It’s been almost three weeks since the last visit and boy did I want to get back there. I had to cancel two planned visits because of weather and an unexpected “event”. Had a stressful week looking after my daughters dog, thunder storms terrify her and we’ve had a few, then she ripped two claws out of two different paws and needed to be taken to the vet, that was the day I had planned to go. But I’ve been there in my head many times. I try to visualise certain areas from memory and make plans for the next visit. Cut up a fallen dead tree to bring back as logs for the woodstove, try my new tarp out (didn’t get around to that one), whack some bramble and bracken where it has regrown, check my coppiced hazel for new growth and add more brash around them for protection from deer and plant some foxglove plants I’ve grown from seed.

The area that I cleared of bramble and bracken in winter, has been sprouting new growth. The idea now is to keep whacking it down to weaken it and hopefully, eventually kill it off. There are signs of that happening with the bracken where I did it earlier. Some of the stalks have not re-sprouted. The bramble will need more intense treatment, maybe a light strimming next visit. While I was whacking I caught a smell of something perfumed. For a moment I couldn’t figure what it could be, then I guessed there was some honeysuckle flowers nearby. There are plants scattered around the woods but so far haven’t seen any actual flowers. I spotted it climbing up a sycamore and there was just this one flower. It’s a beautiful scent, sweet but not sickly.

The Husqvarna chainsaw is doing a good job. I cut up the dead tree in no time and split the logs ready for home. You start to get a bit “trigger happy” after a while and start looking for something to cut. I’ve got a couple of old axe heads I bought on a car boot sale and need some ash timber to make handles. A scout around and I found the ideal piece. It was a log fairly stright limb that had grown from the base of a mature tree but had then died off. So as long as it hasn’t rotted, it should be pretty well seasoned and ready to use. So I set about felling that piece and cutting it down into various handle-sized logs. This little pile should make a good few handles.

Next job check the hazel coppice. Yes it’s growing nicely now. I had cut down some small sycamore trees to bring in light, and they are also sprouting healthy new shoots. I shall allow them to grown on for a few years as coppice stools and be able to cut them for stakes and small logs. A nice renewable source. The small brash piled around them needed topping up as the new shoots gain height.

The area could benefit from a bit more light, so while I had the chainsaw warm and fuelled up, it seemed a good idea to take down a small sycamore I had planned on. I haven’t felled many trees yet and it’s one of the scarier aspects of forestry. Trying to get it to fall in a convenient place without injuring yourself are the main considerations. I was keen to avoid it falling on my new coppiced stumps and crushing the shoots. I am happy to say I achieved all three. When you fell a tree, there’s a few seconds of nervous excitement. You need to clear an escape route behind and to the side of the tree first, then as you make your felling cut, you leave a small “hinge” of wood which allows some control over direction and fall and you are watching for the tell-tale sign that the tree is going to go – a slight movement and a creak. There’s a moment of blind faith that it will go as planned, you can’t see the tree as you head back out of the way. Then there’s more creaking and a terrific thump and whoosh as it hits the ground. It’s down and you sigh with relief. Set to work with saw and cut it into logs.

All in all it was a very satisfying day, got some good useful jobs done and a good physical workout.