Well the weather is miserable isn't it! It certainly hasn't aided us in getting jobs done early in the year, we had two big changes to make to site before our season begins. First up we had sprung a huge leak from the pond meaning we were losing a lot of our fresh spring water straight down into the fields beyond. Not great for our raft builders or the ground beyond! This meant draining the pond and welcoming in a digger and 40 tonnes of clay to rebuild and line the far bank of the pond, this cannot be done in heavy rain as you can imagine the clay would turn to slop. We finally got a window the last week in Feb, we now have a fully sealed pond.
Just the following week came the next big job, we had 5 trees that needed bringing down, due to ground conditions changing over the years the trees couldn't cope with the amount of water. A full day for the tree surgeons, some very good lowering as to avoid our equipment and they are down. So now comes weeks of chopping and storing wood, it will all be used for our bush craft, log burner at home and any spare will go the farm for the biomass boiler that generates all the hot water they use.
Replanting will begin with Alder which will be much more suited to the ground, a few birch will go in on site as they are great for bush craft activities. Did you know you can tap them to drink the sweet water they produce or that the bark is so rich in oils that it is perfect natural tinder? We have a handful of red oaks to go into our new hedge line too.
Now the big jobs are done we have a lot of tidying and wood chip to put down, but it feels like a big relief. In the middle of this we have welcomed our first party of the year and received some great feedback, we have the first of our school groups through the gates next week and lots of other bits in-between. It’s now the countdown to Easter and I can’t wait! I don’t know what it is, but I look forward to it more than any other time of year, might just be the chocolate!
The year is looking good lots of bookings taking us through to September, Joey has a variety of freelance work booked in all over the place. We have some more qualifications booked in this year which is always something to look forward to. There are some weekend trips planned personally, mountains to climb and some amazing bands to go and see this year. We might even manage a couple of weeks backpacking in September in Europe, but as usual plans are made around the bookings, we receive so we are last minute bookers!
I nearly forgot to mention Bobs got a new mate...Morris the farm cat, they seem to be forgetting that they are a cat and a dog.
That’s the latest with us, we will be back in action on social media more as we spend more time at Round Ponds. See you all soon!
