We were all delighted to see a bright electic blue dragonfly make an apparance at our wildlife pond the other day. No-one is exactly sure what type it is but we think it is a rare type usually only seen in the south of England. Maybe global warming is helping them to move North! Our postman is a keen conservationist and he got very exicted when he saw it and although he was supposed to be helping us decide if a nasty looking brown pond weed could be removed – or it was the wrong time of year to be disturbing the pond critters – he could not concentrate because he was enthralled by this beautiful dragonfly hovering about. It did not seem a a bit bothered about the audience it was attracting and it is certainly a good work stopper as we kept going to the pond to see if he was back. I just hope the dragonfly does not get eaten by something larger as the hedges around the farm are teeming with life at the moment which is always great to see.
On a more work related note we have been doing a lot of landscaping and tree surgery work at a private estate between Hamsterly and Wolsingham for the last 2 weeks. It is a lovely place, very tranquil and off the beaten track and the owners have done a massive amount of work on the gardens and surrounding woodland which is starting to pay off beautifully now. We have also been thinning timber out on 2 sites at Crook and Durham for the Council which will be sold for the wood burning markets in the winter. We will be returning to these sites at the back end of the year to take out more timber where it has got over crowded. It has been lovely working in the warm, sunny weather and long may it last.