Just back from a fantastic holiday in St Ives Cornwall and already starting to feel the stress and strains of everyday living in this crazy society we live in. TV, the horrible daily News, impatient and rude car drivers and so on. So a day at the woods yesterday was just the ticket. Just so you know how beautiful and amazing St Ives is, here’s a couple of photos I took there. First the harbour and second Porthmeor beach just around the other side of the headland.

Back to the woods – I invited my pals along on the off-chance of some company and Phil was waiting at the gate as usual. The last visit two weeks ago involved scavenging some nice ash logs to season and use for woodwork projects for us both. We wanted to get a few more pieces and split them down and put them under cover so they could season.

The growth of ground cover plants and leaves on trees in two weeks is phenominal at this time of year.

First job though, a catch-up chat over a nice coffee and feeding the birds. They were waiting expectantly. There should be plenty of natural food for them now but many are rearing chicks and it was obvious they were glad of the extra and easy food supply. Next was a walkabout and to see what nesting activity was still ongoing. The blackbird nest of three eggs we discovered last visit, on top of the logpile, was empty. Plenty of time for them to have fledged and flown and judging by the numerous close-by sightings of blackbirds, I would say they had survived. A nestbox I made from a split log a few years ago was looking a bit worse for wear, with a visible hole near the bottom. What looked like a bluetit was seen entering the nest via that hole. It must be the poshest nest box in the woods, with a front and a back door!

I was pleased to see the box I made specifically for Nuthatches was being used by a pair. It’s slightly larger than the tit boxes with a bigger hole but last year it was used by a great tit. We watched Nuthatch parents in and out and could see the head of an almost fledged chick peering out.

The feral bees in the owl box are still there and very active but I won’t be surprised if they swarm before long, as the colony increases and outgrows the box. I’ll continue monitoring it. Phil got stuck into some log splitting while I cleaved down the ash logs we had collected. They will later be used for stool legs and tool handles etc (if and when I get time to make some!) The woodsman (Phil) took a break for lunch and I couldn’t resist this iconic shot of the logs he had split and axe resting by which looks staged but wasn’t. It’s just as he left it.

We finished the day with a bit of forageing for materials to take to my daughter who is going to build a “bug hotel” for the nursery where she works. I can’t leave it here without a mention of an amazing bug hotel in the woods at The Lost Gardens of Heligan which we visited on holiday in Cornwall last week. I love what they built (photo below) and although the woods are in themselves a huge bug hotel, it gave me an itch to build a smaller version of it in my woods just as another point of interest. Will it happen –  who knows? Not me!

Another thoroughly enjoyable Spring day in the woods, once again we were reluctant to leave. I’m planning a one night, solo camp there soon!