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Seven wildlife superheroes turned out this morning. Reece, Marcus, Steve, Dave, Martin, Ian, and Paul. Today was all about the finishing touches to our new pond area.

First was a little bench to sit and view the pond.

It still looks horrendously muddy, but there is new growth of a native plant that is rampant.

Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga). When this bad boy starts, it just doesn’t stop. Soon the whole area will be lush green.

We have our waterfall and our exit as the stream meanders off to the River Avon.

A quick YouTube really just to let you hear the noise of the water.

If it works and the bench doesn’t get vandalised, we can replace it with something a bit better looking and a bit more substantial. I don’t want to be spending money until I know that we get a return, so I butchered an old pallet. Lots of kids play around here and there is a high chance that someone thinks it a good idea to give the bench a hoof…

Birds have been seen splashing about in the water and we have frogs.

How exciting!!

We broke for coffee and flapjack at half-time.

A much-needed sugar-fix ready for the next task.

We rebuilt our bridge. We had drainage issues so it needed changing.

The whole thing now flows with the rest of the path and nobody can fall off the side and get caught in the cavity around the drain. As it settles and moss grows around the drain, it should all start to blend in.

This week’s nightly revision has been all about bees. Apparently, there are many different types of our stripey saviours and most do not produce honey or exist in a colony within a hive, instead leading a solitary life and making a nest in little nooks and crannies. I put my thinking cap on and thought about how we could use some of the bigger bits of timber that we cut back last week.

I came up with this.

I foolishly thought that they would be vertical and just a load of holes drilled into the side of each length of timber. Oh how utterly wrong I was…

The holes need to be between three and four inches deep and between 6mm to 10mm in diameter. We need to attach them to the side of trees with the entrance facing south to get full sun, and then see what happens.

Apparently, the female bee will lay an egg in the depth of the hole, seal the chamber and then lay another egg in the next chamber, and so on. The bees hatch as larvae and eventually emerge from the nest, with the male bees waiting for the female bee to pop out, where she gets impregnated and the whole cycle starts again.

Isn’t nature so totally amazing!!

Next time, I will season the wood before using it. There is no way to get a clean hole drilled when it is so full of moisture. Every day is a learning day!!!

This is another exciting avenue that we have created. If you like bees, or like nature, come along and help. There is always plenty to do.

Martin went off and stained some more of our benches.

Don’t sit down or you will get a stripey bottom!!

I did a litter pick on Monday and Martin went over it again today. Pretty much half of the trail is covered.

Little and often is the way forward.

Lastly, Dave went on a hedge laying course and we agreed that we want to get away from the green tunnel effect that happens in the summer. The farmer cuts the hedges for most of the trail and we think that being able to look out over the countryside is better than a wall of green.

Next week we are staining the benches from the Cawston Bridleway bridge, southward.

Until then!

Paul