Tag Archives: Austrian Scythe

Natural History

Signs of Spring

LWT Intern Trainee learning to sharpen an Austrian Scythe. We mowed the Acid Grassland along the track of the old railway.

The first day of spring, and a Chiffchaff was singing down in the reserve. The hawthorn hedge, laid last year, is springing up into fresh green and thickening up nicely.

A Red-Tailed Bumblebee groggily clambered about
A Red (“Spider”) Mite crawled briskly about on a Willow stump.
Handsome Hoverfly



Love of Nature, Nature Reserves

Charming Wooden Animal Trail at Gunnersbury Triangle

Wooden Animal Trail Camouflaged Smooth Newt

Netty found some dusty but very well-made wooden animals, complete with attachment rings, evidently designed for use on a Nature Trail. She repainted all of them and we hung them around the reserve. The camouflaged animals – the newt and the frog – seemed to ‘work’ the best. We hope the children will have fun going around with their parents to find them. One or two may be quite difficult!

It wasn’t all wooden animals. As it happens, we saw some of the real things, November or not.

Wooden Animal Trail Dragonfly

[Spoiler alert!] We went down to the pond to affix the Dragonfly, and spotted a small limp orange shape floating apparently lifeless at the surface…

Rescuing a drowning newt. We put it in one of the Anthill Meadow refugia (under a carpet mat), it seemed to be fine.

Then we started mowing the Ramp Meadow with its remarkably fine stand of Evening Primroses …

Mowing the Ramp Meadow, Evening Primroses and all

… and found a real frog, escaping the scythes and boots.

Plumply pregnant frog escaping the mowers’ boots and scythes to wriggle under the boundary fence of Ramp Meadow

The Forest School decorated Christmas Candles very gracefully.

Christmas Candles with fresh Holly, Ivy, and Yew