How was your day?

(Ours was pretty good…)

Thankfully Thursday’s weather was decidedly spring-like. A tad breezy admittedly but very pleasant. I reckoned the four of us would be finished by lunchtime which would hopefully leave plenty of time for a wander afterwards.

I had ‘processed’ the willow (chopped up into lengths and put a rather dashing point on one end), so today just involved banging in the willow, then a tree stake and then putting a shelter on. I had also cut some to about 3 feet in length which were hammered in leaving about 6 inches above ground. we also managed to get some into the river bed which is only stony for a few inches then becomes lovely clay. Great for holding willow stakes in.

We were done by 12:30 and celebrated our ‘mammoth’ morning with red soup (tom and roasted red pepper) and some decidedly alcoholic gluten free cake. Whilst eating we were thrilled to have a pair of red kite with spring in their wings flapping around behind our ‘camp’. Professor Yaffle (you have to be of a certain age*) was calling frequently and a pair of oystercatcher seem to have made themselves at home too. “Nice”.

Our two volunteers (Paul and Jo…oh and I suppose Derek who continues to think himself a real dog) left after lunch so wife, Liz and myself wandered along to Heggs. My first primroses of the year were flowering along with some dubious snowdrops. They were along a riverside pasture so may have arrived via flooding.

On return we packed all the tools/broke camp and set off to harvest even more willow for further ‘in-river’ planting. All today’s willow and the extra came from one tree (last pic) which was pollarded along with quite a few others near Low Row a few years ago, to provide material for just this sort of malarkey.

It looks like I might be getting wet feet this weekend!

Martin WW

*Bagpuss age.