Photo-a-Day  (Saturday, 9th October, 2021)

The newt pond was always known as Annie Wackys . There used to be some hen houses there too .

Looks like some of the new houses will have waterlogged gardens if they don't sort out that dip.
Ive seen them put up those newt barriers on the M6 when they were doing some road works and all around the old Robrite site, besides having the barriers they also have buckets sunk into the ground that the newts are supposed to fall in, and then they can be relocated by the newt man.
Those Standish newts can be seen all over Rushwood park when the weather is wet.

Nice to hear about the newts. Good stuff.

Interesting photo also.

What a beautiful sky! We often get lovely blue skies in October, don't we? I worked in Standish in the early 1970s and it was quite a small village, I get the feeling Standishers have had enough of new houses being built over the years. It must put a great strain on the local schools, Doctors' surgeries etc., like trying to fit a gallon into a pint pot.

The moving builder builds; and, having built, moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure him back to cancel half a brick of it.

With apologies to Omar Khayyam.

Yes they have Irene

It's happening everywhere these days.
In years to come there will be less and less countryside to walk in - only pavements to pound. 'England's green and pleasant land' will be no more.....apart from a very few areas. Make the most of what there is whilst it is still here.

We are very lucky up here in Shevy because Mr Dixon of Shevy hall left us all his land to be used only as a park and since then our forward thinking parish council saved up to purchase all the land and ancient woods that was left when the Robrite closed down.
But I think its good to build more houses in Standish, fill the place up, why have odd bits of spare land here and their.

If these newts are so rare why do they seem to be everywhere that there are building/ construction works?

Wigan is very lucky to have Haigh Hall and all the surrounding plantations. I doubt they will be sold off! Same with Westhoughton's Hall Lee Bank....at least we don't have the fumes from the motorway as Shevvy has.

There were 2 newt ponds in the fields that were behind Pepper Lane/ Ludlow Street and the Great Created Newt was the reason they wouldn't allow building on there. Add a little red diesel and hey pesto, no more newts and the builders move in. The fields are now another massive housing estate, should have named it Newtless Acres

Saw what you did there Standisher.

Stan a nice woman who lives in Rushwood park told me that she and the other the residents have to pay a bit of money so that the newt ponds can be looked after.

Mick, the ponds I was talking about were at the other side of the High School from Rushwood. There was another one to the rear of the Shamrock, Could be that one she's on about. The other 2 were " tampered with "

I don't know Stan, I don't live around that area, Im up here in Shevy.
But when I was talking to her outside of her house in Rushwood she showed me the locked gate that lead to the ponds.

I remember a fence like that which was put up to collect newts in buckets at one place I worked but very few were caught.The reason was magpies were having a feast and a wide mesh was put over the buckets to stop the maggies.