The Great Outdoors

:laughing: :laughing:
Well thereā€™s a sewage works behind where I was standing!!

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nothing wrong with a sewage worksā€¦ so long as you arenā€™t standing in itā€¦ :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :roll_eyes: :hugs:

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and up wind :poop:
but make sure there are no Blaster Batesā€™ around :joy:

I didnā€™t know it was forbidden!
Thankfully we do most of the pruning/cutting in the autumn/winter.

Bizarre isnā€™t it, cant cut hedges, prune etc in the springtime (quite rightly IMHO) but they still allow glue trappingā€¦

:cry::angry::cry::angry::cry:

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No need to worry Stella - I wasnā€™t trimming a hedge - and I donā€™t this time of year - the nest was actually in a thicket of wild roses etc that is being entirely taken out as part of a much larger house/garden project, and in any case we are certain the nest was last yearā€™s or abandoned some time ago as there has been a lot of work going on there for days, and we would certainly have seen the birds if it was in use.

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Incidentally though Iā€™m not aware of any local regulation on hedge trimming - other than the EU-wide ban March-August, but that is for farmers etc and does not apply to private gardens.

Hi Geofā€¦ whatever EU might or might not banā€¦ as I said in my postā€¦ it is banned in my areaā€¦ birds are ruling the roost at the momentā€¦ :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :joy: :joy: :joy:

by the wayā€¦ I have every faith in you acting responsibly for the benefit of wildlife and the environment in generalā€¦ :relaxed:

Yup no hedge trimming banned here either!

Glue-trapping is barbaric in my view and thankfully appears to only occur in a small area. I agree, it should be banned. If there are law/regulations/whatever they are pooh-poohed by folk who insist on continuing ā€¦who always have a good excuse/explanation why ā€œtheyā€ should be allowed to carry onā€¦

It is a very sad situationā€¦ I reckon.

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re hedge trimming etcā€¦ I am thankful that we live in an area which does its best to support the birds by insisting that their natural habitat be sacrosanct during the nesting season (and, of course, weā€™re chemical free so there are lots of insects etc for them to eat)

We have an incredible mix of birds hereā€¦ and, due to lockdown, we have the time to take notice and fully appreciate how lucky we are ā€¦

It is sad that one needs to be ā€œheavy-handedā€ to make folk support what is, after all, common senseā€¦ but that was the final decisionā€¦ and it has worked.

I appreciate that the views of our area, may not be the same as elsewhereā€¦ such is life.

Hi Stella
Your comments on hedge cutting are interesting.
I have re read our year book for the commune and have not found any reference to a ban on hedge cutting, all other stuff but not that. I do agree that hedge cutting is not really required just now as last years autumn tidy up should negate the need for hedge trimming until early summer but some shrubs and bushes do need keeping in check, particularly the photinia.
When you refer to a ban in your area is this your specific commune or a regional thing as I would be interested to know the timescale applied.

Johnā€¦ each area and each commune can do its own thingā€¦ more or lessā€¦ within govt guidelines.

and each area/commune will have its own ā€œexpertsā€ when it comes to timescales etcā€¦

each to its own. :upside_down_face: :relaxed: :relaxed: :relaxed:

@JohnBoy Weā€™re enjoying the photinia in next doors gardenā€¦ I agree it is rampaging, but the changing colours are gloriousā€¦ and it is now getting ready to flowerā€¦ :relaxed:

blackbirds have been darting in and outā€¦but no idea if nesting.


Photinia is certainly reaching its peak just now. When planting our garden we put in what others did locally and the photinia has not disappointed!
In large pr small quantities it is very rewarding

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Where did the water go?


The rhododendron wasnā€™t doing very well in the garden so we re-potted it last year and it has suddenly sprung into life!

Canā€™t remember what this plant is in the bank by the side of our drive but after a year itā€™s starting to expand nicely.

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