My latest visit on Thursday was a busy and tiring one. There were two main objectives I wanted to achieve. Suss out and use my chainsaw for the first time and cut up and store some of the long logs lying around from my coppicing and felling last winter. I bought the chainsaw last year. I didn’t have my felling licence then so there was no hurry to use it. To be honest I have been a bit scared of it (not a bad thing). They are lethal devices and have caused many serious injuries and need to be used with the utmost care. The worst story I have heard of was of a man using one in his garden trimming a tree whilst up a ladder. His wife was below watching. The ladder slipped and he fell backwards and decapitated his wife! Does that evoke a feeling of horror or make you want to laugh? Both for me – now isn’t that a weird contradiction of emotions? So being alone in my woods with this thing was something I have been putting off. Like anything else, there is a learning curve before you become confident and the only way to gain confidence is to do it. I need to start stacking and drying logs for winter so it was time to get to grips with it. Training on chainsaws is phenominally expensive but I bought some good safety gear to minimise the health risks. I read up, studied videos etc on how to use them and treated it with the cautious regard it deserves. All went well, the machine cut through those logs like butter. I split quite a number of then with my other new tool – a fantastic Fiskars X25 axe. At the end of the day I had a nice big pile of logs stacked in my crates and log shed… and an aching back.

Although most of the day was spent working, I took some time out walk around to look at things. Two of my bird boxes that had young ones in, have now been vacated. There is a hole in a tree trunk where I found a nest last year. Last time I visited, their were 8 eggs and the parent sitting on them. Well this time I was pleased to see there are 7 tiny birds which look a few days old. If you look at the photo you can see the eighth bird didn’t survive, it’s the pink one at the front. Usually the parent will dispose if them. I think they are Great tits but I need to see the parent to verify.

I checked another box. This is a puzzle. It has one egg and an untidy nest. Is it an abandoned nest that didn’t get completed or have the brood fledged and left and this might be an infertile egg left over?

Here are some other photos I took. This brightly coloured insect is aptly named Wasp Beetle. It lays it’s eggs in rotting wood. Probably disturbed it whilst sawing some dead birch logs.

I’m not sure what this little flower is yet but it’s such a lovely photograph of it that I had to include it.

Finally I found this cute (or is it?) ladybird. We all find these little beetles a sight to enjoy. But look how many spots it has. It’s a Harlequin ladybird. Originally from Asia, it was introduced to North America and mainland Europe as a means of controlling aphids (they eat them). But it has found it’s way to the UK and devours our own native species. Another example of man’s intervention with nature and how it can backfire and upset the natural ecology.

One last word. I have had some very nice feedback and compliments on this blog suggesting that quite a few people are enjoying reading it. When I started it, it was mainly as a record for myself and a means of showing a few friends what I have been doing. It gives me a warm feeling to know that my little wood is bringing a bit of pleasure to other people too. So thanks to all of you for taking the time to read it and your kind words.