2nd-6th September
Having reached the heights of the spoil heap for the Open Day, John and Clare set about making a way down. They spent some time working out whether it was better to work from the top or the bottom. In the end they did both. Happily the steps joined up.
Let’s start from the top
Or maybe the bottom
Ok, the bottom
And the top
3rd September
Clare was delighted to discover that the bees in the nucleus hive, long after the textbooks would suggest was likely, had a new queen that had started laying. This means that there will be four colonies going into the winter.
Leaving Liddells that same day, Clare and John were surprised to see a couple investigating the south boundary wall. They were delighted to discover that Ann and Andrew were on a mission to find all the ancient cross bases in the county. To their knowledge no-one had ever been interested before; Ann and Andrew were delighted that their efforts were so appreciated.
7th September
The first of the grandly called Consultation Lunches in the Shepherd’s hut. John and Clare had asked a number of people with relevant experience among their friends, to come and share ideas about how Liddells might be developed in the future, both enhancing what is already there, and offering new opportunities for engaging with the project. Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the day was the discovery of an Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar as Tim, Jane and Linda were leaving, on pretty much the exact spot where Linda had been telling Clare a couple of hours earlier about seeing one of these creatures near her home. Before the Consultants arrived John and Clare saw a charm of about fifty Goldfinches chasing off a Kestrel over the sheds.
8th September
The steps were finished. The OED must have known. The route over the spoil heap is no longer a mauvais pas (an area that is difficult or dangerous to negotiate; OED Word of the Day 8th September).
Stairway to Heaven…
…or descent into Hell? It all depends on your point of view
Clare is particularly pleased to have finished this task
10th September
The doe and her kid, which John is now convinced is also a doe, are regular users of the path through the Scrub, as is a fox who demonstrates his masculinity for the camera.
13th September
Tim forwarded the results of this year’s Butterfly Conservation Big Butterfly Count which shows a huge influx of Painted Ladies on the north-east coast. Tim’s counts over the summer reflect this surge in numbers too.
14th September
A badger joins the Scrub path users group; a roe buck marks his territory even though the rut is over; the roe kid has grown and lost her markings.
17th September
Clare and John sowed wildflower seeds in the shepherd’s hut enclosure hoping they will vernalise successfully and emerge in the Spring.
19th September
The fox can be seen boldly going about his business in daylight.
21st September
Clare spent some time preparing her bees for the winter, treating them for varroa mite (most honey bee colonies suffer from these now and if present in large numbers, the mites weaken the bees leaving them prone to infection and disease, particularly Deformed Wing Virus), and checking on the colonies’ stores. The newest and smallest colony is being threatened by robber bees (not everything is sweetness and honey in bee world) so Clare smeared the brood box with a eucalyptus rub, placed a sheet of glass over the entrance and added several small leafy branches. The home bees will be able to make their way through this obstacle course, the robbers may retire defeated and if they don’t, the delay caused to their activities will give the guard bees more time to attack.
23rd September
Juno was employed as a bug hotel builder and was satisfied with her work. Payment was made in blackberries.
26th September
Clare walked round with Sue D who is one of those people who are attuned to nature and therefore see and hear more than most. Together they saw a hare in the Top Strip, a roe doe in an adjoining field, a Goldcrest in the Orchard, a juvenile Goldfinch (wing markings not fully developed and a grey head) eating Knapweed seeds in the Meadow and a juvenile male Great Spotted Woodpecker (large red cap rather than red patch on the back of the head) on Sitka cones in the North-east Strip.
27-29th September
John has turned his attention to the inside of the shepherd’s hut, working out how best to fit a wood-burning stove and how to proceed with the chosen flooring. While he wrestled with measurements and paper patterns, Clare got down to the nuts and bolts of the matter and requested that a bolt and handle be fitted to the door so that it could be closed from the inside. As John often says, it’s all in the detail.
Frame in place for the insulation boards that will be behind the stove
Interior fixing to prevent hut users bolting
Getting a handle on things with a teleramic
Look closely at the handle - any guesses as to its origin? It’s repurposed from an object mentioned in an earlier blog post. While finding out whether this object had a particular name, Clare was delighted to discover that there is a Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society. She probably won’t join.
The trail camera, now moved to the Pit Wood, has captured the kid again and the images show very clearly how it has grown, but how it is losing its summer coat revealing the darker chocolatey brown winter coat below.