The good skiff Corixa punctata

Thursday September 26th was supposed to be very wet, but, once again, the gods smiled on us and we had a dry, warm and even sunny morning at Wood Norton. Initially, seven of us turned up and we started by cutting back the ever-vigorous nettles and thistles in the parking area, then moved on to the main purpose of the morning: launching the little craft Peter F had donated to the Trust and entrusting its management to Pete R, with Ed in the bow armed with tree lopping tools. Pete paddled to good effect, while Ed quickly got used to the somewhat unsteady craft and managed not to fall in.

At 10.00, Andrew, Seán and Nigel arrived, having spent 90 minutes clearing paths at Bale. So, with a stronger team, we were able to divvy up labours: while Pete and Ed bobbed up and down on the pond, Trevor, Stu, Seán, Nigel and Andrew winched and pulled in newly-cut branches of overhanging or fallen willow branches to the gangway, where they were reduced in size by Peter M, Elizabeth and Biddy – small branches stacked on the side and larger pieces, cut to size, piled next to the shed, ready to become log piles for insects and small mammals to shelter in.   

Before

After

As the pond clearance continued, Peter and Nigel did some work improving the path skirting the pond, next to the road, to make it less precipitous and slippery. This will be a Forth-Road-Bridge type of job, with constant attention needed in order to keep the path safe.

Of course, coffee and doughnuts necessitated a break at around 10.30 but, after we had lingered over those, work continued until around 12.15, when, a recalcitrant branch, stuck in the mud, caused us to call it a day and the good skiff, Corixa punctata (other names to be suggested, please), was hauled ashore and turned upside down to dry. We then repaired to the far side of the pond, where our footpath borders a meadow beyond our site. Ed quickly chain-sawed overhanging willow and crab apple branches and cut them up. We used the resulting brash to build a temporary hedge, which will delineate the boundary, to be replaced at a later date by a real hedge.

This was a fantastic morning’s work with everybody pulling their weight (depending on strength, age, energy) and getting through a great deal of work. Wood Norton is beginning to look like one of our star sites – one we should be truly proud of.

Our next work party is in a week’s time – on Thursday October 3rd, at WBOA/West Beckham Green. See you there!

Peter Maingay

September 26th 2024