Many of you will have seen the heron who samples the ponds  in the park. This bird, which looks like it comes from the age of the dinosaurs, and flies more like a jumbo jet than a swift, is often to be seen in our park. Here is a picture of one of these wonderful creatures, taken, not from the park itself, but about a mile away. I will leave you to guess where. Several herons can regularly be seen in this place along with little white egrets, which only started nesting in the UK in the 1980s and have been spreading up from the south coast.

The orchard has had a good season, and thanks for the appreciative comments about the fruit sent into the site. The herb bed is currently in flower and you can see here, chicory and fennel with the giant cardoon plant, all in bloom.

The apple trees are also bearing for the first time this year, not yet in great quantity, but enough to think that maybe next year we should have an orchard harvest day, to celebrate together, and maybe press some apples!

A few bits of less good news:

One of our new apple trees was hacked down last week. This is a particular tragedy because I rescued this tree from another growing project which was closing and I have known it all its life. I am investigating the cause of this and you may be surprised to hear that I don’t think it was the usual vandals.

The edges of the path below the playpark are also in need of some attention, with a ‘trench’ developing.  I am asking South Glos to look at this as it may become a hazard.

I have also asked the trolley people to remove the three trolleys currently in the watercourses.

Well that’s it for summer. I hope you have a good holiday if you are going away. See you in the park on your return!

Chris