As Bob Dylan says it so well in his Idiot Wind, springtime has turned slowly into autumn, so obviously it’s time to dig out my Ladybird book What to Look for in Autumn. Since it was published in 1960 mechanisation and chemistry have changed agriculture out of all recognition. Even as recently as then (1960 is still recent isn’t it?), people were still spending their summer holidays picking hops, in a very Darling Buds of May kind of way.
This ties in very nicely with the fact that someone had excitedly written “HOPS!” on the sightings whiteboard, and true enough, a short way along the boardwalk I found these.In order to get that far, I had to use the splendid replacement bridge that NWT warden George and his colleagues have made.
Today 16 incomparable volunteers also crossed that bridge in order to continue work on the central part of The Common; this time on the southern side of the boardwalk. There having been an hour’s worth of preparation earlier in the week, here’s how the area looked before we began work on it.
Soon the drag sheets were laid out (no, we didn’t pinch them from any lamp posts!) and then the pitchforking could begin.
Team Leader Kevin enjoys a spot of brush cutting. Once he’d trimmed the edges of the boardwalk, he set about fine tuning the sward where we were hard at work. I believe Southrepps Bowls Club will be playing there next week.
We’ve mentioned the pride we take in our piles before; this time we may have exceeded even our high standards for their neatness.
Speaking of double
entendres, the air around the winch site was thick with them, enough to
bring a blush to the cheeks of the roughest and toughest rugby players – but they
were all busy knocking seven belles (see what I did there?) out of each
other in the World Cup quarter finals. As a taster, much was made of whether
this was a particular individual’s first time, and could any of us elderly
blokes remember theirs. We’ve been winching a while, so no.
Here’s a classic action shot of the sort you’ve seen many times before, showing two finely honed gentlemen escorting a sheet to its flipping tipping point.
Careful examination
of that photo reveals the black rope leading back to the winch. Your
correspondent, when asking a colleague about where we had to go with the next
sheet was gratified to hear that all I had to do was follow the black rope.
Good advice Ken!
Half time came, predictably half-way through the session, and none too soon for it was warm work. The weather forecast was full of some doom and a lot of gloom for later in the day, but we were treated to another fine morning. Greatly invigorated by Nina’s most welcome apple cake, we eventually tottered back to work with a will.
What of the
community singing? Perhaps it was a feeling of inhibition following the
fabulous rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody at last night’s Last Night of
the Proms, but our acclaimed male voice choir was this time entirely
silent. Even the most optimistic will have to agree that it can’t last.
Absent any singing, the gripping interest for a few tea-break idlers was the quality of each other’s boots. This was brought on by your correspondent noticing Linda’s fetching and expensive looking blue wellies, at the right of this picture. Curiously, even after yesterday’s heavy showers, none of these have attracted any mud.
At the end of the session the job was declared a good ‘un, and we all cleared off, leaving that portion of Area G looking like this.
Back at the storage container it was great to see our old friend Grizzly back in its place of honour, having been used on the pre-cut and by Team Leader George and his colleagues from Cley on Area A earlier in the week.
Here is Team
Leader Margaret’s message of thanks:
Once
again I am in awe at how many of you turn out week after week to help look
after the commons. We are so lucky to have you all. Another beautiful morning
which made our task easier. Thank you to Nina for the superb apple cake which
helped us on our way. Next time we will
be across the stream on either area A or
B depending on what George would like us to do. We look forward to seeing some
of you then. Happy holidays to those who are gallivanting.
Thank you
again
Margaret
for the team leaders.
So far as I know, neither the said Margaret nor her otherwise splendid husband John are particularly fond of cricket, in the sporting sense. Crickets in the entomological sense however, appear to have a fondness for them, with now a second species gracing their home to their delight. First it was a Roesel’s Bush Cricket. You first read about it here. This time, discovered indoors one morning a week ago was what appears to be a Long-winged Conehead. (I didn’t know such a thing existed either, since you’re asking.) Here is a photo of it ensconced in the house, and another of it apparently tucking into a tasty nettle post-eviction.
In other insect news, I found a pristine Comma butterfly on the footpath above Pit Common. It had the decency to stay still long enough to allow me to snap its diagnostic white comma marking on the underside of its wing.
The part of
Area G that we worked on last month is now sporting a glorious crop of Grassof Parnassus – one of our most treasured plants here. They’re a pretty
flower (not a grass at all) and well worth looking out for.
It has also
been a good week for bird sightings in the area: two days ago I had the thrill
of watching a Hobby
hunting piedwagtails flocking on a field near the Suffield Arms. I don’t think it was
successful, but it could certainly put on a great turn of speed, as you would
expect from this lovely little falcon.
Yesterday I heard
a Chiffchaff
singing nearby, and excitingly a pair of Ravens visited our
favourite ‘garden adjacent Common’.