Recently a volunteer asked me to supply a strimmer to tidy up the Heritage Boatyard. He was finding the amount of weed growth there offensive, I said no, which may seem strange to those who like their plants all lined up like soldiers. However, there's method in my madness.
When we took over the site some local residents objected that we would destroy the wildlife (they wanted to turn it into a car park). There was some merit in this argument as, since the demolition of the railway viaduct, it had been allowed to grow wild.
As we've worked on the area we've tried to do our best to provide some niches for wildlife. Around the edges are areas that we're not regularly using, though we have stuff stored there. These have been allowed to grow wild. Consequently, as we're working, we can enjoy the presence of birds, butterflies etc that would have no foothold in a clinically tidy environment.
Yesterday, whilst moving some recently arrived wood, Kim picked up a bucket that I'd been using to grow potatoes. Inside he found 3 toads, a big one and 2 small ones. I moved the bucket to another location and laid it on its side so that they could get out and carry on with their lives.
