It is 11.20 a.m. on Sunday, 19th March, a wonderful, sunny, peaceful morning and I'm sitting in the garden at Woodlands, under a clear blue sky, the temperature high enough not to require a jacket. The noises I hear are those of birds; pigeons cooing, thrush, blackbird, finches; all very vocal with the occasional robin, pheasant and even the odd chicken adding its voice to the general chorus. There are birds I can see but not hear, away to the south, well above the tree tops, a pair of buzzards are circling, followed at a respectable distance by a dozen or so rooks, obviously keeping a wary eye on their visitors. A beautiful world at this time influenced by a changing weather pattern, which many believe to be the result of global warming created by the greenhouse effect, a product of man's interference with nature, or perhaps it should be his greed and misuse of natural things. Despite this, a great benefit for us, but not so for the populations of Mozambique and Madagascar, who have suffered badly from the catastrophic results of unprecedented flooding. While these people suffered, we have enjoyed temperatures as high as 16°C when the expected norm would be 9°C with the equinox not due until the 20th of March. The relatively high temperatures, the lack of the high winds and rain experienced in February have been greatly appreciated by wildlife in general.
Celandines, primroses, daffodils, blue and white violets, periwinkles, dandelions, daisies, dogs mercury, chickweed, shepherds purse, dead nettles (white, red and yellow) as well as one cow parsley and two cowslips have shown their appreciation and have flowered accordingly, brightening up the countryside. Larger plants too are early, with leaves emerging from bursting buds of elder, spindle, hawthorn and sycamore. Animals are also taking advantage of our spring like weather and are preparing for seasonal activities. The pairing of birds is obvious with cock and hen pheasants seen together instead of unisex groups. Cock robins and chaffinches perch prominently, puffing out their chests and tunefully shouting their challenges to allcomers. Stags have been clashing antlers in the field at the back, to decide on seniority, cock pheasants fighting head to head, hares boxing, buzzards paired off.
SPRING IS HERE.................
Butterflies not to be outdone are also showing early. As I write two brimstones are busily darting about in the garden. These beautiful, creamy-yellow winged insects are the species that gave the family group its name. These are the original butter coloured flies, first to be seen each year, hence "Butterflies". Also seen this year, a solitary large tortoiseshell, which from his colouring suggests it is this years model, while the several red admirals have all been in last years strip having overwintered indoors. Bees too have extremely busy recently, from the very heavy, solitary, "bomber-type" bumble bee to a whole hive of "fighter" domesticated bees who have discovered the fresh, new pussy-willow catkins in the garden. This suggests an early run of honey for someone. This person could be Ron Wood as he has a very active swarm using an airbrick in the vestry wall at St. Mary's. He is probably thinking of a cow in the churchyard as well to produce the biblical "milk and honey".
Not only is the wildlife taking advantage of the weather, so are the garden plants. Flowering trees and shrubs are showing abundantly, Camellias, Prunus of several species, Forsythia, Mahonia (which hasn’t stopped flowering all winter), flowering currant, Viburnum species, Ceanothus to name but a few are all flowering happily, as are many colourful flowers, which although they seem to have extended their blooming periods, it is doubtful if there will be daffodils for Easter or Mothering Sunday.
In the vegetable garden, I decided to risk some early potatoes planted under fleece and have planted two rows of Rocket on the 6th of March. Now I'm hoping for new potatoes at the beginning of June, all I have to do is keep my fingers crossed. After all what is the point of global warming and a universal greenhouse if we don't take advantage of the good it has to offer. Surely God in his wisdom did not mean it all to be death and devastation; we must take advantage of the good it has to offer, in order to be in a stronger position to help those who suffer from the downside. We all help to create the problems, we should all help to alleviate them.
Planted perhaps two hundred years ago, to grace a gentleman's estate:
a group of mighty beech trees, the twigs of each moulded to fit the contours of a rounded whole.
Placed close together, they grew as one: taller and taller, chasing the light
and as the years passed the clump was chosen by the rooks becoming their ancestral home:
their rough twig nests silhouetted against the winter sky, their cries a background to our lives.
In spring, the delicate leaves high tracery, those translucent leaves so tender on such massive trees
and later in the season as the leaves darkened, overshadowing the thatched house below....
In the summer of 1997, pushing my baby daughter in her pram,
I savoured the shade and the familiar shape,
they seemed so permanent, a part of her inheritance:
they had withstood the gales of 87 and we lingered in their winter shelter before moving down the track and out into the bleakness of the cultivated downs.
The year 2000: should we record our surroundings as we plunged into a new millennium?
No hurry, we thought:
the landscape so familiar, unchanging, not threatened by the fast moving pace of city life.
February, the time for rooks to nest, some seemed less faithful this year moving out to other lesser trees along the lane.
Could they have guessed?
Did they somehow anticipate that March morning when at first light, we heard the chainsaws roar?
We are used to loud noises here, the sky vibrates with helicopters and aircraft from the army on the Plains,
but this was different: a terrible thud, the ground shook, and in the aftermath the rooks alarm calls then after brief respite, renewed whining of the motor saws.
Just one, we hoped, perhaps there was a rotten tree,
and then each day another,
the last few rooks nests still outlined one evening
and then no more, falling with their giant home:
"there were no eggs or young" they told me .....
a choking pall of smoke hung over Pentridge for days and the paddock below, filling with neatly lined rows of sturdy logs, the mighty trunks laid out like corpses on the ground, the rooks clamouring in nearby trees:
professionals doing their job
"They had to go, they were a danger, Ganoderma in the heart, we'll plant some more".
Only the stumps bear witness to their lives.
The black barn roof now stark against the sky.
Nobody warned us this was going to happen
Those stately trees, taken for granted, not even a photograph for memory's sake.
Old people show their age:
these trees to untrained eyes looked strong, the tell tale fungal brackets not perceived, but no children, after all that time.
So we must wait another generation and mourn our loss.
During recent months East Dorset District Council engaged Paul Martin, C.Eng., MICE (Traffic Consultant) to investigate & report on various traffic issues at Sixpenny Handley. His report includes the following points.
Traffic Flows. High Street approx. 3,000per day, (10% commercial). Dean Lane 500-1000, almost entirely locally generated.
Accidents. There have been five reported accidents in the past three years. All classified as "slight injury". (Four of these involved local people!)
Traffic Speeds. The average speed on the 3/4mile extent of the 30mph limit on the B3081, taken on a number of runs at varying times and conditions was 25mph. Beyond the surgery in Dean Lane 30-40mph. On-street parking in the High Street regulates traffic speeds for much of the day.
Dangers to pedestrians in the High St. The built-up nature of the High Street means little or no opportunity exists to construct a footway, except in small sections in conjunction with new development.
Problems at The Hollow. The new footway has helped to reduce pedestrian/vehicle conflict. Parking overspills onto side roads when demand exceeds availability. Parking is orderly & posed less of a problem than in many local schools. Signing & lining in this area should be substantially improved. These measures would give greater emphasis to motorists of potential hazards.
The Options.
1.Speed Cameras.
2.Pinch Points & Chicanes.
3.Road Humps.
4.Update & Enhance Signing & Lining.
Note: Speed Cameras are only deployed (with Police approval) where speed related crashes are occurring. This is not the case in Dean lane.
Costs. Measures 1-3 above estimated to cost between £50,000 & £100,000.
Improved Signing & Lining proposals estimated at £5,000.
Our District Councillor Alan Humphries who has been working closely with our County and Parish Councillors on this matter, says it has been unanimously agreed to seek implementation of Option 4,above. It is unlikely with current monetary constraints that "County" could carry out these works at the moment. However, a sum of £5,000 for such work has been set aside in the Environment Improvement budget at Furzehill, and he is expecting to be "making our case" at a meeting of the appropriate committee shortly.
Coppicing has finished for another winter and our party of about twenty volunteers and the Warden had the traditional final barbecue last Sunday (19th) in brilliant warm sunshine. Brimstone butterflies were in abundance on the main west ride, but there were also Commas, Small Tortoiseshells and a Peacock around. The first migrant warbler, a chiffchaff was heard on the 15th March and now there are at least three marking their territories. There are many Bluebells already in flower, along with the more regular March flora of Violets and Primroses and for the enthusiast a chance to see masses of Toothwort throughout the woods. Most plants seem to be about three weeks ahead of the usual flowering period whilst the birds and especially the bees, are a week or two early. However, as I write this note in my third change of clothes in one day caused by adverse weather, there is again torrential, stinging hail falling! Typical April?
Regular visitors will have noticed the tremendous changes over the winter period. The new ride through the plantation is virtually finished but due to the now stringent health and safety rules we cannot open it until some loose scrub is cleared and notices are in place, warning of uneven paths! Nature reserves have to be sanitised like any other workplace! When access is arranged, there are some seats near the north end for walkers to sit and enjoy what we hope will be good views of conifer woodland birds. Other parts of the wood have been opened out again to create better habitat for birds, bees and butterflies. Early signs are that this will make a significant difference to breeding and birdwatching.
On 25th March, Dormouse recorders from all over the country meet in Cheddar to discuss progress in conserving these delightful mammals. This was the first ever conference of people from those sites taking part in the National Dormouse Recovery Programme sponsored by English Nature and provided a useful guide to how Garston Wood monitoring compares with other reserves. We are pleased to know that the local programme is working well.
The Dormouse is widespread in Dorset but small, isolated populations can die out over a long period, so the main aim in this county is to preserve habitat and keep a healthy breeding population that can be used to re-colonise areas where they die out. Successful reintroductions have been carried out in Cambridgeshire and Coventry with young animals rescued from imminent death on southern reserves, bred to adulthood by Doug Woods at the Cheddar centre and then released back into the wild. Many areas of northern and central England have lost their populations and so this work has become of real importance so that yet another animal is not to become extinct.
The conservation in Garston Wood has become a model for restoring and maintaining the characteristics of ancient woodland. We hope the work does not affect it for the local residents and that you find it a pleasant place to visit and enjoy.