Adhocery

Water keeps pouring into the meadows. There’s a huge amount following the almost incessant rain. The marsh is at its happiest but it does make doing stuff a bit more challenging

We can now see very clearly how to slow the flow. We’re keen to hold back water but we need to know how it moves, where the easiest points to block are.

At the moment we’re not trying to increase the capacity of the land. It could store vast amounts more than it’s does. That’s for the future.

What we’re trying to do at the moment is stop all the water draining away when the rain does stop.

One good point is a narrow culvert under the railway line.

So we lowered some bird food sacks filled with gravel into the water. The water still flows over the top, but as it drains away the sacks will hold some back.

Amazingly a few days later in the blocked ditch an Otter appeared. In the middle of the marsh.

We had another mission that day. Fallen trees have made the path impossible for mobility scooters. And we have a Marshian who needs one.

So with a bit of pruning we made a passage that is exactly the right size.

And suddenly we had improved access to the marsh and another hurdle overcome.

The water level kept rising. Our plan to pollard a willow tree the next day was thwarted. We couldn’t get to it!

As it was also cold and pouring we abandoned any ideas we had and went back to bed.

But the next day was a bit warmer and it didn’t rain too much. A couple of us went for a wander. We had new waders to christen.

The deep fast flowing waters were quite challenging and great fun, but on the drier ground of the branch line the first of the wild plums had burst into flower. The scent from these doesn’t come across well unless you’re there but it is a very heady perfume. It’s worth going out just to breathe it in. Be quick, it doesn’t last.

The white poplars are also in flower. Less spectacular but warm and springlike in their fuzziness.

The magic of the marsh is alluring though. It wasn’t long before we were back. It’s not an easy landscape to explore when it’s under water but years of getting wet socks have been useful. There are shallower routes and we’re learning how to navigate them.

There are some places where even Marshians don’t go. There’s a beautiful lake that could be one of Reading’s jewels. It’s full of water now but it won’t be for long. It has a drain that passes underneath the Holy Brook and by midsummer this magical pool will have vanished. Well maybe not anymore.

Several bags of soil and bricks have raised the bed of the ditch just before it passes through the drainpipe, so hopefully we’ll have a permanent lake. Where the ducks and frogs can thrive, and who knows, a Bittern? We’ve watched this lake fill and empty for decades. Maybe now that Marshians have landed this lake can become permanent.

This undisturbed oasis within spitting distance of the housing estate might become something really special.

So in a couple of weeks we’ve built dams and weirs, explored the nether reaches of a wilderness a mile from town, made access improvements and seen iconic wildlife. We’ve learnt how to live with almost unprecedented rainfall. And we’ve learnt that should there be a dramatic increase like the meteorologists suggest we’re ready to save the town from flooding.

We’re not following a plan. We’re learning how to belong in a changing world.