Gimswood

What a delight it was to walk through the trees and see the wild daffodils I had put in last year. Not many of them, of course, but given time they will spread. When I planted wild violets on the bank of Square Pond there were very evident cowslips and primroses about to flower, which they duly did. The ox-eye daisies are coming up well again and some ragged robin, so there are wonderful areas of success with the wild flowers. I do have to report that very few snowdrops survived the onslaught of the rabbits, but I do not rule them out. It may just be that only their leaves showed this year, and the grass hid them. I live in hope.

Pruning the whole of Oat Field and half of Rye Field is now forming the shapes of the trees as they grow. Rye Field is somewhat behind Oat Field, although there is only a year between them. There were an amazing number of dead plants in both fields that will not shoot again from the roots, so they have been cleared out. You would not know, though. The remainder are more than making up for them. Already there are several inches of new growth on some plants, and we are hardly into the leafing season yet!

The ponds have been up and down according to rainfall. The scrapes have now dried out and will not fill again before winter. Luckily this year there were no tadpoles to rescue, but we hope that there are some in the ponds. None have been seen, but they are alive and well in the stream!

Grass is growing strongly, which is good for the pasture, being left now for hay to be taken in mid July. The trees don’t seem to mind the challenge from the grass because they are growing so strongly themselves. However, the creeping thistle is now becoming evident again, so I must get in there soon and kill! Destroy! Exterminate them!