It has literally been all hands to the pump as we try to get as much done before the Bird Nesting Season starts on the 1st March. Some might say that this is also the start of Spring, but I prefer to wait until the Spring Equinox, which is about the 21st March. Literally nothing happens between now and then.
Ten explorers turned out this morning, and we definitely could feel a rise in the temperature. I think it was about 14 deg C at the high point. Dave, Marcus, Ian, David, Reece, Matt, Andrew, Ram, Mark, and Paul put in a shift, which, between the lot of us, equates to 20 man-hours.
The farmer cuts the hedge from the other side and takes a load of the small trees on our side that are growing close to it, which is fine.
We decided to clear the rest before the self-seeding whips became an impenetrable thicket. We really want to get away from that green-tunnel feeling that feels so suffocating and isolating. My hope is that it stops any low-level nefarious activities, too.
We broke for coffee and Maryland cookies at half-time.
Apparently, Maryland is not pronounced as it reads in America, which is where I assume the cookies originate from.
Maryland is generally pronounced “MERR-il-ənd” or “MEH-ruh-lind” (rhymes with “Marilyn”) in America, with the stress on the first syllable and a very light or dropped “d” at the end. AI Overview.
Here in England, it’s a hard MarY and a hard LanD.
Any wiser? No, me neither…

We cracked on, and the view just got better and better.
I love it. It feels like we can breathe with nature and feel at one with the elements.
We also did some finishing-off down the southerly end.
The hedge-trimmer on a pole is a killer to use, but it just opens up the view. The mature trees could do with a few of the lower branches lopped off (raising the crown) just to allow more sunlight to hit the ground, but overall, it feels good.
A kind person has filled up our bird feeders.
And something has broken into one of our nesting boxes. Too late to do anything about it now. If we replace the front, it will smell of humans and put off anything wild. We might get something bigger using the box, maybe starlings or a squirrel. Certainly one to watch.
Dunchurch Bridleway
The wet weather is still hampering us on this part of the trail.
The more we try to work around the flood, the more it seems to encroach on to our newly formed dry land.
We are having to move piles of brash that we cut back last year, which feels incredibly counter-productive, but it is what it is.
The upside of the morning was a bit of a French theme to our coffee break.

We had to eat them quickly, or they too would become part of the soggy nightmare…
The next one is next Wednesday at the bench just north of where we were today.
We had a plan for the Cutting Back Season, and whilst we thought it was going to be a very tall order last September, we have actually done everything that we aimed to do.
A huge thanks to the team, all of our supporters and users. It’s a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that the path is going to be so good as it all starts to dry out and green up in the next four weeks or so.
Until next time!
Paul










































































































































































































































































































































































