Jean, Ernie and I were out thistle thwacking this morning. And what a beautiful morning for it, warm and hardly a breath of wind. There are four species of thistle on the reserve - spear, marsh, slender and creeping, and it is only last of these that we control. This is because, left unchecked, it would take over our species rich grasslands. Ceeping thistle is amazing - reproducing in two ways; via thousands of downy seeds carried on the wind, and also by putting out runners underground. We use a very simple tool called a dashel basher to cut the thistles down before they set seed. After a few years repeated thwacking it makes a real difference. Its also really satisfying, quite addictive and a really good stress buster! Here's a shot of Jean and Ermie in action! Liza.