This photo captures the title, life and death co-existing together and reminds us that all things are temporal but from death and decay springs new life and the cycle continues on and on.

I arrived early yesterday armed with chainsaw and PPE gear to start cutting up and moving the six or seven sycamore trees I felled before Christmas. They lay among the Bluebell and Wood Anemone shoots and I want to clear as much away as possible before they race ahead and cover the woodland floor. So it was going to a hard day’s graft but first I filled the bird feeders. As usual, a host of small, feathery creatures descended and eagerly tucked in. I sat and watched with a smile on my face for a while before cracking on with the jobs.

Cutting up the long tree trunks and shifting them is really hard work, back breaking but yet hugely satisfying. I’ve had a really painful arthritic toe for a few years now and over the last year it had become so painful, that it was making me limp and actually restricting how long I could walk for. The thought of not being able to get out and enjoy a decent walk or a good long day working in the woods was depressing me. Reluctantly I decided to talk to my GP about it, thinking that nothing much could be done but they gave me a steroid injection in the joint. Sometimes it works, sometimes not they told me. At first the results seemed disappointing but then after about two weeks, it suddenly improved immensely. I spent a lot of hours on my feet yesterday walking back and forth with a barrow load of heavy logs and apart from a few twinges, it was relatively pain free. I tell you this in case you are suffering something similar but like me, are reluctant to bother the NHS about it. Do it.

The pond I built over a year ago is looking pretty devoid of life right now. I always knew it wouldn’t do well due to the heavy overshadowing of trees but it is a valuable drinking and bathing place for birds and other animals. It’s still a bit early to know if frogs or toads will spawn in it here but I’m keeping fingers crossed. That’s about all I have this time, Spring is definitely here at the woods, Bluebells, Wood Anemone, Wild Garlic, Dog’s Mercury and all the usual early spring plants are coming out to play again.