Poppies

This morning I met up with K to discuss a forthcoming Art Trail we're producing for a community picnic and Open Day at Etton-Maxey NR. I'd been fairly lacking in ideas, mostly because work is taking up all my available time, but as soon as we were together the creative juices started flowing, and we were able to sort out a hopefully interesting trail that showcases the work in progress as part of our Nature : Connect project. I couldn't resist a quick shot of the Common Poppies as we left - they're growing in an annually cultivated area which produces a range of seeds for the resident Turtle Dove population.

I stayed and had lunch with the whole group of regular volunteers, and gave a bit of advice on grassland management within the Etton Meadow orchard, which is developing well, but needs to have some of the area cut about now to control the vigour of False Oat-grass, which can swamp out many of the less competitive herbaceous species.

In other news, Ben and Sarah got the keys to their house at lunchtime and have already started decorating, making good progress on the lounge. I'm hoping to drop by tomorrow to see how they're getting on!