On this day of equinox, we opened the conversation describing the balance in our lives. (Kally was in London looking at soil, and Gina came in her stead).
Rachel began with the feeling of balance seeing her friend from the 1980’s at the start of her working life, in her 20’s, and seeing her again now, in the autumn of their lives, felt like a balance, a counter, and reminder of friendship.
– Coming here gives me balance
– I wish I had better physical balance
– I’ve felt unbalanced for a while and feel out of balance with all the ecological devastation caused by Sizewell and proposed energy projects. But joining this group has helped me find a different balance.
– I am not at my most balanced today, but coming here helps me find a balance
– Always been tricky for me, balance, I’ve struggled with it, with wrong decisions, but it was right to decide to come here!
– I decided to retire 2 years ago, but I didn’t like it, so i’ve gone back to work and am happier and more balanced.
– I have spent most of my life out of balance
– My physical balance is not good, and loosing my wife knocked me off balance, but I’ve found a kind of balance by giving out, and helping other people
– When I came out this morning I found beneath the nest of the long tailed tit, that i’d been monitoring, its feathers and an empty nest. I know I have sparrow hawks in my garden and naturally I felt sad, the brutality of nature. Then I saw a bird fly above me carrying a feather of a long tailed tit, to feather it’s nest. Ah I though, so nature goes round. In nature there is balance.
To bare witness to the change in the land, over its first year, this is what we will undertake each Thursday for this year, along with our crafting and other diverse explorations.
Wil arrived early to define the brief – the areas for us to investigate:
- Water, new pond created March 2024, and the flood pond and ditches
- Specialists trees: 4 black poplars, Pride of India, Limes, Walnuts along the northern ride
- Natural regeneration area, flora and trees arriving
- Silver birth circle (move the yews!)
- Contractor planting (the 5,000)
- Community Planting (the 1,000)
- Alleys: Hazel, fruit trees, willow
- Hornbeam hedge along community garden
- First hedge planted by Elders western side
- Second hedge planted by friends southern side
- Bat Bunker
Our days findings – 1. Pond Science
- 1 Newt
- I toad – NOT frog – about 2.5 inches
- 1 silver fish – may be a stickle back, Hazel to research
- Frogspawn had developed into comma’s and were wriggling, one week later. Gina had researched and told us spawn stage lasted about a month. This was week 2 or 3
- Spider, black
- Butterfly, mabe peackock, and yellow brimstone
- Skylark
- Whirlygig bettles on bornbeam – ESTHER CONFIRMS: Sap Beetles
2. Tree research (we agreed to do all measurements in Imperial)
- Black poplar 32 F 16″ and 18 “
- Black Poplar 23 M 21″ and 24″
- Ginko 26″
- Pride of India 36″
- Walnut 1-6: 51/10/40/28/32/18
- Black alder 52″
- Lime 51″
End circle
Lets roll some logs around the pond so we can sit and look. And Rachel make safe the bridge to the land!
Frogs-spawn and sky larks – who could wish for better
Seeing the sap rise on the hornbeam
Why are black poplars so special?
How is Meg and has she had her baby?
Kinda Elders in the woods 