I started my December visit to Snipe Dales almost being blown out from my car due to the 50mph winds that had decided to arrive that day. I put a great deal of thought into where best to leave my car in the car park, hoping to avoid any possible falling debris from the trees! James was already out on the site collecting fence stakes when I arrived, and he asked me if I could head to the nature reserve on foot and meet him there. I could hear a few deer over the sound of the wind on my way, and even spotted two roe deer bounding gracefully away down one of the hills, their white, fluffy tails bouncing behind them. There are lots of small, winding paths throughout Snipe Dales, and not all are accessible with vehicles. It was a good opportunity whilst I was walking through on foot to check for fallen branches and any other hazards that may cause a problem, especially in such strong winds.

I met up with James in the reserve and followed him to a central point where he used a tractor to drop off the fence stakes. Even individually they are quite heavy to carry so the kit really makes work on the reserve much quicker and easier.  However, the vehicles cannot always move so easily around the site. This year we have had a remarkable amount of rain, meaning the ground is quite often far too wet and muddy to drive on. That's why an opportunity like on my December visit, where there had been no rain for a few days and a strong 'drying' wind, couldn't be missed to get this job done. Once the fence stakes were in a central location on the reserve, it was much less distance to take them around to the various places they needed to be.

James asked that if on my way back to the Warden's building I could cover some of the paths his tractor wouldn't be able to go whilst he went to the rest. The Country Park is around 90 acres and the Nature Reserve is even bigger at just over 130 acres so there was a lot of ground to cover - a much easier job if you have people like the great team of volunteers that can come and help you out. It was a much warmer day this time around, and it made just walking around the site quite pleasant with the low sun creeping through the gaps in the trees. The floor was still layered with brown and orange leaves similar to my last visit, but I feel like I have seen Snipe Dales in a wide range of different weather conditions - only really missing snow, but I'm sure there's a chance of some during one of my visits early next year!

James manages multiple nature reserves, and not all are so close to Snipe Dales as Furze Hill and Sow Dale are for example. We headed out in the truck to Willoughby Meadows Nature Reserve (about 13 miles away) around lunchtime. This time of year, site safety audits need to be carried out on all of the sites and there was also some cutting that needed to be done. James mentioned that a lot of the time, visits can trigger other visits by spotting something that needs doing even when you go for something else. On the journey I asked James if anyone would be working on the reserve over Christmas and was really impressed to hear someone would be on the reserve every day, as it was essential on sites with livestock to check on them every day. Even on Christmas day, both staff and volunteers around Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust will be out on the reserves all over the county.

On our way to Willoughby, we stopped at Furze Hill. It was a good time to check on the ponies whilst we were passing through. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found a blackthorn tree that had been knocked over and was hanging over the gate into the reserve. Unexpected obstacles like that can cause lots of delays to the schedule but can’t be put off so James tackled the tree whilst I checked on the ponies. They seemed very well but I’m not sure they wanted me to pass!

Weather is so impactful to a site and the work carried out on it. The wind can help dry out the site to use the vehicles like we needed earlier, but also can cause problems like the blackthorn tree coming down. I thought it was really interesting how the same weather type can have both positive and negative impacts on a site. In winter, the main concern is trees, specifically old and rotten ones coming down. Trees have usually lost their leaves at this time of year, and strong winds like we had on the day can usually pass through them. But the blackthorn had been covered in ivy, and James mentioned that this can act as a sail in windy weather, causing them to be brought down.

When we arrived at Willoughby Meadow, I checked the fencing around the perimeter of the site for any damage as James got to work on some cutting. Winter is a great time to be doing some hedge work in preparation for the cattle, because even though they aren't there until around August, you can see where everything is at with the branches exposed in the winter. Whilst checking the fences, it was important to find any large branches that were putting pressure on the fence and could fall and take it down. I found a couple that were of course the furthest possible away from the truck and James cut them down. I loved my first visit to Willoughby Meadow, and there was even a large gathering of water in the middle from all of the rain that had apparently attracted some ducks over the last few days. I can’t wait to come back in the spring and see the huge transformation this reserve goes through from stripped back version of itself in winter.

The last thing I just wanted to share about the visit this month was the amazing sight James and I witnessed on our way back to Snipe Dales at the end of the day. I’m sure many saw the nacreous clouds that were visible over Lincolnshire, considering the number of messages I got within an instant of spotting it. It was truly a phenomenon, and apparently caused from icy crystals in the upper atmosphere, visible from the sun shining up on them from the horizon. It felt so amazing to witness that moment of pure natural beauty, and although lots of people who messaged me didn’t understand what they were looking at, it was a moment that brought everyone together, and that’s what nature can do. It can connect us all in such a powerful way and my hopes for the new year is to be able to share that with even more people, especially those who may need a little more nature in their life.