Granville Nature Reserve Hedge-Laying

2 separate Fridays (Feb 26 and March 12, 2010) saw the Wrekin Forest Volunteers ably guided by our leader Pete Lambert complete a long line of hedge-laying. The finished result you will see below.

 

But this is how it looked before we started!

Pics by Nigel and moi

Just as the first signs of Spring burst into life after the hardest, longest, coldest winter for 3 decades but did it ever stop the WuFuV's? Nah! Well... only Devil's Dingle which was postponed due to deep snow which made the site inaccessible.

Work started by chopping part-way through each tree and bush that fell in the fence-line which was then laid over to the left to lie along the edge of the existing fence. 

       

  

Then the stakes went in spaced by ‘elbow-to-fingertip’ measures and all gaps filled with dead brash laid neatly in the same direction. 

Horizontal binders were added to hold everything in place and then a final slicing off of stake tops to finish and the job was done.

Lunch break saw Kevin receiving his prize for correctly answering the previous ‘Where Is It?’ competition. You may recall the pic:-

This was Caer Caradoc taken from Hope Bowdler Hill. Kevin also threw in for good measure; 3-Fingers Rock on the top of Caer Caradoc and even Cwms Farm in the foreground. 

This was the first prize for Kevin in the ‘Where Is It?’ competition - a book about a twitcher. As is now customary this book was not just a random selection of the title as it was actually signed. Unfortunately, not by the author but by my long standing friend (I do wish she’d sit down’) Vera Wayfrommer but it could, of course, quite easily become a much sought-after and highly valued collectors item.

Maybe Kevin won’t be so enthusiastic next time around but at least it broke Keith’s run of 3 wins on the trot!

New comp pic coming soon.

 

Part of our happy throng below. Nigel was going to attempt to take this pic on a timer but he didn’t think he would have time to vault the fence and get into position so he missed this group photo.

"OK... where did everyone go! 

Where are you? Are you all hiding? 

I know you're there 'cause there's a glove behind me!"

 

Or can anyone else come up with a silly caption? Pop it/them into Comments below or if that proves to be a challenge:- email me at paulewatts@googlemail.com

Some great pics here also in the slideshow of the 2-day work party.

Click collage below to see more… go on - it won’t hurt and you won’t break anything either…

Catch you all soon - don't forget 'Wild In The Woods' Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Ercall Dairy Pits. Hope to see you there!

Paul

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Apley Castle 29-01-10

Photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett



















My long-standing friend (I do wish she’d sit down) Vera Wayfrommer - a big fan of this blog - asked me the other day why I never publish a photo of her. Thing is (get a little closer so she doesn’t hear - I’ll whisper) you’ve heard of the beauty of Helen of Troy launching a thousand ships? Well Vera’s claim to fame is that she sank a thousand frigates! My mission is to save you all from her - hence no photo!

 Apley Castle on Friday Jan 29th was another great success I’m sure we all agree. Whenever the Wrekin Forest Volunteers lend a hand or 12 we always get looked after really well. Despite, rain, snow, hail, sleet and intense cold we were once more treated to a veritable feast - a hot-food picnic in the woods with Sausage Casserole followed by Plum Crumble and custard with mugs of hot steaming tea and coffee to accompany it all! Thanks go to Sean and his cheerful and obliging Friends of Apley Castle.

These aren’t ‘film-grain pics by the way - the camera lens is looking through sleet and hail.



Photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

We were here to work, of course! So ‘the Friends’ and the WuFuv’s all mucked in together. Olly,  who now spends a lot of his working week here in Apley Castle Woods, was our guide for the day and with his suggestions we trimmed back and cut down much of the box hedge that had grown out of control. A spot of tree planting (oaks and whips) was also on the agenda. This is Liz obviously 'working' with Olly and Jim advising in true hole-digging fashion!

Hang on! What’s happening over there?

Kevin? No!
KEVIN - NOT THAT ONE!

 
Photo: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

My camera unfortunately died sometime during the day - probably a result a soaking at Devils Dingle but thanks to Les and Nigel between us we managed to get a few pics. There was a proviso for using Les’s pics though - I had to publish one he took of me so…


Photo: Les Hughes

What do you think - ideal subject for a Caption Competition?

I must also include this one from Les as it so epitomises the beauty of Apley Castle


Photo: Les Hughes

The regular WuFuV’s met many new volunteers from the Apley Castle area on the day including someone who appears to be hiding in the undergrowth… 

Say hello to Nikki who arrived to lend an extra pair of helping hands.
 

Photo: Les Hughes

Don’t know why but I can’t help feeling there’s a red pointy hat and fishing rod missing here!

Anyway, all in all an excellent day in Apley Woods and looking forward to our planned Moth Night here on July 9th.

Oh… nearly forgot - we have a winner for the last ‘Where Is It’ Competition - find out who was clever enough to work it all out at the next meet.


Catch you all shortly…

Click collage to see more pics

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The Wrekin - Mammal Boxes

Had to cancel my Friday excursion with the Wrekin Forest volunteers this week due to a 3-day decorating programme which stretched to 6! Saturday’s planned day out with Mike Williams and crew at Stiperstones also fell foul of the paint brush. My Apley Castle blog post from the previous week was well under way but not completed so it was fortuitous that Nigel emailed his article for posting to the blog. Apley Castle article to follow shortly, but in the meantime over to Nigel Cane-Honeysett for his first-ever posting on the group’s blog: Friday’s foray on The Wrekin …
  
Small mammal nesting boxes – Wrekin Forest said the programme. Brian, Jim, Liz and I (Nigel) met up at the Telford pickup point and duly clambered aboard the battle bus containing Pete, Jamie and Alistair along with two wheelbarrows (more of them later) and a lot of little boxes - and they all looked just the same. (There’s a pink one and a blue one and a green one etc). Actually they were all wood coloured but this blog is renowned for going off on one so I thought I’d keep the tradition up.

Arriving at Forest Glen we met Penny, Mike, Keith, Linda, Allison and Kevin’s car, but where was Kevin (Lilleshall, Apley Castle ?). Penny volunteered to look for him but settled for summoning him using only the power of her mind .

Once together we embarked on a litter pick around the car park and collected 16 black sacks of rubbish here guarded by Alistair and Jamie.

Prize litter pick of the day went to Penny who found the golf bag (minus clubs) closely followed by Alistair who found a rusty shovel which was stored on the bus - you never know when it might come in useful. Some debate arose during the litter pick around controlling the problem – my view (not necessarily that of the management) is that a “litter tax” should be levied on any company whose name featured in any of the sacks so look out C*db*rys (or do I mean Kr*ft), W*lkers and D*r*x (get your Mum or Dad to explain that last one).

Litter picking and griping done we bussed or legged it to Burnt Cottage Coppice (I think) where we unloaded twenty mammal des res and set off up the path leaping aside to avoid Tom in a Landrover.

Pete explained the task with Liz providing illustrations of a dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) from her Collins Complete British Wildlife and we plunged into the undergrowth in determined style. In order to keep it simple Pete suggested that we split into two and started halfway with each team going in a different direction and counting up from eleven or down from ten depending on ..... well we knew what he meant – honest!

We took it in turns to tie boxes onto trees etc with the ubiquitous blue string (no soup for the clangers again!)


whilst others determined what the canopy coverage was (on a scale of A to D) and how dense the undergrowth/shrubbery was (on a scale of 1 to 5). Allison acted as Estate agent



recording this and other suitable comments (close to main track, south facing etc.) Penny, using her nautical knowledge explained how we could get knotted (or knotting perhaps).

Some debate arose whether the aspect should refer to the position of the box on the tree or whether it should be whichever way the residence faced (made more difficult as the entrance was in the back) – this kept us amused for well....minutes!

Choice dwellings were half timbered…



Or thatched…



Kevin then provided gridrefs for all boxes, in between grumbles that the GPS wasn’t really accurate enough with all the interference from trees (quite how they were interfering with him I don’t know) and Jim provided bearings from one box to the next for later survey work.

Having completed twenty boxes we lunched which was when the wheelbarrows really came into their own.


Just a couple of barrow boys! (Ed.)

Penny meanwhile propped up a tree to Liz’s bemusement.



We discussed the Silkin Way walk planned for 19^th February and agreed to start from Princess Royal Hospital around 10 ish and finish as close to the Woodbridge Inn as possible around whateverish. Please let Pete know if you are coming.

After lunch we reloaded the barrows with boxes and followed a different path to erect them. This time we started at the beginning and finished at the end – much to our confusion !

The terrain was steep – so much so that I thought we must be putting up boxes for a new species Muscardinus monticulum (alright so I made that up!).

Kevin tried out Penny’s tree propping technique



While Mike and Liz referred to the Ikea instructions for erecting a new dormouse domicile.



We finished earlier than usual and made our way back home.

The whole day moved me to poetry:-

Your house ?
Dormouse !

a bit long perhaps.

Article by Nigel Cane-Honeysett