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Sunday the 17th was a beautiful day of winter. Cold but basked in a sunny blue sky.
After the debacle of the previous attempt at doing some cleaning and maintenance it was a surprising good start and in light of the mysterious cleaning and bramble cutting that had take place there it was also an occasion to exchange opinions and whatever info we had on the topic.
In the meanwhile the WildLife Area looked refreshing in its winter attire. Many people do not find the dieing down of the vegetation too appealing but it is part of the charm of the wild. In a park there are carefully (or it should be) managed grasses, bushes and trees that are chosen so that in all seasons they can provide some kind of pleasant sight. Here instead the "bones" of the micro-ecosystem show through. At a glance one can see the keystone species on which most of the other species thriving there depend for their spring resurrection.
Besides the patchwork of hardy greenery and the leftover from the previous year of growth always gives out an aura of naturalness that I found more attuned to the season's spirit.
Quickly dropped the tools and had a look around.
Someone in addition to Julian that hanged some bird feeders to help with the more difficult winter days, someone else have put up some coconut shells with seed and fat. They all got pecked (or eaten) away.
We asked a Council worker, that park its van there during lunch break, and we know as a friend of the site and a keen birdwatcher,if he had anything to do with it, but apparently it wasn't him, this time, the kind soul. We collectively must have done something good if other people seem to take some care of the place!
The mulched residues of last year cutting of the wild-flower meadow we put on the bare ground left by an overgrown buddleja we trimmed, have worked already some magic and new growth is taking place even in winter!
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On the Kinglake side of the area the work of the mystery cleaners and trimmer is most evident but still some patches of old bramble remained and with it some old and ingrained detritus. Still we had the luxury of being able to remove a great deal more of the worse material.
All the usual suspect arrives, Julian, Peter, , Coro con a well needed packet of biscuits..., Daniels with the newly acquire passion for filming and few others call to say hello.
Then like a chill of cold air damping the modest but cherished warm of winter sunshine, the Wildman of Kinglake suddenly appeared!!
It soon discarded the civilised veneer he uses to disguise himself (at least he thinks so) when amongst humans and quickly assumed its natural semblances. C
Clearly it was time for most to depart. Only the hardy remained (besides it was actually chilly with temperatures of 2 to 4 C°.
I cajoled, now that most are gone, the Wildman to help out with the removal of a decaying buddleja bush. It was an old friend (the buddleja of course) but its main trunk had fallen a decade earlier and then new branches shot all along horizontally. The result, even with the heavy trimming received during the BBC "Breathing Spaces" works, was a half dead but cavernous space behind the earth covered pleached hedge. This resulted in much ground becoming bare (because not enough sunshine could reach it) and in cave like spaces that in the last two or three years have been favoured by kids for making out dens, importing furniture and making fires.
The latter (and considerable damage) apart the overgrown butterfly bush have resulted in about the 15% of the entire surface of the area becoming sterile. For a site that small this is no good.
Beside the zone behind the pleached hedge should be reserved for growing a live hedge so it needs light to encourage the growth of sapling.
The results are terrifying.Its wild fury unlashed, the bush is dispatched in moments.I managed to film from afar, dreading to be in close proximity.
None the less the result was quite agreeable and the wood leftover was used to buttress a weaker section of the pleached hedge.
Eventually, after the vegetable carnage I manage to take the Wildman away and calm him down (allowing him to retake his human "form") making him stomp on the newly mulched lawn at the east end of the semicircular path.
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We also look at our beloved oak, grown now for the second year by about 80% in spite of some infections it had. We put a little of slow realise fertiliser and Coro has done a good job in cleaning the base of competitor vegetations. We take the customary photos and Elizabeth come around too.
Even in the dead of winter the WildLife Area has much to offer, with many birds and vegetation ready to spring back.
A young Robin (Erithacus rubecula) was quick to eye us up
While blue bells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) were already edging out of the ground in readiness to flower wile overwintering fungi like the jelly ears (Auricularia auricula-judae) work their magic in digesting the wood leftovers.
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