Our annual tasks seem to come round faster and faster! Today it was the time of year to help Steve Joul clean silt from Adel Pond. We were due to do this yesterday (Saturday), but with heavy rain on Friday and the forecast for even worse weather on Saturday, clearing on Sunday, we made a late decision on Friday to change the job to Sunday. As it turned out, it was an excellent decision: it rained heavily all day on Saturday, but on Sunday it was a beautiful morning.
Despite the late change, we had an excellent turnout. You could call the pond clearing a marmite job – some people hate it and some people love it. Your correspondent is someone who really enjoys it – despite the hard work and mud!
We met on Buckstone Road and a couple of people headed off to pick up litter while the rest of us followed Steve’s truck down to the Slabbering Baby.
This task involves a number of different roles: some of us like to put on waders and get in the pond, removing stones and logs which somehow arrive during the year, and loading trugs or buckets with mud from the bottom of the pond. The filled containers are then handed to workers on the bank who transport the mud away from the pond and pour it away downstream of the pond.
Others like to clear the ditches feeding the pond.
It was a beautiful morning and a very enjoyable way to spend it!
Friends of Adel Woods 