Play time in the sun

Well, summer finally came and just in time for the school holidays. The new natural play area was finished last week and opened last Saturday - several acres of grass, balance beams, climbing structures and tunnels for children to run around and enjoy. It has been hard work gettting everything ready along with our other jobs, but the positive comments we have received have made it worth it. The Greedy Pig is open every day of the holidays, and there are childrens trails around the park and Trusty Tuesday club events (next week it's pond dipping - one of my favourites!) - so its a busy time for families. There are plans for more structures and games so keep an eye on it as we develop the site.







This week we have a long list of tasks - coping with the endless grass and weeds that are growing faster than we can cut them, helping Sunnycroft to repair their car park, cutting logs to have a stockpile for the coming winter (strange but true - this week we have started getting orders for logs again, in this heat!), clearing the perimeter fence line, pulling up ragwort in the deer park, patrolling the river, setting up for events and then taking it all down again...

There are 60 or so Girl guides camping at Home Farm this week, so last night Colin and I gave them a treat in the form of a tractor and trailer ride around the deer park. The does and fawns are still sticking together and not getting too close to the public areas of the park, but the bucks are happy to pose for pictures and are looking their best - plump, shiny coated and with antlers in full velvet. I like watching them in the early evening when the park is much quieter and the deer come closer to the paths - now that we are opening until 7pm, I've noticed a few photographers taking advantage of the opportunity and good light.

Right, I'm exhausted after a day on the chainsaw so I'm off! See you around the park!

Sunshine+Attingham=Dragonflies!

It's my week off this week but today (it being the first dry sunny day all week) I went into work armed with my net and binoculars to survey the damselflies and dragonflies on the ponds in the Mile Meadow and the Deer Park. It was fantastic! Warm, sunny and with only a gentle breeze, it was the perfect day for sitting and watching the insect world fly by. Over both ponds I had 9 species positively identified and 2 that I think I saw but with only fleeting glances it was difficult to be sure. I definitely saw the following:

• Azure damselfly
• Common blue damselfly
• Variable damselfly
• Common blue-tailed damselfly
• Emerald damselfly
• Large red damselfly
• Banded demoiselle
• Emperor dragonfly
• Four-spotted chaser (dragonfly)

I think I also saw a brown hawker and some kind of darter - a common red?

The most exciting part of the day came when I was looking for exuviae amongst the reeds and found a newly emerged emperor holding on to its old shell while it dried out and strengthened its muscles. I sat nearby and watched him for an hour and a half as he gradually started moving, stretching his legs, then wings, then climbing up the reed and taking off on his first flight. I felt like a proud mum watching him fly off across the meadow! I got some good photos too, so here are a few of the best:

Emerald damselfly

Four-spotted chaser

Large red damselflies

The newly emerged Emperor - still pale in colouring and
building his strength for his first flight

After an hour he started to move, stretching his legs and starting to climb higher

Still climbing and flexing his wings - moments later he made his first flight.
Good luck!

The exuviae he left behind - now added to my collection

There's a war on you know!

This weekend Attingham goes back in time to the 1940's for a weekend of wartime music, drama, history, machinery, food and costume. Bob will be giving guided walks around some of the parts of the park that were particularly active during the war (and he has a special costume, so I'm told!). In fact, there will also be free entry to the grounds and mansion for visitors that come wearing full 1940's costume, so dress up and join in! ID cards will be given out and stamped on arrival...

I'm a bit disappointed that I can't join in this year but I have booked myself onto a weekend course about dragonflies and damselflies to improve my knowledge, so look out for a dragonfly event at some point in the future. I will be brushing up on my identification of species and ideal habitats, and hoping to dodge the forecasted rain!

A male Broad-bodied Chaser pausing beside the Mile Meadow pond in 2010

Thunderboxes are go, the Bog Blog etc. etc.

Yup, Attingham is the proud new owner of two Thunderboxes - eco-friendly composting toilets. One is situated at the soon-to-be new camp area along the river Severn and one is at the soon-to-open new play area beyond the orchard. The Thunderboxes arrived in pieces and our job on Momday was to assemble them. It sounds simple, but the instructions left something to be desired! But we soldiered on, and the toilets are ready for use. They work by separating solids and liquids in the specially designed toilet bowl, and then throwing in a handful of woodchip into the tank after each use to add carbon; once full, the tank is removed and left to mature under aerobic conditions until the waste matter is rotted down into useable compost. Its clean, easy and uses no water. Genius!

First put the tank in place...

Then the walls and ventilation...

There are two cubicles in each Thunderbox,
 back to back and sharing the tank

Roof on (that was a fun part!)

Ta da!

Well done team!

Today we have been helping Sunnycroft (our sister property in Wellington) prepare for their summer fete this weekend:

"A traditional garden fete with local food stalls, family games such as the coconut shy, splat the rat, face painting and a tombola. Step back in time and enjoy the traditions of a summer fete such as strawberries and cream whilst enjoying the entertainment from Kaleidoscope Theatre. Musical entertainment: Saturday 30th June ' 'Anything Goes' Sunday 1st July ' 'The Gallery Singers'."

It is a great event so drop in!

Today we also had a little goodbye party for Sarah, our final Harper student from this year. Sarah has been a great asset to the team and will be missed by everyone - hopefully it won't be the last we see of her. Thanks for everything Sarah, and good luck with your final year!

And a few days after strimming...

There are times when you learn a lot from your mistakes. For example, since that time with the tractor I have been SUPER careful about the height of doorways... but thats a story for another time. This story goes back to last week and all that strimming. You should always wear long sleeves to protect yourself from flying stones and vegetation when using a strimmer, but I foolishly went ahead in my t-shirt because of the warm weather, and this is the result:

And this, kids, is why you should wear sleeves!

I believe I must have hit a patch of giant hogweed - I didn't notice the plant at the time because nothing huge stood out in the vegetation, so it must have still been young and small. Giant hogweed is phototoxic; when its sap comes into contact with skin that is exposed to sunlight and uv rays, it goes red, causes blisters and burns. This occurs because a chemical in the sap damages the skin cells and stops them from being able to protect from uv rays - so you end up with severe, concentrated sunburn. Luckily for me, I have only small blisters and I will be covering up from now on. The plant was introduced to Britain as an ornamental garden plant in the 19th century, but has since become widespread, especially along riversides. So if you see it, don't touch it! I'm told many children end up with burned lips and mouths after using hogweed stems as pea shooters.

Heracleum mantegazzianum - Giant hogweed (not my photograph)

In other news from the week, volunteer Phil rescued this young jackdaw from the pond in the mile meadow - somehow the bird had got underneath the boardwalk and couldn't make its way out again. Well done Phil!

Strimming...

All this sunshine and rain is doing wonders for the grass and other vegetation around the estate; unfortunately, not all of it is wanted and its quite a job to keep on top of it! We have been topping the grass on the front fields to prevent the thistles from reaching maturity and spreading more seed; the permissive path along the river Tern at the top of the deer park has been strimmed so that visitors can enjoy the peaceful walk; today, we have been strimming and clearing the area around Cronkhill in preparation for its opening to the public this Friday and Sunday. Cronkhill is only open a few days a year so its worth coming along if you are in the area to explore this unique property.

Today I was also involved in a meeting to implement some new energy-saving strategies across the property. We are looking at more insulation in the mansion and stables, led lighting, timer switches on the hydro boilers and radio chargers and secondary glazing amongst other things, and hopefully many of these will be put in place in the near future. It takes a bit of planning to do these things due to historical and aesthetic considerations, especially around the mansion.

The deer are looking their best at the moment - bright summer coats, antlers in velvet and the fawns are starting to make an appearance now that they are fast enough to run with their mothers. It's a beautiful sight so next time you are in the park, remember your camera!

Books and Ben



Rhododendron ponticum



Another busy week - we have been fixing loose posts in the deer park, running taster days for applicants for a new training programme, preparing the riverside path for the new fishing season, putting up the marquees for this weekend's book fair and burning rhododendron in the deer park.



The training programme is called Passport to Your Future and is looking to recruit a trainee for twelve months from a non traditional background and give someone a chance to start working with the Trust and building the skills to work towards becoming a warden or gardener. The taster days have been a chance for potential applicants to come and experience Attingham and see what sort of work we do. The position will start in September so watch this space.

Next year, victory will be mine... mwahahaha

This weekend the bookshop volunteers will running the annual book fayre and the new fishing season starts so I'm expecting a lot of visitors. We sell day and season fishing tickets and throughout the season we will be patrolling the river, checking tickets and fishing licences.

It's a bit of a sad week as it's Ben Harwood's last week at Attingham - he has a fantastic new job in the Trust and we wish him all the best, but he will be missed! Ben has held a variety of roles in his time at Attingham - you may have seen him in regency costume around the House, running events and he is responsible for pioneering social networking at the property. I'm hoping he will still be around for this years Mad Jacks Five race - he beat me last year and I want another chance...

Good luck Ben!