A morning spent snipping off and unearthing bramble risings from the meadow space on the edge of the orchard. A few wildflowers starting to emerge now and plenty of hawthorn blossom surrounding us.

A pleasant morning enjoying the sunshine before the rain predicted later

Fact of the day - briar is used in the maufacturing of tobacco pipes.

A group of us met in the rabbit field to cut back brambles and continue the clearance begun by the council mowers.

The area had previously been checked for nests and we were careful to avoid the denser areas to avoid disturbing any birdlife. The hope is that by clearing the space we will open up the area for any slow worms in the hibernaculum.

We had some wide ranging conversation going on as we worked - North Indian vs Sri Lankan paratha, Romanian vs English comedy - and cross stitch techniques