hear them nearby, today the birds were not hungry, I think I need to put food out up there more regularly. The closest I got to seeing one was a robin up in the trees, but he was gone before I could get a shot and apart from that the only shot I got was of the empty feeder.

Despite the lack of action it was nice to get out for an hour and shut work out.