Not quite lost in the woods

By ‘C’ – photographs by ‘C’ and the Session Leader:

Our extraordinary weather has continued another seven relentless days.  Delighting some.  Leaving others feeling frazzled.

Wallingford St Peter’s: spire reflected in the River Thames

The first cracks in this particular spell of outlandishly hot weather had appeared when that photograph was taken (Sunday 5 August).  Those of us who think the cool around dawn the most pleasant time of day to be out and about in the summer of 2018, found there was dew under our boots for the first time since … when? none of us could remember!  There was even a little morning mist on the river for the first time since G-d knows when.

After reaching 30 C yesterday, today the air was cooler – or seemed so anyway.  Dry as ever, though.  Our main problem on the walk over to our work-area this morning was finding the way.  Across the meadow from here, or turn right on to the inviting footpath? 

It could have been a mistake on my part at that juncture to voice my thoughts out loud: “It’s nice not being Session Leader!  This is someone else’s problem.”  The word came through that we would turn right, on the grounds that “It’s in the shade”; but another word passed down the line was that Session Leader had contemplated delegating the Problem to impertinent Group Co-ordinator in the ranks.  I’m glad he didn’t.

We knew our Leader had chosen the right course when we found site warden’s landie already there, and could see the path which was our target today.  Another volunteer group had begun the long (5-year) process of widening this ride.  Step 1 is to cut back either side of the part.  Step 2 in the winter will be starting to making scallops – something we have done at another site, with excellent results for woodland flora and fauna.

Today, we were to be the second wave.  The object: to make a further stretch of bridleway like this:

Green-Gymmers sprang into action with scythes, rakes, and booted feet:

“Ah, hydration!” exclaimed one volunteer when tea-break was called.  Certainly there was more than usual demand today for refreshing tea (and several re-fills), alongside home-made cakes:

The second half of the session seemed to pass by just as quickly from my own PoV: it’s remarkable how time seems to flow differently when you have a scythe in your hands.  Here two Green-Gymmers – one new to scything – companionably compare notes on ‘how is it for you’:

For whatever reason, the walk back to car-park at the end seemed much longer than the amble on the way over at the start of the day.  Perhaps because in the open, the sun was now beating now.  Some volunteers were looking longingly over to the Thames, and wondering if they might take up this sport:

What at first sight look like self-propelling buoys...

... turn out to be early-morning swimmers, River Thames
spotted by Wallingford Bridge, 2 Aug 2018

Cooler and “more changeable” weather is forecast for the rest of the week.  A significant probability of rain, however, is one of those things which for the moment seems always to be receding in the future: showers are for ever being forecast for ‘later’, but as that time approaches, so the calculated chance of rain decreases to <5%.