Ragwort control on the South Downs, Wolstonbury Hill, Friday 6 July 2018

 Armed with garden fork, muscle power and big bags the Friends of Wolstonbury were hard at it removing Ragwort.  I tackled an area on the slope of the hill where we had worked the previous year.

 Down in the valley colleagues were hard at work.

Scabious

A buzzard family mewed overhead soaring on the breeze.

 Cinnabar moth caterpillars had reduced many plants to bare stems.

 Marbled White butterflies were very common.

 And grasshoppers too.

 In the track to the hill Nettle-leaved Bellflower was flowering.

 It was hot, exhausting work and because of the heat, I finished early at 12.30hr.  The physical activity had large benefits in reducing my blood pressure and heart rate afterwards, which is better than pills any day.  Bitter or Pils... now that is another matter.