The mower for the wild bits

Some of the croft we want wild. Some of it we want walkable. The grass in the woodland clearings had its own opinion and was heading for waist height, so this week a second-hand ride-on mower arrived — our first proper machine.

The plan isn't a lawn. We're cutting paths and clearings through the woodland areas and leaving the rest long for the insects and ground-nesting birds, mowing late and lifting the cuttings so the wildflowers get a chance.

First impressions: it starts on the second turn of the key, it smells of someone else's shed, and it has already paid for itself in saved scythe blisters. The woodland paths are open again — come and walk them when the gate opens.