Trevor was chuntering along with Alky, our cutter-bar mower which travels slowly enough to warn any wildlife lurking in the undergrowth ¡V after all the wood is a nature reserve. But although it may be slow Alky can still outpace the best of us using rakes and forks to remove the cuttings into the nearby trees. We have to do that because if they are left they will compost and will do no good for the spring wild flowers, which never need nutrients.

The mower stopped for our mid-morning "bait" as they used to say in the old days, and everything became really peaceful. The talk was of lady ferns; my scrounging Rosie-dog who can nick a sandwich in a flash of innocence; the glories of Dorset and, oddly, polar bear slides. One of our volunteers loves holidays around the Arctic!

And still the sun shone, enabling us to finish the ride and hopefully complete the third and last ride the next week before the weather breaks too much. We have had to mow into wet November in the past, which was no fun for either operator, machine or the surface of the ride..

John Hall © 2005