21st November - Hedge Laying

Finished hedge

A touch of indigestion which feels rather like a turnip has lodged halfway down my oesophagus, suggests that I'd been worrying too much about recent events. I have often reflected with Em that if I had a ' proper job ' in the city say, I would likely go to pieces but at times I wonder whether this life isn't even more hectic. With conventional employment the boundaries are easier to set and the consequences of problems or failures are once removed from home life. For me (and Em) there is no real difference between work for money, work for subsistence, and work for pleasure and for example on a day when I practice singing, look after G and go mushroom gathering I will have performed all three! In almost every respect this is a fantastic situation to be in (and one which we have worked very hard to attain) but earmarking time to ' relax ' can be a challenge. Strangely the arrival of G has helped a great deal in this respect for although he requires large amounts of time in which nothing else can be achieved the duty feels totally unlike work and I relish my time spent with the little ' Chub Chub ' as he is affectionately known. His repertoire of party tricks has expanded from clapping on demand to include waving and ' feeding Daddy '. The latter is a thoroughly entertaining game whereby the little monster puts food (or anything else) in my mouth or simply hits me in the face depending on how he's feeling.

Hedge laying is another activity which blurs the work pleasure boundary rather. On the face of it C and I went to Rolvenden today to earn money but to sit chatting and taking in the country scene at lunchtime was an experience I'd been looking forward to for months. The assignment was to lay a 13 foot predominantly hawthorn hedge to let light into the small garden and open up the view which extends over rolling fields of wheat, interspersed with domed oaks, small woods and marshes. Several layers of old rusty fencing delayed starting for a while but by 9:30 AM it was all out and I was making the first slanted cuts into the privet which dominates one end of the hedge. Hedge laying is like most countries skills - it takes moments to learn and a lifetime to perfect ie the theory is simple but the practical application takes practice. I shan't give a lengthy explanation about the process but essentially the first hedgerow tree (called a pleacher in hedge laying speak) is cut diagonally through the stem towards its base until only a thin section of wood and bark remains. The whole thing is then bent down to roughly 45° away from its fellows but still in line with the hedge and the special cut forms a living tongue which keeps the pleacher attached to its roots. The process is then repeated with every suitable stem until the whole hedge is leaning over and to hold it all securely together a row of stakes are knocked in along the line and bound together with the spiralling ' rope ' of hazel wands. Finally it is trimmed back into shape and voilà -a tall unruly hedge is transformed to something neat and manageable. Originally this process was carried out by farm workers to create a stock proof barrier but nowadays it is more often done to regenerate neglected hedges, reduce hedge height or create habitat for nesting birds, rodents etc.

Before

After

Today's hedge didn't turn out to be the easy lay Mr. C was hoping for and I battled all day pulling out dog rose and brier which bound the pleachers and had to be meticulously removed before I could pull them down. There is only one way to approach such work - like a chainsaw wielding maniac - and I sweated, tugged, sawed and swore my way through the whole 20 yards in around six hours. Mr. C was right behind me with the stakes and binders trying hard not to make me feel slow and by 4:30 PM we were trimming up with our billhooks one each side of the finished hedge. A well laid hedge is a thing of beauty and a source of great satisfaction and we took time to stand back and admire it before heading home. We'll be back on Wednesday to burn up.

Dinner

Pork casserole and mashed potato. The novelty of actually going to work is compounded by Em taking over the cooking. She's very good and I returned home to a hearty meal which set me up for an early night and a very deep sleep.