The forecast yesterday was looking great amidst days of wet weather this week, so off to an early start for my woodland therapy. I’ve been building a new picnic bench/table at home. The top is made from wooden slats I rescued that from a pine bed base. The legs are made from coppiced hazel logs. I built it as a sort of woodland flat-pack that would easily go into the car and then could be assembled on site. It will make my camping/cooking experiences so much easier. Remember bushcraft is not about “roughing it” in the wild, it’s about “smoothing it”. So why not allow myself the luxury of a woodland fitted kitchen. It complements my log coffee tables.

One of my neighbours here had contacted the local Bat Society and had had an interesting walkabout, here and in some local woods. He learned a lot about their roosting habits which has inspired him to build and erect some bat boxes. It’s something I have had in mind for a while, so was interested to hear what he had learned. By luck, he was coming to the woods yesterday so we arranged to meet. We spent some quality time chatting and later he showed me the boxes he was building using hollowed logs from a tree he had cut. I have plenty of material to build some, so might have a go later. Apparently they are best positioned in groups of several boxes in the same location rather than spread around. Birds will try to nest in them, so a canny ruse is to site a bird box nearby too. When a bird takes residence, it’s territorial behaviour will deter other birds from invading the bat boxes.

It was a gorgeous sunny morning, I put the bird feed out and as usual birds arrived within seconds. I made a coffee and just sat nearby watching them. Earlier I had been communicating with a nuthatch. One of their calls is a distinctive three-note call, a simple whistle which rises in pitch. I can copy it pretty well and it was replying straight away. I spent a few minutes enjoying that simple connection with a wild bird. I wish I knew what we were saying!

I was amazed at how much the groundcover had progressed in a week. The wood anemones were only just coming through last visit and already some are starting to flower. This little patch is the most advanced. In a couple of weeks the floor will be carpeted with them. I was also pleased to see my small patch of wood sorrel is doing well too. I’ve been nurturing it for a couple of years now. It has a lovely tangy, apple flavour.

I’ve been growing some oak trees from acorns gathered from our local woods near home. They are about a year old and a few inches high. I took fourteen with me and planted them up in the area where I have been felling. They join some others that have been there a couple of years. I know it seems odd that I cut down some large semi mature trees, then plant a similar amount of tiny ones. The reason is to introduce some different species into an area that is almost exclusivley sycamore. This area was planted about 40-50 years ago as a timber crop. They have never been thinned, are overcrowded and of poor quality for timber production. So by felling some, I am opening up an area to extra light which will allow me to plant other species and also allow the groundcover to flourish. By keeping the brambles down as well, I am already seeing an increase in bluebells, wood anemones and one or two other species. The green tree tubes will protect them from browsing deer. Here’s how its looking now.

The woodland is awakening to Spring now, so the next couple of months will be an explosion of growth and bird activity. I can’t wait to get back in there.