Saturday 23rd August and a lovely day in my woods. There are signs of late summer showing. A kind of mellowness and plants looking tired and starting to wind down a little. I’d spoken to the Forestry Commission about applying for a thinning licence. The application requires all sorts of specific information about what you intend to fell – numbers of stems, area, age, species, volume of timber etc. So I started in earnestness to calculate what I am labelling as “compartment 1” which is a sycamore stand of approximately 500 stems of about 50 years old.

I decided I needed to measure the area fairly accurately, as much for my own interest as well as the FC. I have had an old cloth tape measure that winds up into a leather case. I had it given about 50 years ago and not found a use for it. In fact I have been trying to sell it on car boot sales. Well it finally found it’s purpose. I tied one end to a hazel post and hammered it in to the ground then walked it out as far as it would go along my borders, leapfrogging it each time I reached the end and eventually getting a total length for three perimeters which was then easily transferred to my drawing of my woods.

I also marked a small area, counted the number of stems then multiplied it by the relevant amount to get an approximate total of stems. A leisurely walk around with my machete then to mark trees which are obviously on my hit list to fell. In between jobs I managed to saw up a couple of trugs full of logs to take home for the fire too.

A buzzard kept calling out and at one point landed in the top of one of my tall sycamores. The first paths I cut are holding out for now but the bramble is trying it’s best to regain it’s territory. Someone referred to bramble as “thugs” – an apt name I think.

Some of my woodland neighbours called on me too. A nice chat and a peek at their woods to see how they are doing finished the day off nicely.

The first tree I’ve felled – a small dead sycamore – now in my logpile

Thursday the 14th – I’ve been away in Scotland for a week and otherwise busy, so couldn’t wait to get back in my woods after too-long a break. I spent the morning slashing more bramble to create paths into the tangled undergrowth. Made some good headway and it also gave me chance to see closely what else is growing in the way of wild flowers and young saplings. I really do need to get a brushcutter soon so I can clear some decent areas. Spotted a small furry brown creature scuttling amongst some deadwood. I think it was a bank vole. Heard a buzzard calling overhead and as I was playing with my birdsong app on my phone I played a clip of a wren. Seconds later, one popped out of the scrub and sang back to me. How sweet was that?

In the afternoon I had arranged a visit from the Woodland Trust officer. They have a project on in Yorkshire to help small woodland owners to return their woods to ancient woodland species. Lottery funding is allowing them to give free advice. The guy who came showed genuine interest and took two hours to walk my woods with me. I had supplied him with my draft management plan so he advised me on my ideas, plus gave lots of tips and ideas of his own. He spotted several species of plants growing in my overgrown area that I was not aware of – a small box tree and dogwood for starters. Gave some interesting ideas of how I could take advantage of already sparse areas by thinning the few remaining stems to create a bigger clear area for replanting. We also discovered some stones that had been investigated by archeologists over 20 years ago and found to be remains of an early dwelling possibly over 300 years old! Wow, how cool is that? No new photos this time.

I mainly went today to show some friends the wood. They were visiting from the USA and wanted to see it on route to their next destination. So it was a later start than usual. We had a nice walk around the “estate” and it was good to have some guests. I spent an hour or so showing them the areas that were accessible. We found a skull-bone – not sure what it is, either deer or fox maybe. Must check it out. Last week I noticed some fungi but couldn’t ID it. I took some more photos. I have a new book on fungi now and I think it’s Oak Bolete. It smelled of beautifully rich mushroom. One day I might risk cooking some when I am really sure. I spotted a small bird with a brown head – a female blackcap. One to add to my species list. It’s been incredibly dry for weeks now but that was about to change.

We noticed a pile of half ripe hazel nuts on the floor beneath a biggish hazel. Half eaten nuts. I guess the dreaded grey squirrel has been at them. I hope they leave some to repine for us. I cut a few more logs, started slashing brambles and then the heavens opened. Made a dash to the car with my gear and waited till it eased. It was getting late in the afternoon and I needed to pack up anyway but I am glad I took the time just to walk around in the gentle rain for a while. What a lovely experience, the rain hitting the leaves and making them flutter and the gentle sound of rain on leaves is wonderful. It’s not all about getting jobs done, you have to give yourself time to just savour the beauty and peace of it all. Can’t wait for the next visit.