You know why we’ve been quiet the last few days?
It’s that quiet time of year. We can’t do very much as we have to be mindful of nesting birds. And in the marsh birds are nesting all over the place.
The dawn chorus is sadly quieter.
So we scurry around the marsh trying to pass unnoticed. And we’re very good at passing unnoticed.
A thin line through the marsh is pretty much the only trace of us.
If you look closely at this photograph you might notice that it’s a dam, A Swan dam, and the water on the left is a bit higher than the water on the right. It’s made out of willow, which we planted 2 months ago. It’s already almost invisible and it’s going to get more effective as it gets older.
And this is a bridge. Watermint bridge. It also works as a dam, and we’ve just strengthened it. In a few weeks it will be invisible.
Something that is becoming visible and hopefully immediately invisible is Himalayan Balsam. It’s starting to emerge now
But we’re already on its case
We’ve hunted down some but we’re lying in wait for it to show itself fully before we pounce.
So we quietly got in with a bit of digging.
With all the water being held back by the dam we could make some mud. And we did.
And soon we had a little pond. Complete with a little island.
But then our dam quietly leaked and all the water drained away.
The impact was immediate and it was going to need some urgent work.
But before we did that on the hottest day of the year we headed for the loveliest shady spot.
But it was covered in rubbish. Was.
With a Herculean effort the whole glade was made spotless. Honestly spotless. What’s been a hideous eyesore for years has been restored.
That’s quite a pile awaiting collection but there’s more once that’s gone.
But while we wait for a truck to come and take it all away we better see what can be done with the dam
And we noticed water was going in here
And coming out here
So if we just put something here
And bingo. The water started to rise again.
So now you know what we do when it’s quiet.
Rural Reading 