Turning up the heat on weeds

By ‘C’:

This species was one of our targets today:

Habitat for cinnabar moth; seriously not good for other species

The particular specimen of ragwort in that photograph was in my own garden.  ‘Was’ because I took it out before setting off for Green Gym this morning, on a ‘first sweep your own doorstep’ basis, as they say in Wisconsin.

Our other target: the thistle.  Sometimes it seemed a shame to take them out, but thistles too can monopolise an area if left unchecked.  At least one could find something else to do, while waiting for insect to finish meal:

We have on previous occasions had two varieties of thistle to deal with – which prompted this comparison, from a Sister in Wisconsin (yes, really: WI USA):

We have two main kinds of thistles here: Canada thistles (tame little things that get 2-3 feet, and are as invasive as digital technology) and something I call monster thistles (probably just regular thistles*) that come equipped with large spines, surveillance cameras etc.

[* Cirsium vulgare: native to Europe; introduced to USA
relatively recently, probably by European settlers – Ed.]

This time the ragwort and thistles in our sights were on the doorstep of our titular ‘home’-town of Wallingford.  This site is not only valuable green space, but also of historical importance.  Because of its archaeological interest (and the fragility of the soil) digging out plant-roots out with a fork is not such a great idea here – even when the ground is not as hard and dry as it is at the moment.  

So tools today were: lazy-dog for ragwort; scythe for topping thistles.  And no need to discriminate between different kinds of thistle!  The arc-swing of a well-handled scythe blade is equally deadly to all types & sizes of thistle: clean and sure as Harry Kane taking a penalty (or two).    

The main challenge for scythers was to pick out target-species amidst the long grass:

There is a patch of thistle ahead in that shot.  But not all purple/blue flowers seen from a distance turned out to be thistles (though some are clearly related) when one got closer:

Most of the plant-life consisted of various kinds of grasses.  In some ways this is a bit disappointing.  I mean, look at the abundance of flora beside the Thames just a little further downstream, towards the village of Cholsey:

Here, or at least where I was working, perhaps because they have been used for agriculture – and still are, though less intensively – the fields seem to have not quite the abundance of wildflowers it was hoped they would be sporting by now?   It is getting on for twenty years since they were taken into public ownership, and managed for nature-conservation as well as public-access green space.

There was no denying, though, that it was a peaceful spot:

Even the nearest Green-Gymmer was quite some distance away.  [Very wise!  A mistimed swipe with a scythe can do an awful lot of unintended damage. – Ed.]

By the looks of things, my nearest neighbour was taking out ragwort, and stowing it out of range of livestock, behind a fence.   

In other parts of the site, ragwort was stacked for removal in the pick-up later today:

Really the main difficulty was keeping going in the shredded heat of weather brought direct to us from Russia.  (Worst possible conditions for scything: too dry.)  We did not have to dig in deep like a cyclist setting a world record, but equally we did not find it as (relatively) easy going as several other sessions lately.  We were very grateful to the tea-crate volunteer, who had the forethought to stock up on lots of cold water and squash, among other goodies.

Shade at half-time was most welcome:

Likewise a rest at the end for some, before packing up and heading home.  [Possibly via pub? – Ed.]

My route [yes, straight home – Ed.] took me past the spot where a contractor was also having a brief break, before putting the finishing touches to a new line of fencing, where we had, in a previous session, taken out the old fittings: