First job – walkabout. Lovely morning, birds singing, time to explore. I checked on the blackbirds nest that I had disturbed last time and was pleased to see a young bird’s head peeping out. Sharp yellowish beak and bright eye amongst the logs, told me all was fine. Nice to see activity in some of my nest boxes too. I climbed up and sat in my ash tree “saddle” for a few minutes, enjoying the elevated view and the comforting feel of contact with the tree trunk, then made a coffee with my home made twig stove.

This visit I went with the intention of doing more useful/essential jobs – cutting up/splitting/stacking logs, hacking back the new growth in my camping area, clearing weeds around the new plantings and if there was any time left, making a start on a semi permanent shelter. It’s been my intention for a long time to build a small, natural looking shelter where I can get out of the rain without having to put my tarp up. I’ve been “umm-ing and ah-ing” about it for a year or more, not sure where to put it, what to use as roofing material and corner posts and how I shall build it. It was always going to be somewhere in my sunny camping area but then I hit on a fresh idea. To put it in an entirely different area, preferably in a more heavily wooded part where it would feel more wild and secluded. On my last visit, I had identified a few possibles but having given it much thought, decided on the location. To build the type of shelter I want, I needed two small trees about 6-8 feet apart so I can lash a cross-bar pole to make a sort of
goal-post which forms the front roofing truss. You can then lay more poles on this, sloping backwards to form a basis for a lean-to roof. I wanted the back to have a wall for more height, rather than the poles resting on the ground. So that needs two posts at the back. Fortunately, the spot I found has three small oak trees, forming three sides of a square about 6 feet apart. So I would just need one more post to form the corners. The trees make excellent corner posts as they are already formy anchored and won’t rot away.
Having established my location I was keen to make a start and all my other jobs went out the window. It was time to have a fun job to get my teeth into.

shelter location

This was how it looked a few weeks ago. Now the bramble is shooting up so first job – clear the ground which is quite soft here with leaf mould, so the bramble was quite easy to pull out by the roots. Half an hour’s work and it was already starting to look better. The shelter is to be about 4.5 feet high, just enough to sit under in comfort, with an open front and three sides made from poles. The roof will be a sturdy plastic tarp in a green camo design to blend in with the foliage.

bramble and dead wood cleared away

Next was the hard work, finding some long, sturdy, forked logs to use as props to support the ridge pole and long straight ones for the framework. When I have felled trees, I have kept any forked logs and long poles to use for projects but they are dotted about all over the woods. So it was a time consuming job finding them and carrying them all the way back. Somewhere above the shelter site was a mistle thrush. They have an incredible range of songs, each round different to the last one. It kept me entertained all morning. Sort of a woodland Ipod set to “shuffle”.

Now to start building. Using two forked poles leaning against the front two trees, I could support the ridge pole’s weight and lash it to the trees. Now the back ridge. Another forked log against the third tree made one corner but the fourth corner post had to be made with a stout shorter log, stood upright. To hold it whilst I lashed it, I rested poles from the ridges onto it which held it in place long enough to secure it with lashings around them. It took me most of the day to achieve this basic frame but I now have the basis to build the sides and roof. It doesn’t look much now but it was hugely satisfying and is remarkably sturdy. To test it I hung from the ridge with my full weight and it didn’t budge an inch. I can’t wait to get back and carry on building. It will be an ongoing project and will continue to develop in an organic manner, the materials and my spontaneous ideas will determine it’s final design.

shelter frame up now

I love this time of year when you realise that Spring is actually here. No holds barred, everything is bursting with life and vigour. It’s amazing how the woodland is transformed in a few weeks. I’ve been away for 10 days and was excited to see how things were progressing at my woods. All the trees are leafing up, the ash and oak dragging their heels as usual but they are starting to open now. Everything is a vibrant green, the birds are singing and rearing young, it’s a truly unique time of the year. If I was deaf and blind I would still know it’s May because my seasonal tree pollen hayfever is driving me nuts.

I put some new food out for the birds and they were down in seconds. I watched a Great Tit taking scraps off a tree stump and flying off in deliberation. Coming back again after a few seconds and taking the very same flight path each time. It disappeared into some brash where I have hidden a nest box. It’s an open fromted one intended for Robins but I guess Great Tits can’t read my mind that well. I have noticed at least five of my nest boxes being used this year.

Great Tit taking some food from a tree stump

The Wood Anemones are finished and dying right back, bluebells starting to go off too but the wild garlic is in full flower now. I have more of it that I realised, which I’m pleased about. Also Yellow Archangel (a member of the dead nettle family) is more abundant this year. I think the bramble clearing in those areas has helped. It’s a beautiful flower with an equally lovley name and is an ancient indicator species, all of which makes it a special to me.

Yellow Archangel

Wild Garlic flower

I had two jobs in mind, split and stack some more logs and start building the wattle privacy fence around the composting toilet, a job I have been wanting to do for months. I spent a good hour chopping and stacking at my huge logpile. When I lifted one of the logs, there was a frantic flapping sound from underneath and a distressed hen blackbird flew out. I spotted the nest and quickly replaced the log and retired for a cuppa to let her settle down and return to her brood. The my second split logpile is growing nicely now.

The wattle fence was fun to make. I drove some hazel stakes into the ground but conveniently there are three saplings growing at the corners of where I want the fence, so was able to utilise those as posts. I had quite a large pile of thin, straight hazel rods from coppicing in winter which I’d put aside for the project. It’s amazing how much material you need to form a reasonable fence and I have only reached about halfway in height. One side I am leaving open as a doorway, it’s facing a dense part of the wood so privacy isn’t going to be affected and lets face it, 99% of the time there is no-one around anyway. The fence will help hide the toilet, give some priacy for it’s occasional use and add a bit of a rustic feature to the woods. I shall either cut more rods to finish it soon or wait until winter when I do more coppicing.

Composting toilet wattle fence

I had a couple of visits and chats to some neighbours. One of them had texted me and arranged to meet me in a certain spot at the end of the day. I walked down the ride to this place but there was no sign of him. I was about to text him to find out where he was when I heard a sort of bird call. It was like a cross between a tawny owl and a wood pigeon. It didn’t seem quite right and wondered if it was him trying to alert me. It took a minute or so to spot him, grinning like a Cheshire Cat, about 20 feet up in a tree. His dark green clothing was a perfect camouflage against the tree. It cracked me up and finished my day off nicely.

It’s been a very cold April and spring seems to be late but at last it’s warming up. As usual I was awake before 6am yesterday and decided to get an extra-early start to beat some of the traffic. I arrived in glorious sunshine around 8am. The wood anemones are still in flower and the bluebells almost fully open. What an amazing sight to greet me.

My main aims were to cut up, chop and stack more logs, find a possible place to build a small shelter and experiment with some cooking and just enjoy being there. I had previously thought the shelter would be fairly large- high enough to stand and big enough for three or four people and positioned next to my camping area to be handy for the odd shower or sitting when camping. The design and size of it seems to be causing me some issues and so no progress has been made. I’ve had an alternative idea which I very much like. A smaller one in a different location. On the basis that it’s 99% going to be just me using it and maybe one occasional visitor and mainly just for a quick shelter from unexpected showers. Then all I need is a small shelter for two to sit in. I also like the idea of having it in a more secluded area, away from the rides and in the thick of my woodlands for a hideaway and alternative habitat to the open glade where I normally sit. I was looking for a place where there are a small group of close trees to use as the corner posts, where I can lash some roofing poles to and with an interesting view. I found three possible places which was hard to choose but will wait and see how they develop when the trees are in full leaf. Quite an exciting project. This is one possible location where four small oaks could form the corner posts. The ground needs clearing first or course.

possible shelter site

And this is the view I would get looking out from it.

a view from the possible shelter sight – two lovely beech trees and some open ground

Cutting up logs, splitting them and stacking was the main useful job and I interspersed this task with the more fun elements. Nevertheless it’s a job I enjoy. There’s a feeling of satisfaction, first from using your own brute force against an inanimate and sometimes stubborn log. And secondly from organising the split logs into an orderly stack and seeing your winter firewood pile growing. There are still masses of logs to go at and I’ll be surrised if I get then all done before autumn. At the back of my logshed is an upturned dustbin where I discovered a wood mouse nest last time. I just couldn’t resist another look. I was very careful not to disturb it and took a quick photo for this blog.

wood mouse nest hidden under an upturned dustbin

It would have been an ideal time for a camp-over but I hadn’t planned it. I did want to spend some time practising some outdoor cooking and enjoy a fireside meal. I have to be honest and say I am pretty useless as a cook, not something I have much experience with so I wanted to gain some and just have a bit of fun tryin. I had a whole, raw mackerel and fancied another go at making bannock bread to go with it. I was trying to make the experience as much “bushcraft” as possible. So the plan was to wrap the fish in wild garlic leaves to cook over a fire and eat it off a wooden platter made from some sycamore. I split a log several times to make a rectangular slice about 2 cm thick and roughly trimmed it. Picked some wild garlic leaves and washed them and the fish. I mixed up my bannock mix in a polythene bag. Not very natural but it’s such messy, sticky stuff and it’s the best way. Here’s the food prepared before cooking.

food and plate prepared

The idea of cooking the fish in leaves was instantly a mistake. Nice idea but they were too small, too floppy and the fish too thick and heavy to be supported by them. Luckily I had a back-up piece of foil to wrap it in. I started the bannock off in my cast iron skillet, then turned it over and propped it next to the fire to cook the other side whislt doing the fish. I had guessed about 15 minutes would do and suspended it on a baking rack balanced on my fire crane and kept turning it. It was no where near done and finally I ended up just placing it on the embers and it took a good half hour. It was pretty much perfect, the bannock came out well (though somewhat chewy) and I enjoyed my fish and bread meal in the sunshine. At the end of it, the wooden platter I made and the fish remains were thrown on the fire.

What a fantastic day in the woods. I’ll leave you with a photo of the two lovely beech trees coming into leaf and a coal tit feeding – these were some of my mealtime views.

coal tit feeding on fatballs

a pair of beech trees leafing up nicely