The forecast for yesterday was dry but windy. I had hoped to do a bit more felling but when it’s windy, it’s too dangerous to attempt. Earlier in the week, two neighbours had reported that intruders had been into their woods and stolen their trail cameras and a few other things and thrown things around. So it was with some trepidation when I arrived that they might had been into mine too. The trail camera was in a new position that was quite visible to anyone walking around that area.  I could see there had been intruders, they had tampered with a few things in and around my log/tool shed. Nothing was taken and I don’t leave anything of real value. I headed down to the camera and was relieved to see it was still there. Next thing to check was my shelter. It seems that the thieves are attracted to structures in the hope that there might be something worth stealing and at the same time, get some small minded, sadistic pleasure from trashing other people’s property. Thankfully it was in tact. I suspect they had simply walked down the short car track to my logshed, found nothing worth taking, then moved on rather than exploring the centre of the woods. The shelter is visible from there, but unless you know the pathway to it, it looks difficult to get to through brambles and undergrowth. So no harm done but trespass, theft and vandalism really winds me up. I find it hard to understand why this type of person can be so different to most other decent folks. Some of us are builders – people who are driven to improve the environment, providing support and positive actions for the benefit of ourselves and others around us. Then there are the destroyers who have little or nothing to contribute. Selfish and lacking moral fibre, they spread their poison, causing damage and stress.

Onto more positive subjects. First the Robin I am befriending. Here he/she is.

It’s learning fast. This time I hadn’t even got the food out, when it landed close by, then flew toward me, ready to land. It stopped short, realising I wasn’t holding any food. I set my camera on a tripod aimed at the area I stand when feeding it. It has a wifi facility that connects to my smartphone which shows me what the camera is seeing and allows me to trigger the shutter remotely. Sure enough the little bird landed on my hand and I fired a few shots off with my other hand. I’m pleased to be able to share this image and one day hope to let other visitors have this experience too.

I checked the trailcam but this time was disappointing. Just squirrels and some redwings. No larger animals. I set it back up in a previous spot where I have had the fox, deer and hare. It will be about two weeks before I go again but hopefully there will be some good video.

I continued with the rebuilding of the composting toilet enclosure. Another side and part of the front built. I ran out of suitably long and straight poles so will have to fell some more small sycamore to complete it. It’s looking much more private though.

Last week I took my fixed point photographs and helped a neighbour fell some trees. It occurred to me that it would be a good area to include in my regular portfolio and asked his permission which he granted. So I headed down to take some shots. On the way I met some other neighbours who I haven’t seen for ages. We had a good long chat and it’s this element of joint woodland ownership that I enjoy. Never any danger of boring anyone with woodland talk! This is the photo where my friend has started working on. It should change quite significantly as he progresses and the woodland responds to the extra light. That’s all for now folks.

I have probably mentioned it in the past, that I participate in a Woodland Trust volunteering role. It’s called fixed point photography and the purpose is to monitor and record how certain areas of the woodland are evolving where active management is being employed. Photos are taken from the same spots every three months and uploaded to the W.T.s website to be used as they wish. I take a series of six photos giving 360 degree views from each of six different locations. Three of them are in my woods and the other three from the rides looking at neighbouring woods. So that was my man purpose for going on Saturday. It was dull and cold but the cloudy conditions actually help by giving more even lighting. At this time of year, any sunshine is low down and creates overly contrasty photos and often glare on the lens.

First job though, was to attempt hand-feeding the robin again. This time there was little hesitation as I stood still with food on my outstretched hand, it landed close by then onto my fingers to eat some food. This will be a regular event now when I visit. It is truly fantastic to have a little bird trust you and stand on your fingers. Next time I will try to set up a remote camera to photograph it.  I have also fixed the fault on the trail camera which was caused by damp on the switch. I have placed it in a new position so next post should have some more video footage.

This was the sight that greeted me when I arrived. An old hawthorn tree has been partly blown over and is lodged in another tree. The roots have been partly ripped up and as it’s an area I use a lot, is now unsafe. It’s going to be a challenge to bring it down with it still being anchored, but hung up at the same time. I shall have to give it some thought as to the method of dropping it.

One of the other plot holders has just bought a chainsaw and is starting to learn to use it to fell some of his trees. I had arranged to meet him as he wanted to ask me some questions. We decided to take a couple down together and I’m pleased to say they came down perfectly as planned. It’s quite exciting when they start to go and then hit the ground just where you wanted. I left him for a while to take another down on his own. He did a great job and I wish mine would all go as well as those three. I hope to do some more felling in mine next time.

I am rebuilding some of the walls around my composting toilet. The original ones were made from thin hazel rods from coppicing and they have shrunk and sunk giving very little privacy. I already re-built two walls with long logs last year but ran out of them. Last week’s felling has provided more material so I started to move them from this stack and started to work on it.

I took the opportunity to assess our felling operations from last week and take a few photos showing how thinning the weedy ones out is opening up the structure of the plantation. Still lots to do but it’s a good start. It looks more severe than it actually is as I have strimmed the bramble down and there is no ground cover at the moment. Come spring and this will look amazing as the bluebells and wood anemones take advantage of the extra food and light.

Yesterday was planned for felling a load of small sycamore with the aid of two good mates, Simon and Phil. They have been offering their help for a while so the intention was to drop as many as we could, clear the brash, cut the stems into logs and wheelbarrow them away from site to a place where I can eventually split and stack them for seasoning. That’s exactly what we achieved in a day that would have taken me several weeks on my own. Approximately fourteen trees came down. This part of my woods is a plantation from the mid 1960s and appears to have never had any thinning done. For the health of the bigger ones and as part of my long term plan to allow more light in and encourage more under-story and ground cover, I need to thin the plantation by approximately one third. Taking out the smaller and sickly ones is the first step. I said they were small specimens and they are compared to their bigger and healthier cousins but their size and ease of felling is deceptive. This photo was taken last week and I include it to show how this part of the wood is almost entirely mono-culture sycamore with virtually no smaller under-story present. There are a few self-sown hazel plants here and there which I hope will develop into bigger specimens.

Deciding which way they would naturally fall is not easy and it was a gusty day. Being tall and relatively thin, they whip around in the wind, sometimes causing them to jam on the chainsaw when cutting and sometimes getting hung up in nearby trees. About half of them got hung up and this is where a couple of willing mates comes in really handy. If they get caught in a fork, they can be very difficult to release. With much pulling and levering and lifting and swinging, we got them all down safely.  Working as a well oiled machine and teamwork, I processed the trees with the chainsaw while my mates cleared the brash, stacked long poles for later projects. Simon made many trips wheel-barrowing the logs away. We worked on one specific area (still much more to do in other areas) and by the end of the day it was looking a lot healthier.

Breaking for lunch and a cowboy coffee provided some fun. I attempted to use my vintage paraffin stove to boil the pot but for some reason it wouldn’t behave and simply provided a plume of yellow, stinky flames. I may have overfilled it, preventing it from vapourising. Will have to experiment. Settling the coffee grounds was achieved by Phil banging a stick on the side of the pot, inspiring an impromptu First Nation American chant and war dance. I retrieved my trail camera and took it home to see if it hard been working. Last week the display was malfunctioning but seems to be ok now. Here’s a compilation of the latest animal activity.

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope it will be a good one for you. 2018 was a good year for me at the woods. I had four fantastic camping experiences there, three with my pals and one alone. I rebuilt my shelter, got some good results on the trailcam and am now seeing some significant (though subtle) positive changes to the woods as a result of my coppicing and thinning work. Very encouraging. This year I hope to take down numerous small and sickly sycamore in the plantation which will give the others a little more light and food. I shall then re-assess the remaining large ones and plan to thin those in the coming years. I need to remove at least a third of the whole plantation eventually. A small pond might be constructed and more camping days.

I arrived early yesterday and it was still quite dark. As soon as I stepped out, a robin landed at my feet. It hopped around me, anticipating some food. It followed me as I walked down my path to the feeders. I have wanted to see if I could get one to take food from my hand and this seemed an ideal opportunity to try before putting the food out. I propped myself against the log store and held out my palm with some food. Robin landed on a small branch two feet away cocking it’s head this way and that, bobbed around me a few times before eventually plucking up courage to land and take a piece. It flew down to eat it. In a few minutes it returned, hovered inches away, then landed again on my fingers. It paused for a while, still assessing me, then proceeded to eat several pieces. It flew off and returned a third time. I was overwhelmed with pleasure. The thrill of a wild bird, trusting you enough to perch on your hand is incredible. That was treat one!

It was time to get on with the main job – bramble cutting. Next week, my pals are coming to help me fell and clear several of those weak sycamore, so I needed to clear the areas around them of bramble which are trip hazards and obstruct easy access. The petrol Husqvarna brushcutter does a great job of cutting and shredding them though it is time consuming and hard on the back. The bluebells (already poking through in places) and anemones will appreciate the extra light and food this spring.

Time for a brew. At home I am going through a sorting out phase and came across a lovely old paraffin (kerosene in the U.S.) camping stove. I bought it for a few pounds on a car boot sale a few years ago and although I once fired it up, have never used it to make a brew. Butane stoves do not work well in very cold weather, so could this be an alternative for boiling my kettle when I can’t be bothered making a fire? The stove dismantles and packs away in a tin. It only takes a minute or two to set it up. It has a brass ring cup around the nozzle which you fill with meths (de-natured alcohol) and light. It heats the nozzle tube, vapourising the paraffin. After a minute it’s hot enough and you pump it to pressurize the paraffin which blows ignited vapour out of the nozzle and provides a powerful, hot blue flame which boiled the kettle in no time. It’s fantastic and I love the retro vintage look and technology. Probably dates from the 1920/30s .

My neighbours, L&R arrived and presented me with treat number two, saying it was a bit of a joke, a bit of fun. The parcel felt like an item of clothing. Hoping it wasn’t a kilt or something more embarrassing, I opened it to reveal a fleece jacket with the name of my woods embroidered on it. What a lovely gesture and one I shall treasure. I now have my own corporate clothing! Thankyou.

I set my trailcam up in a new position after having dried it out at home but the display seemed reluctant to work. I think the recording aspect is working but we shall have to wait a week to find out. Disappointing. Whilst eating lunch I spotted a honey bee, unusual at this time of year. Another near neighbour has a beehive so maybe it was one of his. It was a mild and sunny day so the bees must have ventured out. The rest of the day was spent clearing more bramble then I returned home with an aching back but a happy heart.