I’m still focussed on getting a lot of work done before spring. Mainly thinning and coppicing but there are lots of other jobs, so I try to do a bit of them all. Not necessarily a good mode of work but one that satisfies. It was a lovely sunny morning, though slightly misty yesterday. Lots of birds calling as I stepped out of my car into my woodland paradise. That’s how it feels to me. A woodpecker was calling nearby, it’s unmistakeable sound like a machine gun being fired. I spent a good hour just walking the woods, observing with camera in hand. I stopped at the bird feeding station and immediately a robin arrived, obviously waiting for me to refill them. It hopped from branch to branch, a few feet from me as if to hurry me along. As soon as I filled them it was joined by several blue and great tits, previously unseen by me. It’s just another soul-inspiring aspect of owning a woodland and being able to take my time to enjoy it. Feeling that I am a component part of this incredible matrix of nature.

Time to get busy. There was still the felled tree to deal with. First cutting it into log sizes, wheel barrowing them back to the logshed and clearing brash. I have shoved most of it into the dead-hedge I started last year. It’s now incredibly dense and hopefully a source of protection for small birds to nest in this year. Maybe some of my robin friends will like it. After that I decided to have a crack at felling an incredibly tall sycamore. It was standing next to an oak tree that needs more light and space. It was recommended to me that I “halo thin” around it. The aim is to take down neighbouring trees until a halo of sky can be seen around it’s crown. This will “release the crown” and allow it to grow more rapidly as it is being supressed by the sycamore. The oak being more valuable than sycamore, it gets priority in my management of the woods. That particular area was planted with sycamore about 50 years ago and it needs thinning anyway. I’d already removed about four smaller ones but that hadn’t had the desired effect. There were three large ones that need to come down. These are some of the biggest I have tackled so far, so I was a bit daunted by the prospect of doing it on my own. As it started to topple, of course it got immediately hung up in the one next to it. Such a tall and heavy tree, there was no way I could shake it loose. I had to use wedges, hammered into the saw cut and carefully nibble away at the remaining hinge of wood that was still attached. I saw it start to move and backed off to see it crash it’s way through and hit the ground with an almighty thump. The surrounding trees were sent into a manic dance as it bounced them around. I kept my distance until they had all settled down again, relived to have felled this giant. I always feel a little sad to have cut down a tree and this one was a really nice staright stemmed tree. But for the good of it’s neighbours, I had to make that decision. The photo does not really give you a good idea of it’s size. It must be around 50 feet long.

I finished the day with some bramble pulling in an area of ash saplings that I fenced off two years. It was to protect them form deer browsing and it has paid off. They are looking pretty good but it remains to see if the dreaded ash-dieback disease eventually claims them. So far it has not reached the woods here. I headed home very tired but happy.

Coal tit on peanuts

Saturday was almost like spring in the woods. The extra shelter from the trees meant it was perfectly still and the gentle sun warmed the air. The birds were getting the spring vibe too. Lots of calling here and there and they were queueing up at the food dispensers as I filled them. An important time now to keep them well fed. Not so much around for then to forage for and they need to be fighting fit for breeding soon. There are bluebell leaves starting to poke through now. These have come through since I planted the hazel a couple of weeks ago. Lords and Ladies and some dock leaves were peeping through too.

Bluebell leaves pushing through.

It’s a race before spring to get more jobs done. I worked most of the day wheel-barrowing the cut logs from a few weeks ago, back to my work area where I split and stacked them into crates for seasoning. In the hazel coppice I have earmarked four decent sized sycamore for felling before the new growth comes on the hazel. To be honest I am  nervous of these, as my experience is still limited and working on my own in these situations is a little bit scary (yet exciting too). I picked the easiest one, a fairly straight stemmed tree and worked out where my cuts should be to drop it neatly down the side of the coppice area, away from any saplings or new growth that would get crushed otherwise. There’s more to this than meets the untrained eye. The tree will have a natural weighting to one side and that is where gravity will pull it if you were able to quickly slice it off at the base. To calculate this you look at which way it is naturally leaning. Then look up and see where the upper branches are. How heavy are they? Are there more on this side than that? Does the stem have a bend in the opposite direction etc? You have to make a mental judgement on these factors, trying to find how they will influence the drop, then decide where you actually want it to go. You’ll pick a place not far from where your calculations take you but there might be something obstructing it, preferably to be avoided. So you can make your cuts slightly off to one side, which if done correctly, will steer it slightly that way.

There’s a moment when cutting, when you see a slight movement in the trunk in front of you. The cut is opening up. Thank God you got that bit right. If it doesn’t, you’re in trouble. Your calculations were wrong and the tree can start to come back to you, trapping the chainsaw blade and you’re gonna have a helluva job getting it out. The tree starts to tilt but you don’t have time to look up to see what’s happening, you cross your fingers and trust to luck that you got it right. Pull the saw out and step back to one side. No turning back now. A loud thump confirms it’s down and if you’re quick enough to turn your head, you might see it actually hit the earth with a shudder and to see twigs and branches flying here and there. A wave of relief comes over you and if you did get it right, relief turns to mild euphoria. On this occasion I’m glad to say I got it just right. Now the hard work comes, processing and clearing it all up.

It’s a shame I had to fell this one as it’s a lovely long, straight stem but sacrifices have to be made for the good of the dozens of hazel bushes that will benefit from the extra light and nutrients. Some consolation is that the sycamore is not dead. It will send new shoots and become a coppiced plant too. In a few years the new growth can be cut for firewood and the cycle starts again.

My last visit a week or so ago was not recorded here. It was a special visit to start my volunteering role for the Woodland Trust. You might remember me saying I was going to be taking fixed point photographs four times a year. It will be in areas where restoration is taking place or may be in the near future. Over a few years it will provide a visual record of new growth and how the woodland adjusts and responds to thinning and replanting or natural regeneration. I met with the Project Officer and we pinpointed six positions. Some in my patch and some in nearby neighbours. I have to say it is more challenging than I expected. We planned to do some 360 degree shots from my tripod. It was a sunny day and at this time of year, the sun is low giving very contrasty lighting conditions. Trying to take 360 shots means that some will face straight into the sun and be unusable. Still it is a learning curve for me and making me think more about my photography techniques too.

Lords and Ladies pushing through. Latin name Arum maculatum it has numerous common names – snakeshead, adder’s root, arum, wild arum, arum lily, lords-and-ladies, devils and angels, cows and bulls, cuckoo-pint, Adam and Eve, bobbins, naked girls, naked boys, starch-root, wake robin, friar’s cowl, and jack in the pulpit.