Fri 9th March, Hedgelaying, Idle

On the outskirts of some woods in Idle we set to work on laying a hedge of mainly hawthorn trees. With some trees half dead already it was tricky business but everyone was improving their skills and we created some fine pleachers (this is what you call the bit of the tree you expose when you cut most of the way through it and then bend it over). It was tiring work but it felt very creative as some volunteers commented and the setting was beautiful. The result was a formidable barrier to keep the horses in the field. The previous week at the same place we saw a couple of woodpeckers after hearing therm first.