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.