Guess What - more gravelling and wood shifting! 29-04-2014

Editor's note: Today 13 NCVs joined NYCC warden at Scott Gate Ash Quarry to complete the footpath work and a further three joined Paul in Bryan's Wood to continue moving the fallen beech tree. As readers have already heard what happens with these two tasks on a number of occasions we've decided to just let the photos tell the tale today (although Anita has sent some interesting statistics from the quarry footpath for the end of the entry).

In Bryan's Wood:

First job - establish a seating area 

for al fresco dining midday.

Tony gets stuck in and hones his discus throwing technique.

 Paul gets kitted up in all the safety gear....

...and makes a start on the chain-sawing.

 Will adds to the well established brash pile.....

....and starts a log pile of his own.

The logs seem to get heavier as the day goes on 

but Ros E. grins and bears it.

Will and Ros play a giant game of 'Pick a stick' whilst trying 

to retrieve branches that had fallen in an inaccessible place.

Will offers advice on how to shift the huge branch.

Paul goes his own way and tries a lever system.

Eventually a good shove sends the branch 

sliding down the even bigger tree truck. 

By 3:30pm there were piles of logs....

...everywhere!

The tree is eventually being conquered 

but still some way to go.

Meanwhile up at the Quarry:

Up we go. Again. Come on folks - look lively.

Bucketeers - are you ready?

Angela practises her dancing steps

Small bucket back log. Hurry up - empty this gravel out.

 Tamping down the top dressing.

Path or stream? More work needed!

One NCV is very sorely tempted indeed but, wisely, keeps his boot to himself.

Mr and Mrs Muffet sat on their tuffets....

Terry deep in thought.

What has he sat in?

Is this where we are meant to be?

The makings of a gravelly spiral staircase.

 The end stretch with a good drainage channel at the side.

 Finished! The team pose for a victory shot....

 ....before admiring the view across the valley 

at the end of a hard day's work.

Everyone admires the cleanliness of Ruth's gloves. 

It is clear that she uses Persil.

Quarry footpath statistics:

• Gravel shifted today – 2 tons (4480 lbs) not tonnes, which would only be 4400 Ibs.

(Source of information – our resident mathematician Angela.)

• Number of steps – 112 +.  Some are newly created wooden ones, others made of stone which we have cleaned and redressed with gravel.

• Weather – fantastic.

• Wild flowers – Wood Sorrel, Violets and Forget -me -nots

• Insects – a Carder bee, I think, busy collecting moss for a nest. Midges – none this week, hooray!

• Cake – none, sob!

• Ice-cream – yes, but only when we had finished for the day, hooray!

• Did we actually finish the path?  Sadly- no.  The water springing from the spring has defeated us for the moment, but Catherine is going to arrange for an engineer to visit the site and come up with a cunning plan.

Anita

Scott Gate Ash and Bryan's Wood: 22-04-2014

With a feeling of Deja Vu, 7 volunteers, NYCC Ranger Catherine and Steve, the NYCC Volunteer Task Leader set off to finish the Scott Gate Ash Quarry footpath...(again).Wishing us well, Paul and Tony headed for Bryan's Wood to deal with a wayward beech tree (see below).

 

Containing a particularly generous tonne of stone from the supplier, the Landrover screeched up the track, and could be heard even above the screams of Catherine shouting that it wasn't going to make it. Soon the well practiced chain gang were hard at work and within no time (I'm lying here) the Landrover was empty and many more of the steps built in previous weeks were filled in.

Steps are well on the way now.

Bucket backlog.

Following a brief, rainy lunch stop work continued to reinstate stone steps and put in a cross drain. 

Lunch - before the rain arrived.

John feels the need to distance himself from the group.

Audrey's flapjack goes down without touching the sides 

- only crumbs are left.

Roger and Steve wonder what to do next.

Dry stone step making in the rain.

Catherine decides to make mud pies as the rain really sets in.

"Oh no - you didn't take my photograph looking like this did you?"

Ros K. tests out the new steps and John makes his way home.

At this point the rain got serious and your author and another fair weather volunteer ran for the hills.The rest of the team assured us of their commitment and their intention to stay until darkness fell. However, I suspect that the task requires yet another tonne of stone. Those of you who missed it (or hoped you missed it) will be pleased to know we will be going back again soon.

(Editor's note - a reliable source informed me that rain stopped play at 1:30pm!)

Joanne

Meanwhile - over in Bryan's Wood......

We have always been multi-taskers, dividing into separate groups to undertake different work in different places but we now often multi-task by doing the same jobs in the same places for consecutive weeks, though working in different groups in different places as before. How do you describe this? Poly-tasking? Whatever the answer, this week’s choice was between footpath work as before, or beech tree work as before.  Paul with three volunteers chose to go to Bryan’s Wood to continue cutting up the fallen tree.

The work started in intermittent sunshine and while Hannah concentrated on the brash pile started by Ros E, capo dei capi, the previous week and did her usual superb job,  Paul worked on the bigger branches with his new, longer blade and new chain. Hot knife through butter but with the occasional hiccough when the wood failed to cooperate and seized the blade in a vice-like clamp. A certain amount of leverage and the use of an old fashioned bow saw soon sorted out these problems. Meanwhile Dave attacked the thinner branches and Tony kept Hannah supplied with brash and shifted cut timber out of the way into piles over the wall then, succumbing to exhaustion, the near side of the wall.

Bryan's Wood chain saw massacre begins.

Slowly the beech tree succumbs.....

... and the logs get stacked.

It started to rain as we stopped for lunch and got heavier as we started again. Perhaps we should have been called the Wet Quartet even though no-one was singing? That went on for an hour or so before easing, then Paul decided he had to go at 3 o’clock. By this time there was a lot of clearing up to do so three of us stayed on for another 40 minutes to tidy up the site. 

Hannah, happy in her work. 

The brash pile grows ever bigger.

It was at this point that Hannah identified an English elm near the fallen beech which gave a lift to the spirits. We didn’t know the wood had elms.

How many more days of poly-tasking? One more week of footpath work may complete the job, probably two more of beech tree work, depending on the availability of NCVs. We usually go home at the end of each work day in a state of exhaustion and frequently plastered with mud up to the eyeballs, sometimes higher; so why do we do it? Well - where else can you enjoy erudite conversation in the fresh air? Hyde Park Corner?

Tony

Duck Street Quarry: 15-04-2014

What a glorious day to be up at Greenhow, working in Duck Street Quarry. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the views were wonderful. 

The view from the top of Duck Street Quarry

Seven NCVs joined Paul,and their old friend and former supervisor Colin Slator, for a variety of tasks in this special conservation area. The quarry is gradually returning to a natural state and Colin is planning to lead some guided walks up there in the near future, so that members of the public can see the flora and fauna that are starting to settle there. 

The group split into two teams, one setting off up the hill to remove all the old rope that had been used to demarcate a footpath and make a start on moving the metal rope poles into more appropriate positions, away from the edge of the cliff. This will ensure that no members of the public come to any harm during their visits. Good progress was made before lunch and the first stretch up to the top of the cliff was completed with new rope.

Gill and Angela untangle the rope for the fence.

Up and up they go.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the hill, team number two got busy digging out 5 small sycamore saplings from the slope (we don't want them taking over the place do we?) and removing some large tree branches that were overhanging the pathway. 

With one mighty slice of his spade Tony makes short work of the sycamore.

Paul had to get busy with his chainsaw and Dave B. ended up climbing the tree and using a bow saw to good effect. 

Paul's chain saw training came in useful.

 

Dave B. does his Tarzan impersonation.

The others shifted the logs and brash and gradually built two brash piles. The original plan had been to make just one log pile and then burn all the small stuff; however, total failure to keep the fire going led to a more flexible approach. 

At 10:30 Colin gets the fire started.

At 11:30 Colin still has his head in the fire, searching in vain for the flame that used to be. 
We admit defeat.

By lunchtime the fire has turned into a brash pile. It is not up to our 

usual standard, due to its unusual beginning, but probably the insects won't complain.

Lunch was a delight in the warm sunshine and set us all up for the afternoon's jobs. First we had to carry some heavy planks and fence posts to the top of the cliff and then join the rope fencing gang to continue moving rope poles and threading the new rope through. 

Lunchtime. Or was it coffee time? Or afternoon tea time? 

The NCVs toil up the steep path with various pieces of wood.

Tony and Ros try to drive the rope pole into the solid rock by sheer force of will.

During this process we became aware of a crackling sound behind the fence and realised that Colin had decided to do some 'controlled burning' of the dead vegetation in the next field. He had no difficulty keeping this particular fire going. No difficulty at all thanks to the stiff breeze. In fact within minutes we were all having to help control the flames and ended up going home smelling like kippers.

Tony beats the flames with a saw .....

..... whilst Colin chooses to use his jacket.....

... and Dave ensures that the fire stays on the right side of the fence.


Eventually the experiment is over and the fire is out.
Hopefully all kinds of new plants will now start to grow.

By 3pm we had run out of rope so couldn't quite finish the job, but we will be returning soon to do so and to build some wooden steps at the top of the cliff.

The workers make their way down the hillside as the last rope pole is hammered in

 Home time!

Ros E.

Editor's note - A change of venue this week did not mean that the footpath at Scott Ash Gate was ignored. A group from Open Country, and another from the North Yorkshire Countryside Volunteers, joined Catherine and our very own step builder in chief, Graham, to continue with the good work.)