The forecasters got it wrong again but not to worry. It was cold and damp so I just had to light a fire. It’s  a source of comfort in more ways than one and guaranteed to lift your spirits. My Belgian army steel mug serves as my kettle and a nice filter coffee was the order or the day.

I treated myself to a Silky Pocket Boy folding pruning saw. I already have a Silky Zubat which is one of the best tools I have bought for the woods. They are Japanese and very well made. Extremely sharp and cut on the pull stroke rather than most saws which cut on the push which means they are less likely to buckle if trapped. The Zubat is great for coppicing the hazel, and snedding small branches. The curve helps to get into awkward places but it’s not a folder, so quite cumbersome to carry around. I’ve fancied the Pocket Boy for a while which as the name suggests, will fit in my pocket which will be useful just to have on me for the odd small cutting jobs. Also for taking out on my bushcraft jaunts. It comes in a plastic case but I added a yellow lanyard so I can clip it to my belt or bag and also see it easily if I put it down. Tools can easily get lost among the woodland leaf litter. The second photo shows the Zubat next to it for comparison.

I wanted to carry on with the sycamore felling in the top corner. I’m creating a nice open “coup” so I can plant some other species for diversity. I’ve already planted about a dozen oak saplings grown from acorns. That was nearly two years ago and they are struggling due to lack of light. I’ve realised from the hazel coppicing that half measures don’t pay off so need to take out more. The first one was pretty big and I got my cut slightly wrong which meant it got hung up. There were no neighbours nearby so I was on my own trying to free it. I threw a rope over a branch to pull it sideways. It took about half an hour. At first I pulled on it like a tug of war but could hardly budge it.  So my next trick was to tie both ends to a stout tree forming a sort of double washing line. I slipped a small log between them  and used it to twist the lines tight by winding it, therefor adding more tension. Then I could pull down on it with much more force. It’s such a relief when you see it fall and crash to the ground. The area is looking like a disaster but I’m pleased with my progress. I reckon I need to take four more down still.

I spent the rest of the afternoon roughly cutting up the trees from and moving some of the big pieces to a place to store for further processing later in the year. The emphasis at the moment is just getting the trees down before spring and bird nesting season. They look deceptively small in the photo but they are about three to four feet long and six to eight inches diameter and when they are “green” (full of sap) they are only just liftable by hand. It’s a great way to work out and build some upper body strength though.