Back on the 3rd February, Kieron and his assistants started to lay stone setts around the newly dug winter border and the Lindbury borders. Due to rain, sleet and snow this job has been interrupted and now, after laying approximately 80 meters of stone setts, the job is complete.
The mornings and evenings are getting lighter, the Magpies are starting to make their nests, the birds are choosing their mates and the spring flowers are starting to open, but, the winter snow keeps falling. There seems to be a battle between the seasons at the moment, with winter refusing to let go of its grip on our surroundings. What the team are all holding on to is the knowledge that spring will eventually win this battle and that every day brings it closer.
As mentioned in the last blog entry, we were waiting for the arrival of some shingle to complete the repairs to the broadwalk. Well, as you can see from the photo, at ten o'clock this morning, 11 tonnes of shingle arrived.
Throughout the day the shingle was transported from the Wolfsen Gate area to the broadwalk and unloaded in piles for it to be distributed.
Using just rakes and shovels the team spent the day moving the shingle over the broadwalk and also had time to touch up a small area behind the hebaceous border.
Dispite the weather trying its best to hamper the best efforts of the team, the work continued throughout the day and all 11 tonnes were successfully laid.
Over the winter months, the snow and the rain have caused an area of the Brodwalk to continually flood. Today Ady, Josh, Simon, Ali and Graham set about repairing the area by adding a new layer of hoggin to the path.
First, Simon broke up the old path using the grap on the front of the New Holland tractor, then he and Graham loaded the trailor with the hoggin and transported it to the area of the Broadwalk needing the new surface.
Ady, Josh and Ali spent the day shovelling the hoggin over the broken up path and raking it to recreate the camber of the original path in order to improve the drainage and prevent future flooding.
Once all the hoggin had been levelled, Ady, and then Graham, used the wacker plate to compress the hoggin and they now await the delivery of shingle to cover the broadwalk and restore it to its former glory.
As the snow falling from the sky keeps trying to remind us that the winter has not passed, signs from the earth below are telling us that spring is on the way. The Daffodils, Snowdrops, Crocus and Aconites are all emerging from below our feet telling us that it won't be long before this long, cold winter is over. On a day like today, when the temperature reaches ten degrees and the Snowdrop flowers seem to open before our eyes, it won't be long now, will it?
