Lets talk Scything, a bit of a renaissance hobby at the moment
Mid month a group of scything enthusiasts met in the KW to help drop the grass headland alongside the brook and a bit more besides. Powered by tea and cakes the group was able to get stuck into some decent mowing. It was raked over and rowed up and then baled.
Scything is usually seen as the allotmenteer’s weapon of mowing choice. This has spread to user groups tending nature reserves, churchyards and amenity grass.
Nothing wrong with the power or electric strimmer, you just don’t have to dress up and feed* the scythe as you do with the powered options.
The down side is the raking up but if you want to improve your grass sward then you need to pick up the mown grass anyway.
Time to get online!
Using an old scythe that has hung in the cowshed for 60 years isn’t the way forward, the blade is rusty and worn out and the handle is so ridden with woodworm it crumbles in your hand. Obviously Internet shopping is the answer. A height matched snath and a selection of blades along with whetstones for sharpening and a little device for peening (which I’ll talk about on national peening day) is all that’s required.
YouTube offers some scything techniques, suffice today if you mix skiing and Tai-chi movements you’ll find a scything rhythm that suits, otherwise get tuition.
If you treat scything as a hobby it offers fitness and an agreeable peaceful recreation.
Wildflowers
The wildflower strip is still fabulous, pulling in winged insects from far and wide. Not quite as vibrant with the ox-eye daisy going over but still plenty of nectar rich flowers available. Hopefully there will be a good seed set for next year.
Lack of rainfall
The trees have grown tremendously well. I just hope the lack of rainfall does not send them into an early leaf fall.
The pond depth at months end is 0 mm which is 0” in old money, evaporation has outpaced 14 mm of early June rainfall.
*A pack of “Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers” will power me for a morning’s scything.
HAHAHA! No offence but WHO likes ta scythe? HAHAHA!! Bless them. It IS important ta remember the old ways and appreciate the new Thinggie ma Jiiggers! HAHA! Hard work is good for the soul my Gran always said! Bless ’em for their HARD, sweaty work!!!!!!! ~~~~Shannon R. Giddings, Crawfordsville, Indiana, USA……..