Fettling continues. Naughty horse rider on south bridle path.

Firstly, dear reader, a heads up. I will not be updating this blog until 14th November at the earliest - ironically the day the MGLG car park will be closed, making parking tricky.  We have rather a lot going on for the next week or so. Usual stuff: birthdays, anniversaries, odd day out, etc. Avid readers will be devastated with this news; at a complete lose what to do with themselves, except sit and stare at a blank wall for hours on end. Chin up, it's only two weeks.

Storm Ciarán approaches, with high winds and lots of rain predicted Wednesday and Thursday in particular. I reckon the section of bridlepath north of the sewage works will be totally covered in water.

Even with so much rain of late, water levels in Manor lake are really quite low. Lots of open water will be hidden by the raised soil levels. More so if reed planting and other vegetation take hold. Great for wild life, I suppose. Reasonably rubbish for seeing the birds. It was like this at Leighton Moss, with its reed banks. Heard lots, couldn't see a thing.

A small, teeny, weeny digger had been working at the volcano shaped ballast pile by the Bailey bridge. It has been spreading the stuff around the north end of the Bailey bridge, joining the east and west sections of the south Bailey bridge to each other, and to the Bailey bridge itself. This sort of confirms that groundworks are complete.

But wait, there's more! As they say on American adverts. Firstly, the two sluice gates need to be installed. Secondly, there will be more fettling. One hopes that the heavy plant, trundling across the site to perform these tasks, will not destroy the freshly laid gravel paths. Usual brilliant planning.

I have mentioned this before, but installing the sluice gates, particularly the east one, will (I reckon) be tricky. For why? The ground is very soft to quicksand in nature as a result of heavy rain and the actions of bulldozing and smoothing with diggers. Construction personnel beware.

Other than that, not much else has happened since my early Sunday stomp.

Though a fellow MGLG member, oft stomping the site's boundaries, did say that he saw a hive of activity last Friday. Four diggers at work landscaping, and surveyors with their natty laser theodolites checking said landscaping; I assume.

As predicted, idiots have been ignoring the keep out signs and walking onto the north bridlepath. This morning, a horse rider was spotted cantering along the south bridle path from Moor Green Lakes nature reserve to the Bailey bridge. Only the rider turned round and headed back east along the bridlepath, probably after spotting the digger at work around the Bailey bridge. I did say this would happen without fencing.

I am hoping that fencing will be in place when I can next return to the area.

You know when not much is happening when I post more wildlife photos than construction ones.