Another month zips by...

fungi in the kitchen

...and it seems the work is magically getting done behind our backs. Thank you to Simon and Helen for the awesome Rhodie clearance going on at the top of the wayleave. Holiday trip last week on the canal boats took most of the crew out for 2 weekends, but we will be back to help out with the burning this Samhain weekend - we promise!
The clay base needed a second session of puddling and smearing a couple of weeks ago, but I am hoping it will be all good for the yule time camp now without too much work.

The dam however is not fairing so well and frustratingly for all of us, but especially so for Flee we can do nothing more than keep plugging the holes and hoping it seals itself with the weight of the autumn rains and the debris that will no doubt we swept down into it.

Cassius base repairs

big hole in the clay base

It was back to puddling again last weekend as there are some repairs needed to the base that Cassius sits on - thankfully it's not so drastic that it has moved or cracked the oven itself, just the corner of the work surface has shifted slightly and so the clay holding it together has had to be removed and replaced.
So with a mix of 12.5kgs of clay, 30kgs of sharp sand and a few handfuls of sawdust I got stuck into puddling again. Cold at first but as soon as that familiar squelching phase got underway it was actually quite enjoyable and served as my daily exercise session since I had missed swimming again this weekend.
It will need another batch adding next week to fill the gaps and level off the top, but we made a good start anyway.
The rest of the gang continued clearing Rhodies either in the wayleave or over in the North East corner towards the Yew tree. It was lovely and sunny and if the stock doves are still sitting on eggs, then we have no excuses not to keep going - autumn might be here, but for woodland owners, that only increases the amount of work we can get done. bring on the bonfire season

whilst we were away working on a farm in Africa...

Simon and Helen were driving down to Rais and were shocked to see a huge JCB digger sitting in the middle of the wayleave and a big brown scar where it had been clearing brush. A closer look showed it was next door but one, with a group of half a dozen or so directing the activities from an ATV. It was difficult to see what they were up to but they were busy pretty much all day, at one point moving quite a bit of earth as well as clearing brush so perhaps they are digging a pond?
Having checked out the digger they went down to see how the dam was doing and were met by a scene of devastation .... there had obviously been a huge amount of rain at some point this week, and the dam looked like there had been a flash flood... all three pipes were blocked, one with a big bit of wood Simon could hardly lift out, and water has not only been going over the top but also through a really big hole in the dam (and another smaller one) next to the lower pipe.

As we were looking at the damage and clearing the blocked pipes we noticed it also seemed really shallow, even though the top of the lower pipe was not far above the water, and then we realised that the bank where Flee has been taking clay from has collapsed and there’s a load of new silt in the pond, almost up to the level of the pipe. They cleared out the blocked pipes but the holes will need Flees assessment to see what can be done.

Finally making a start on up-cycling the old campervan roof

The poor thing has been waiting patiently in the wood for some attention for almost a year now and so Tracey and I decided Bank Holiday was the weekend Bee's roof was getting a camouflage makeover....
  
It was also the weekend the bat box went up and Flee got back in the pond for some more clay puddling, Tracey refused wine in favour of bed (she was most definitely ill!) and Cassius produced yet more perfect pizzas.

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.

To give it it's full title... The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate-Discoveries from a Secret World.
Wow - what a book, and what a difference it made to an incredibly long and usually boring journey on the M1 north for work (Audible rocks!). Hidden and secret life indeed - my fascination with trees just reached a whole new level thanks to this book.
Not only are things explained in laymans terms, but with analogies and examples as well - I'm not sure I would have got through it as quickly as I did without it being expertly read to me through the Audible book app, but it's certainly one I would recommend for anyone with any interest in the outside world - particularly those who work directly with trees or silviculture - will make you think twice before you reach for the chainsaw in future!