December 18th saw the last work party of the year. A slightly low key affair possibly due to Christmas shopping or the fact that it was very cold.
More progress was made reducing the tree upstream of the bywash that was started in November. However, our carefully planning in November came unstuck. We had used the Tirfor to pull the roots out onto the side of the river and leave them to dry making them lighter and easier to move. This was spoiled by the river level rising and flooding over all the area where we had been working. We therefore spent quite a bit of time using the Tirfor to move those roots before starting on the tree again.
The lack of available light stopped us finishing the job but there is only a small amount left to do next time. Just one branch and some trimming of ones that we have already cut off on previous occasions.
In the meantime Earnest was joined by Christine who was carrying out some volunteering work as part of her University course. They were working on the old bywash structure removing the remains of an old bush and it's roots. They also removed the last part of the original structure to prepare for the new foundations which will be necessary for the new walls and floor of the rebuilt bywash and weir.
