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.

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.

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.