Cup winners thriving

Here's Eric our chairman holding the Thornbury in Bloom Commendation Cup, which we were awarded this year, with volunteers Peter, Frank. Phil and Jim.

We also gained a 'THRIVING' award from the RHS 'It's Your Neighbourhood' awards.

Nice to have official recognition and we do appreciate any favourable comments from visitors to the site.

Step repairs

 Our jolly crew had some younger members last Wednesday;  Jacob and Harry helped with repairs to steps from the footbridge  (post 5) 
up towards the viewpoint (posts 6 & 7)

  

All made from local materials, the hazel poles are pegged in position with sharpened stakes and the steps are padded out with woodchip from the community composting site.

Helps to prevent you falling flat on a slippery slope

Where's Vanessa ?

A variation on 'Where's Wally?'

Can you spot the Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) on this old man's beard?

I couldn't get any closer today.  Red Admirals have had a good year, the second most plentiful species of butterfly in 2017 after the Gatekeeper.  Meadow brown was third.

Spindle berries

Pink on the outside with bright orange nuts within

Feast of the beast

  The beast of Filnore strikes again.  

After munching on post 19 it clearly rampaged down the woodland corridor .  .  .  .

.  .  .  .  to attack post 11, which resisted bravely.  

BEWARE OF THE BEAST ! 

Witch's brooms on birch

Have you noticed these tufts of twigs on birch trees?  They are near post 10 at Filnore.  

They are called 'witches' brooms and are caused by a fungus, Taphrina betulina.
 

The fungus stimulates the tree to produce huge numbers of buds in one place.  These grow into short twigs, which then die, resulting in an ever increasing mass of dead and living twigs.