Red Mist and Reiki Rescue

Last Wednesday was a lovely summers day.  I was working on my plot tidying cutting grass, thinking and reflecting and singing to my lovely dog Pops.  I was working near the gap leading to  a disabled wheelchair path, I heard. Jeanette,"the self styled Inspector" of the allotments, talking on her blackberry to the Allotment Officer  saying


 "it needs to be strimmed right down"


As she was standing on the disable path I knew she meant the area of grass area  which had once been planted with irises, day lilies, and other shrubs which had become overgrown the grass edges to the path and also my willows which border the path.  they do not hang over the path but they bend with the wind.  Jeanette  then came onto my plot and never said a word to me.  She hinted that she would like a cup of tea but  a red mist had enveloped me. 

Hedgehog caught by a strimmer
wild life aid.org

 I felt sure the contractors would carelessly slash down the down the edges of the path and the wild area without regard for what was living there. I have hedgehogs coming to my plot, they are on red alert in on the endangered species list. Strimmers, garden chemicals and farm machinery are the cause of  many deaths of these iconic animals..  Only last year I found a hedgehog sliced across by a strimmer it died horribly before I could get to the vets.  Also on my plot and the plots nearby  are slow worms and  lizards, all of which  are easily killed by strimmers.  On the waste ground is a bumble bee nest from which the new queens have not yet flown. Lizards bask in the sun on the waste ground  and  along the path when it is quiet. 


I grow willows whips which I coppice in late autumn and use as  bean sticks, weave into garden baskets, make into living chairs.  .   I was so angry  and fed up.  How could I let  this lady generates  such negative feelings in me?  I cut down more of my willows to keep them well back from the path and made sure my achilleas were tied back as far as I could get them.  Then I went and sat down with pops and sent Reiki to the situation, I felt calmer and gathered my stuff and went-wandering home with Pops.


When I opened my door without thinking I went to the phone and  called the Council and asked to speak to the Allotment Officer, David.   He was not in but I spoke another officer in the Parks Department. I  told her the wild life that was on my plot,  the area alongside the disable path and living on the waste ground.   I volunteered to cut the path and clear the waste ground  and  make it a wild life haven.  


Next morning I got a phone call  From David to say the contractors have been cancelled and he was looking forward to seeing what I could do with the waste ground.  I was delighted and Friday I started cutting back the path.  The women with a plot oppositee asked what I was doing and they and they were keen to be involved in creating a wild life haven and offered to cut back the last section of the path - it was hard work so I agreed  very willingly  to hand over the shears to them.


The contractors arrived to do other work on the Allotments shortly after but had no instructions to clear the areas I was concerned about.   I was sitting  with  Brian's on his plot when who should come down the disable path  but Jeanette!   She was checking if the contractors had cut the path.  At that time there was still a section to be cut back.   Brian and I nodded in her direction but she had her inspection hat on.and ignored us as she was busy talking on her blackberry. 


The red mist had gone and I was able to look at her with calm.  On Sunday she came down the path along side my plot and stuck her head out of the gap onto the disabled path and looked up and down. 


"Oh the the contractors have been back".


"No" I said


We did it.   David gave me permission to cut it back by hand and clear the waste ground to create a haven for wild life.  


It was quite a windy day and my willows whips fluttered forward and softly flicked her face. 


 "these should be cut back."


 she said as she stalked through the gap and away.


I said nothing. 


There are now five of us volunteering to cut back the path and make a wild life haven.

With Reiki blessings to us all

and to all living creatures

MerryB

more information about hedgehogs can be found in my post here:
http://reikidruidsramblings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/red-alert-no-more-hedgehogs.html

If you want to see the damage strimmers do put hedgehog strimmers in an image search
 See  http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/