One of the glories
of the Chilterns is the chalk grassland, with its abundance of flowers in the
summer:
Our path through the Chilterns this morning
took us to a spot we had never been to before.
Part way up the scarp, then along on the level through the trees, till
we reached a more open space. There to
our left was a steep slope, which should be chalk grassland [It is now – Ed.], but at start of play was
a mixture of grass, brambles, and shrubs:
Our task was to remove the low-level scrub:
dogwood, mostly.
Green-Gymmers set to with loppers and
shears. Most working up the slope …
but one with his dasselbasher working from
the top:
Gradually the line of advance crept up the
hill:
Meanwhile, the cuttings were being
pitch-forked away to a heap under some nearby trees:
By tea-break, we had opened up one fresh
vista:
What the panoramic pictures do not convey, is
the beauty of some of the undergrowth uncovered:
There was the odd nest as well. Not one in service: that there were no birds
nesting, was something had been checked beforehand.
When we ‘broke through’ to the line of another
path, it was only to find there was another patch of dogwood higher up:
Even so, when time was called we could see
that we had achieved a clear section of the slope:
The smaller plant-species will soon take advantage
of the light and space accorded them.
Our legs may have been aching from working on
the slope, but we still had to check all the tools back into the bags:
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