By the session leader:
Today we
were back at the Earth-Trust arboretum, where we have coppiced before.
As last time,
we trimmed hazel to size, and made bundles of stakes and binders ready for the
hedge-layers, later in the week.
Unusually
for Green Gym, we started in drizzle with grey sky.
Working in
pairs …
we sorted
and stacked the timbers very neatly …
and left
beautiful coppiced stools:
For tea, we
hid from the wind in the Poly tunnel (with ne’er a parrot in sight):
We also
found treasure in the form of a Rabon Chesterman tape measure, with its
stitched leather cover and brass handle. Inches on one side, with links on the other:
“A link? What’s that, and how long is it?”
Answer: it
is 1/100 of a chain. And a chain
measures 66 feet, or 22 yards, or 4 rods (20.1168 m). There are 10 chains in a furlong, and 80
chains in one statute mile. An acre is
the area of 10 square chains (1 chain x 1 furlong).
Then we have
the cubit. That is the distance you leave
between stakes when you are laying a hedge. It is elbow to fist, or basically 18". Noah’s ark was 300 cubits long, its width 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.
Other
excitement today was our woolly friends being moved along our path. We were instructed to “stand still and look
the other way.” Sure enough the sheep
trundled past happily, all apart from one hapless and sickly sheep, who had a
ride in the tractor bucket.
By the end
of the session the sun shone. Just like
the previous time we were here with a gymmer who has since fled to France:
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