I can see clearly now….

February 22, 2009 by TCV Aberdeen

Hello lovely people,

As you can see from recent posts, the BTCV Aberdeen intrepids have been battling all sorts of adverse weather conditions of late. So, in preparation for the mid-week outing, I donned my freshly-laundered waterproofs (just having been washed after my cat peed on them following my last outing – not sure if he was showing disdain for waterproofs in general, the smell of the last site, Fowlsheugh, or just me, in particular) before climbing in to the Landy. I reasoned that I did not want to put my kit on in the rain/snow and would therefore be prepared for anything…or so I thought.

We arrived on site to glorious sun (yes, really) and pretty soon we were peeling off the many layers that had been surgically grafted to us throughout the previous few months. Could it be that the S word (spring) had arrived? All the volunteers were much cheered by the sun, believing ourselves to be rewarded for persevering through the harsh winter months. Birds were singing, the sun was shining and the group was inordinately cheerful – we even started work without tea first.

Inspired by the lovely weather, we split in to two groups; one group working on our habitat management project at Portlethen Moss, clearing the newly emerged clumps of ubiquitous Gorse, ready for spraying the site to limit regrowth. VO Mhairi armed the volunteers with loppers and secateurs and the challenge began.

Meanwhile the second group moved on to Fowlsheugh RSPB Reserve to continue our project at this beautiful site, made more lovely by the sunshine. Unfortunately, we were unable to start on the boardwalk as the area was still very waterlogged, so we put the finishing touches to our fab steps and brought all the timber required down to the building site.

The to-ing and fro-ing with the timber certainly worked up a sweat, so safety conscious Community Project Officer, Yvonne doled out the suncream (knew it would be needed ONE day). Having covered my face with suncream, I continued on my merry way, when suddenly, I felt a very disturbing familiar tingling feeling – I suddenly remembered I am, in fact, allergic to most sun creams, except those used for hypoallergenic babies. This necessitated a good wash in cold water and the taking of antihistamines. Thankfully this remedial action did the trick, but have written a note to self – Remember Your Own Allergies!.

We finished the task and then rejoined the first group at Portlethen to continue trial by gorse. Mhairi, Wendola, Graham and Candice had made great progress, despite the fact that gorse-clearing can appear a never-ending task. We celebrated our lovely day with tea (and, of course, biscuits) and climbed in to the Landy a very happy bunch of volunteers

We will be ready for whatever the coming week throws at us (I may live to regret that statement)

The BTCV Aberdeen intrepids.