New Years are non-events for me these days. In reality it’s just an extension of the last one isn’t it? But this year I can consider it a new year as a woodland owner. Firstly I have been granted my Forestry Commission thinning license which means I can start cutting down trees to thin them out, re-coppice the hazel and at the same time, create some timber material for using in my planned projects.

Secondly, I was given 10 small saplings as Christmas presents, so yesterday, with the help of my eldest daughter, we planted them up in the clearing where I have been working on eradicating bramble. A lovely satisfying feeling, to add new stock and eagerly await spring to see them burst into life and watch them grow over the coming years. They are all British native species – one each of crab apple, rowan, blackthorn and hazel and three each of dogwood and whitebeam.

Thirdly, whilst digging, we noticed the small tips of bluebells ready and waiting for spring. Some had just pushed through the surface. Other small shoots were evident too. So yes it is the start of a new year in the woods and my first full calendar year.

It was my daughter’s first visit and it was a beautiful sunny frosty morning. It warmed up as the day progressed, the ground was soft enough to plant, having been protected from frost by the dead leaves. We sat contentedly eating sandwiches and a bowl of home made soup, heated over a small stove, the smell of wood smoke in the air and the dappled sun around us and watching a robin hopping around. After a while my daughter said “I can see why you love this place.” Enough said!