Scything a corky fruited meadow

Quite a large turnout today with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to scythe one of my favourite meadows. The quarter acre field at the end of the species rich grassland is kept closed to cattle during the season which allows the corky fruited water drop wort to flourish (among others). Now that the seed has turned, it was a good time to cut the hay while it’s so dry. And rather than just pile the arisings within the field, it was also an opportunity to spread green hay to other parts of the reserve. I took my own scythe fitted with the grass blade. After a bit of a sharpen and some practice moves, it soon became a rhythm as the long grass cut cleanly. When doing green hay, it’s helpful to scythe rather than brush cut to preserve the seed heads before transporting. Once they were bagged up, Pete drove them to the reserve on the other side of the canal to spread there. Cows munching fresh forage As it happens, the grazing cows started to feed immediately on the clippings. This will…