As you can see from the photo, the hedge between Buckle's Wood and the village meadow is in a sorry state! Some serious restoration is needed.
The trees along the ditch on the western edge of our woodland have been coppiced in time gone by. This ancient way of woodland management, by cutting trees down at their base, encourages vigorous new growth and helps to prolong the their lifespan. The cut timber has many uses.
The recent mild, wet weather is just right for fungi. This year there are many different species popping up through the grass. Last Sunday was warm and sunny, so I wandered round with my camera.
I wish I knew more about mushrooms and fungi, their names in particula
Last Sunday, The Living World on Radio 4 featured two experts discussing their finds on a fungi foray in Wales. It was fascinating. 
James has trimmed the ground cover away from the base of the hedges, where the blackthorn was encroaching onto the rides and cut back the new growth on the section of hedge that has been layed. Since then, the other side of this section has been cut by Robert Fison's contractor.
We concentrated on the area in the middle of the woodland and then on the rides leading up to it. I would say that more than half of the grass has been raked off and heaped into piles amongst the trees. The rest will be done as and when the sun shines and people have an hour to spare.
