Hedge trimming at Hayfield on 11 May 2014

Another good turnout (especially so because of the wet weather forecast) saw ten of us working with rangers Shane and Mark at Ashes Farm.  Two of the ten were first timers which continues the encouraging trend of the last few weeks.

The job for the day was to trim both sides of a ~150m long hawthorn/blackthorn hedge in such a way that both sides sloped upwards from a wide base to a narrower top.  In that way the sides of the hedge get more sunlight and grow better than if they are vertical.  We piled the cuttings up at either end of the hedge or dropped them into the hedge to compost.  Next week ranger Myles will trim the top of the hedge using the portable power trimmer.

Thankfully the weather was better than forecast and the torrential rain all fell when we were mustering in the car park at the start and at the farm before we walked to the worksite.  The rain that fell as we worked soon blew through and, besides, most of our work was on the upwind side of the hedge which was an effective windbreak/shelter.  Nonetheless we didn't linger long at the coffee and lunch breaks (other than to eat chocolate cake and throw sticks for Rhona (Shane's springer spaniel) to chase) and had finished the work by 3pm (in plenty of time to get home to see Man City become Premier League Champions!).