A lovely day to be at the woods yesterday. There is a definite feel of spring as more ground plants push through the surface and birds are more vocal. I heard song thrush, tawny owl and spotted woodpecker as well as the usual nuthatches, and various tits. I’m hoping before long I can spend a night here in my camper. I haven’t slept in it yet, I just need to prepare and psyche myself up for it.

It was another day for lots of work, I’m keen to get the felled trees moved before the bluebells and wood anemones take over the ground. I cut up two of them before my chainsaw jammed up. It was enough for one day as I had to wheelbarrow them back to this logshed, chop and stack them. Still plenty more to do but the shed is filling up nicely now and will provide a winter’s worth of fuel for my woodburner in a couple of years time.

I hardly did anything productive till late morning but it was so relaxing just to wander around, looking at things and taking photos. This strange tree is a crab apple that I bought and planted about seven years ago. It’s developed these oddities which are burrs. They are fairly common on apple trees and are an inherited defect thought to be due to the rootstock that they have been grafted onto. The growers choose varieties of rootsock that are vigorous growers. These burrs are actually tiny roots growing out of the branches and it’s the trees survival mechanism when the growing conditions are not ideal. It’s possibly due to the shady nature of the woodland.

I found this potentially lovely walking stick. It’s another of the prized “barley twist” hazel and honeysuckle stems. I hope to work on it and make something special. I just had to have it.

Not much else to tell, so just a few more photos from the walkabaout.

This tree looks like a wooden man half buried upside down!

Not sure what they will grow into but signs of spring coming.

My eldest daughter has been asking to come to the woods for a while, so yesterday I picked her up and took her. I warned her that there was work to do and she is quite happy getting stuck in to a bit of forestry. Our first job was to try to remove the remains of a hung up tree from last week that was hanging like a pendulum. I took the Tirfor winch and thought it would pull out fairly easy. Here it is set up ready.

I tensioned it as far as it could be but it didn’t budge an inch. The top of the hung up piece has a fork and the base of that is wedged in the bottom of a fork in the standing tree. I thought the hung up fork would compress or squeeze in enough to pull out. I tried repositioning the pulley to a nearer tree for a different angle but nope – we had to give up. I could put a ladder up and cut the main piece off with a hand saw but I was feeling a bit shaky and didn’t want to risk it. It’s doing no harm and no risk to anyone so I guess I will leave it be, then in a couple of years when it’s dried out and become brittle, I might be able to pull it sideways and snap it off. It just looks ridiculous and amateurish (which it is).

The other main job was to start moving the sawn up logs from last week’s felling back to the logstore to be split and stacked. I couldn’t help admiring the woodsman’s scene and thinking it looked like a “proper” one.

Didn’t do much other work but it was plenty. We had a good long walk around, took some photos before heading home again. This is a small hazel tree that has honeysuckle winding it’s way up the stems. It has effectively strangled the branch and the hazel has responded by trying to grow around it’s tight grip which has caused this amazing spiral shape. These are known as barley twists and are very prized by walking stick makers. Unfortunately there is not enough straight section below the twist to make one but at some point I might cut it and make something else but for now I will let it be.

I’ll leave you with this photo. It’s a large sycamore I felled a few years ago. It was already diseased and dying but rather than cut it up for logs, I left it on the ground for nature to work it’s magic. The black strands are the mycelium (sort of like roots) of some sort of fungus which is working it’s way into the slowly decaying wood. Eventually it will send out it’s fruiting bodies that we know as mushrooms. They won’t the edible kind though.

It’s 2023 and traditionally I should be wishing you all a Happy New Year. I don’t normally engage with all that stuff because it’s just meaningless. The world doesn’t reset on the 1st of every calendar year and suddenly become a better and happier place. If there is such a thing as a new year then it should start around the 21st Dec and the winter solstice. Yet the belief that it’s going to be a new beginning and maybe better, still persists with many people. For me it’s just the next day after yesterday and the year will bring more of the same old crap plus some new crap! If I wind the clock back to New Year 2022 the greetings I should have been getting weren’t a “Happy New Year” but “Welcome to the Worst Year of Your Life.” So logically this is a year that should be a better year for me and I’m glad to see the back of 2022. It was the first year not to be with my wife at Christmas and New Year for 53 years, I can’t describe how that felt and a year when I also lost my sister. So now onto a more positive tone.

Yesterday was a beautiful clear sunny day. The low level sun brings out some fabulous lighting. I mainly went to get some logs for home and just have a lovely woodland themed day. I filled the bird feeders and am pleased to report there were many birds swooping in to feed. A few weeks ago I had previously reported how quiet and absent the bird population had become, wondering if they had been decimated by Avian Flu. There were plenty of blue tits, coal tits, great tits robins and an odd nuthatch. Not feeding but spotted, was a Jay; a blackbird and long tailed tits. Below is the Jay, not a great photo but you can make out what it is with it’s distinctive blue wing feathers. I am lucky to have a couple in my collection and they are one of the most beautiful feathers I have seen.

I was rather annoyed to find someone had felled and removed a dead oak from my wood. It might have been a neighbour as it was next to the ride and perceived as a danger.but it’s wrong on two counts – they should have asked permission and should have left the resulting logs for me. It amounts to theft otherwise. I shall make enquiries. I had intended felling it for safety reasons but at least I would have had some great firewood.

My new friendly robin was with me again, following me around and coming very close to me. At one point I thought it was going to land on my shoulder or hat. You can see it about to lift off as I snapped the camera. I heard a loud fluttering right next to my ear.

Here it is directly below me. It shows no fear and I spent several minutes on a few occasions where were were simply just looking at each other less than a metre apart.

I decided I needed to do a little bit of something useful, so felled a small weak sycamore by hand with my bow saw. It was earmarked to come down at some point. I need to stock up on logs for seasoning for the future, my resources are dwindling but should see me through this and the next winter but I like to keep the conveyor belt moving so I will always have some that are at least two years old.

Some neighbours arrived and we had a nice catch up and I showed them my camper van. I’m really looking forward to spring when hopefully I can start sleeping over in it. Theoretically I could do it now but the long dark nights would make it quite boring. I’ll leave you with a few more photos and say I hope you all have an OK year – that will do for me.

A couple of neighbours reported things being disturbed in their plots and two of my mallets, kept in this little store, were found in their plot. One of the neighbours captured an image on his trail cam of these three scrotes. The top picture shows they had pulled the pallets away which normally cover the front, been into the dustbin where the mallets and rope were and scattered some things around. I don’t keep any valuable tools there but losing any would cause some inconvenience. They didn’t seem to have damaged anything which surprised me. Just annoying.

I’ve had problems with my camper not starting in the cold which caused a lot of stress last week. I had it booked in for fixing but it wouldn’t start at all. I had to get it towed away and it really knocked my confidence. My mental state is very fragile these days and it doesn’t take much to push me over the edge. Well my diagnosis was correct, it was the diesel glow plugs – all four were faulty and replaced and now it starts straight away – yeah. Last visit I tried to make a brew and heat soup on the gas rings and they failed to light. At first I thought it was the gas cylinder that was empty but when I took it out to get it changed, I discovered it had plenty. So either the stove was faulty or I wasn’t operating it right. This time I decided to read the manual, tried it again, nothing. I discovered I need to turn the power on the main panel to get the spark/igniters to work. A step forward but still no gas. Eventually it came through and lit and I had my first brew of coffee. I was elated, another problem solved and a step nearer to getting some mini adventures in my van. I sat in the side door looking out into my woods drinking my coffee, winter sun on my face and a mild day – it gave me a tiny hint of how this little van can bring some pleasure back into my life.

My main job was to bring a load of logs back. With the incredibly cold weather we had last few weeks, my stocks at home were running low. The space in the camper will fit quite a few crates (2 or more) and at least five trugs and there’s at least two weeks supply in there.

It was quite a lonely day and I saw no-one. It’s getting close to Christmas which is going to be very difficult having lost my wife earlier this year. I didn’t really like it much anyway and have been trying to ignore it as much as possible. No decorations or trees up. Cards sent to me are just in a pile. I don’t want continual reminders around the house. It will be the first time in over fifty years I have not been with my wife on Christmas day. Ideally I would have come here for the day but I have my daughters to think of and they want to see me – totally understandable. So many bereaved people just want to run away and hide. It’s another aspect of the fight or flight response that we feel for a very long time and this annual reminder will probably stay difficult forever for many. Christmas is a monster chasing us. If you know someone who has recently lost their partner please try not to wish them a Merry Christmas. There is no way it is going to be merry in the slightest. Just say you’ll be thinking of them.

Onto a more uplifting subject (bear with me, it’s bitter sweet). I also lost my very friendly robin that had followed me around for a few years. Up till now I haven’t had a replacement. Just the odd one bobbing about. As I was about to leave, one flew down a few metres away. I said hello to it. It looked at me and proceeded to hop nearer and nearer until it was at my feet. It seemed to have no fear of me (and why should it but it’s their survival instinct). It hopped around and even me moving didn’t scare it off. I got some food and enticed it toward me again, putting my open hand with food on the ground. Soon it took several pieces, stepping back a little to eat it, then onto my finger tips where it stayed eating the food. How special was that? It lifted my mood and I can’t wait to see if I can get a repeat in future visits.

Not much else to tell so I’ll just leave a few more photos of this wonderful place. Hope your Christmas’s are good or at least bearable.

Yesterday turned out to be a more upbeat day for me and just what I needed. Hadn’t planned much as I had arranged to meet a pal but as it turned out he couldn’t make it. I filled the bird feeders and straight away a number of small birds arrived. If you read my recent blogs you know I was concerned about the lack of bird activity. As well as birds on feeders, I could see a fair amount of activity in the tree tops. I lost my previous friendly robin in the summer but there might be a new kid on the block. It hasn’t come close yet but is hanging around the periphery of where I’m working. I hope to spend more time at the woods now so hopefully it will start to get used to my presence and make friends.

The main point of interest was the fungi. Not so much last visit but quite a good variety to spot. I don’t know what this is though but makes a lovely autumn photo.

I filled my trugs with logs for the wood burner at home. I’ve been using it more recently in favour of putting the central heating on as much. I cut a piece of the sycamore I felled last time to take home and start making spoons again. I have an order of two cooking spoons for my nieces. I want to get back into doing some crafting work again and I was watching a video on making a sheath for a small knife using woven birch bark. I’d like to have a go at it. I peeled some from a dead tree but it was too decayed to use. You need to be able to get some longish intact strips. You can also use cherry which my neighbours have lots of. They arrived a little later, we had a good catch up and they offered to let me have a try at peeling some bark off a recently felled cherry tree. We laid a log down and I cut a line with a knife. The bark grain runs around the stem not up it. After carefully lifting it all along the cut, I pulled while they rotated the log. The bark came of beautifully, almost 100% intact. Sorry I didn’t have camera with me but I will have a go at making a sheath this week and post my results in the next blog. There are numerous craft items you can make with birch bark and I see no reason why cherry won’t work as well.

There’s still quite a lot of green on some of the leaves as you can see, mainly the hazel and oak. Not much else to talk about so will just leave you with some more fungi.

I believe these are one of several bracket fungi known as Turkey Tails.

We’ve seen this several times but it’s a nice example of Jew’s Ear, Wood Ear, or Jelly Ear which ever you prefer, usually growing on dead elder.

This might be Sulphur Tuft but not certain. Growing in profusion around a dead sycamore stump.

It’s been over a month since my last visit and long overdue. Some of you might remember I lost my wife earlier this year. Well a month ago I lost my sister too and today was her funeral. Grief robs you of motivation and sometimes it’s so hard just to get out of bed in the morning. Coupled with bad weather and other commitments, I just haven’t been going but yesterday I was committed to getting up in good time and heading off. My only plan was to bring logs back and just enjoy being there. I was also meeting another plot holder. I lit a fire and got the kettle on, always a feelgood thing. It was a damp and misty day as you can tell from photos but very peaceful and atmospheric.

I put food out for the birds and normally they are gathering in the trees around me as soon as they hear me. Not this time or the last time. There is a definite absence of birds compared to usual which I wonder if it’s due to avian flu. A robin arrived then eventually a few tits – blue, coal and great tits. It really saddens me to think the population as been decimated and can only hope they eventually re-establish their numbers.

We are well into autumn now and I’ve missed a lot of the colours. Many trees are bare but the hazel and beech still have quite a lot of leaves left and these tend to be the most colourful. Oak is usually last to shed it’s leaves.

After taking it easy for a while I got a bit restless and am wanting to resume some spoon carving and need fresh green wood. I didn’t take the chainsaw, hadn’t intended felling but wondered if I could fell a small diameter sycamore with axe and bow saw which I did. Hard work especially when you get to the middle of the stem as there is a lot of resistance against the saw blade. A bow saw isn’t ideal for this type of work but I managed it and cut it into lengths and stacked it. Next time I’ll cuts some shorter pieces to bring home for carving. I might invest in a felling saw for these small diameter trees. Chain saws make the work quick and easy but are very dangerous and require fuel and oil and are noisy and smelly. This one looks deceptively small but it was about 15cm diameter at the base and probably 15-20 meters high.

I was on the lookout for fungi but was disappointed not to find much. There was plenty of this growing on dead wood, it’s candle snuff fungi.

The visit definitely fired me up for more regular visits now so hopefully will be posting more soon.

After all the hot weather this summer, last week it turned very cold and early autumn is now evident. It was a sunny day on Sunday when I went thugh. I had a couple of small jobs to do but it was mainly a chill out day. My neighbours were in so it was nice to have some company and chew the fat with them. There’s never any danger of woodland talk getting boring to anyone there. It’s like a select club where everyone is enthusiastic about the subject.

I put some bird feed out for the first time since spring but I didn’t see one single bird on the feeders. Hardly any to be seen or heard anywhere in the woods, not even the friendly robins that usually seek me out. I wonder if the bird population has suffered badly with the hot dry weather or possibly bird flu? Well I just Googled it and see reports of avian flu have been confirmed in the area. When winter arrives, it will be interesting to see if there are many birds on the feeders because that is the time that food is scarce and they flock to them.

There were a few signs of fungi emerging now we have had some rain. The ones above are tiny puffballs just emerging from a rotten birch tree. I think the ones below are the same only bigger, they lose the spikyness when bigger.

I love it when the low sun casts shadows of twigs and leaves onto tree trunks. This is an Ash tree getting some shadow decoration.

So that’s all for this visit, I hope the next one will be an overnighter in the camper van.