By ‘C’
A return
visit today to one of our favourite places.
Plus a welcome chance to meet one half of the new site-warden team. (Hello, Roger: we look forward to many more
sessions working with you.)
‘Withymead’
– or ‘Anne Carpmael Charitable Trust Nature Reserve’, to give it its full name – is barely in the sticks, being so close to Goring village, although you are hardly aware of that when you are there. It is also another
of those places visited by more than one Green-Gym. What was going to be today’s main task (which
turned out to be today’s
only task) was around the boardwalk. Much (or all?) of the ‘hardware’ was originally constructed by Sonning Common Green-Gym: a project on a scale we have not tackled. There is nothing wonky about the hard construction, but the natural soft-landscaping would, if allowed to, take over completely.
only task) was around the boardwalk. Much (or all?) of the ‘hardware’ was originally constructed by Sonning Common Green-Gym: a project on a scale we have not tackled. There is nothing wonky about the hard construction, but the natural soft-landscaping would, if allowed to, take over completely.
This is as
far as the reeds had advanced over this last summer:
Our job was
to cut them back, so that people do not have to struggle on an overgrown path, or even feel like they’re running through the jungle:
It was a
mission which called for shears, sickles, rakes, brooms, wheelbarrows, and some
ingenuity to reach beside/under the boards:
For the most
part, the ground was solid enough underfoot.
The fen did, however, have one or two surprises to spring on the unwary:
 |
| One of the
places where one learned whether footwear described by the manufacturer as ‘waterproof’, really is. (Answer is: YES) |
Transporting
cuttings, along the narrow boardwalk to the compost heap, was also interesting
in places. The loads were light enough
in weight, but not the easiest to pack into a barrow:
 |
“Wide load
coming through!”
– “Aren’t you supposed to have flashing amber lights?”
– “Or one
light either side, red and green, to show how wide the vessel is?”
|
Before the session,
at least one volunteer had been rhapsodising about the special quality of the
sunlight in September-October, and how lovely the season is. I can certainly agree about the golden days
of autumn:
that blessed season between the harshness of winter and the insincerities of summer; a trustful season when one buys bulbs and sees to the registration of one’s vote, believing perpetually in spring and a change of Government.
(Saki, in case you’re wondering; writing of
course long before there were such things as fixed-term parliaments in this
country; aka L/Sgt H H Munro, killed in action during the last days of the
Battle of the Somme, 14 November 1916.)
Alas, we saw barely anything of the sun at Green Gym today. The DiY weather forecast the evening before
(sticking one’s head out of the window and having a look at the sky for
oneself) …
had been
considerably more promising than the scientifically-calculated Met Office
prediction. Unfortunately, the Met
Office advice proved to be correct: the sky remained tenaciously overcast all
morning. Good Green-Gym weather is
promised for tomorrow, but that will be too late except for drying togs which
will have been put through the washing machine.
Never mind: the outside temperature was ideal for the amount of exercise
we were getting; and the rain-shower arrived at 1 o’ clock, after session end.
Whether working as lone operatives, or in
ad-hoc small teams, the volunteers kept at it, but still managed to find time for the WGG brand of humour:
 |
| What the joke was here, I don't know |
And Roger seemed well pleased with the
results of our labours:
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
 |
| Before |
 |
| Look where we’ve been! |
No comments:
Post a Comment