Hilary Road Field is challenging to graze. I think of it as the only compartment on the Reserve that has too much of its own way. The cattle don’t like being locked in it and find a way out if they are. It gets too wet to graze for long enough in winter. If I leave a gate open, the cattle will try their best, but they get bored: it’s packed full of tough vegetation. So I have put the cows in earlier this year. Even so, they have to go north to Falling Sands Nature Area by the middle of August for a week or two and the to Rhombus Field in Middle Marsh, so it will be the end of September/early October before they are back in Hillary Road Field again, and I need more cattle for winter grazing.

Surprisingly, the Himalayan balsam growing here is not going down well, maybe it’s not sweet enough yet.