Arrived about 8.45am – wanted an early start. There had been a little rain after the hot weather and when I stepped out of my isolating bubble (otherwise known as a car) and into my wood, the beauty of it hit me. That fresh damp earthy smell after rain. It was so quiet and peaceful, just a few birds singing and soft dappled sunlight illuminating patches on the woodland floor. I had to pinch myself that this was real and it was mine. I took a short stroll through the dark shady entrance and into the small areas that I had started to clear last week. Despite the tall bracken and bramble, it has an airy, open and sunny aspect. Huge black slugs were taking a stroll too! An unseen bird was singing it’s little heart out.

So my task for the day was – erect the small sign I had made with the wood name on it. Put up the first birds’ nest box I made (not sure yet if it’s in a good place – I faced it roughly north for coolness, and just put it on a tree that I can see when I’m sitting with a mug of coffee), cut some more logs for home and clear some of the dark, depressing, dead brushwood that has been piled around as cover for pheasants. Don’t know yet what to do with it. Don’t want to be too hasty and burn it, so I dismantled three of the wigwam shapes and piled it as a short dead hedge along the boundary. It can be a home for some creatures for now. One wigwam revealed a nice little hazel coppice when I cleared it. You could almost hear it sigh a breath of relief. In between jobs, I continued hacking my way into the so-called glade where I eventually want to be able to erect a small tent for over-night stops. Got a lot of work to do yet before that can happen.

Awhile ago I bought a Honeystove which uses small twigs to light a fire in. You can heat a billy can or kettle or whatever on it. Hadn’t used it until last week. It worked great then, took about 10 minutes to get the fire going and about 5 minutes to boil enough water for a brew. This week I struggled to find twigs that were dry enough and it took me about half an hour to make my coffee. Fun but time consuming. There are masses of deadwood there, so it’s going to be a case of finding out which twigs burn best (birch is supposed to contain a lot of oil but I couldn’t find many small dry twigs) and perhaps finding some way of storing some under cover. Here’s my initial base camp for a sit and a brew.