Wednesday 17 February 2010

Bleak Midwinter

That long period of snow (remember that?), plus travelling with work and keeping balance with other things in life has meant we didn’t get to the wood as often as hoped this winter. Instead of trying to coppice another half acre, which we wouldn’t have managed, our visits have been a little more relaxed. Work has been done on widening the glade a little to allow more sunlight in to benefit the wildflowers and butterflies. We now have piles of brash to be burnt or relocated as habitat piles. Many of the birches along the way-leave were bent over from the snow and these have now been cut back to keep the way open. The trees we planted from the Kent free tree scheme are doing OK, but those that were taller than the tree guards are now the same height thanks to the local fauna. Tom has been having fun with his new catapult and has been making an impact on his targets with paintballs. A good idea as the casings are camo’ and degradable and the paint is water based so doesn’t hang around. We are now looking forward to the arrival of spring flowers and warmer (and longer) days in the wood. However work will take me away again next month, oh well, only maybe another 10 years until retirement? We may have another session widening the glade before summer and I am also planning on getting a brush cutter to tackle some of the brambles (but want to leave some for diversity).