Last week provided me with yet another of those golden opportunities to see starkly differing sides of the nature spectrum as part of my working week.

Undoubtedly, the lovely sunny weather helped in this regard, with consistently dry weather translating into most jobs being up-to-date.

This, in turn, meant I had time to check out my newly planted woodland, have a bit of a ramble around the mature parts and even take the time to stand and blether to some young fella who was sent out by the RSPB to carry out a farmland bird count. Before you assume I’ve turned into a raving environmentalist, I also had an incredibly enjoyable few days spraying spring cereals for a couple of neighbours.

No hurry

At the start of the week things were slack enough. With settled weather across the board, no one was in any hurry to phone the sprayer man. So I brought a few batches of ewes with lambs up-to-date with nematadirus control, scooted any dirty tails with pour on and treated a handful of lambs with scalded feet. Later in the afternoon I took a bit of time off to check out the saplings.

The new site is wet land and tree species such as willow, alder and birch have fared much better at this stage. Some of the oaks really look pathetic and aren’t even close to peeping above their plastic guards yet. I was speaking to the man who did the planting and he assures me that, given another couple of years, those small plants will begin to flourish.

I think the biggest surprise about the tree planting is just how satisfying it is to see the small trees growing – maybe it’s part of getting older? Walking through this 2ac area is every bit as enjoyable as dandering through a field of cattle, or watching a barley crop develop and thrive. That has surprised me.

Maintenance

Alongside the new trees are five acres of old woodland that would have been planted by the owners of the local estate about 200 years ago.

It was bought by us in the mid-1990s and recently I’ve had time to put a small amount of time and effort into its maintenance. Plants from the woodland floor have also become something of a fascination, not so much because of any deep knowledge, but more due to one of these fantastic apps on my phone. I am now an expert (as long as I can consult an app called Seek).

The list of what I previously referred to as weeds, are in fact very attractive flowers, unique to shady canopies and around trees. My app tells me that we have Greater Stitchwort, Cuckoo-Pint, Wood Sorrel, Herb Robert and Golden Saxifrage. In truth, a few years ago I couldn’t have named a single one of them.

Spraying

Two days later and I had removed my sandals, daisy chain and ecological halo, and hitched on the 24m sprayer.

I love spraying. Always have, and probably always will. It may not be the healthiest job in the world (for either man or beast), but by Jove it is satisfying. I like killing weeds, keeping crops healthy, and driving up and down fields I would never otherwise get a chance to see.

In addition, some of the views from hilltops overlooking Strangford Lough are truly spectacular.

I must, however, admit that I am secretly pleased to see a much more responsible attitude to insecticide use recently and an aphicide is only included in the tank mix if deemed completely necessary.

There is one aspect of herbicide usage on spring cereal where I find myself being slightly conflicted. Some of the arable-only acres that I’m treating have marvellous displays of nettles, thistles, and cleavers right round the outside perimeter of the fields and the temptation is to hang that outside nozzle beyond the barley without catching it on hedges or wire fencing.

It makes the combine driver’s job a lot more pleasant when the divider isn’t constantly balling up with green rubbish at harvest time.

Even more concentration is needed to kill the nettles in field corners, because placing a forty foot boom exactly into a square corner means reversing back, then a wee dig of the side brake to ensure the yaw of the boom sees it drift back the correct distance without trailing off a nozzle body. Believe me, this takes practice.

The alternative, of course, is to avoid these ‘nature areas’ and allow more biodiversity to flourish. I’m happy to oblige either way.