Tales from the Wood

A welcome visitor to the woods, but how difficult to photograph! This is the best of over fifty attempts – I gave up trying to freeze the wingbeats!

It’s been nearly five years since this section of the conifer plantation was felled and replanted. Now it seems the 1100 saplings have suddenly reached adolescence to form a youthfully vigorous, broadleaf woodland. The plan to leave plenty of clearings and let the understorey thrive seems to have paid off. Read more…

One aspect of bracken’s ability to dominate the landscape is its very effective adaptation of smothering and then collapsing young trees. This, it does in the autumn, after reaching a critical height and mass. It then can catch and twist into the branches and on wilting, brings the sapling to Read more…

A short video with guest appearance from ‘Little Grey Fergie’ (born 1955)

The birch thinning has now been completed for this season and the stems seem to be the perfect length for making up short faggots. Interestingly, the short faggot or ‘nicket’ was standardised in 1474 as measuring 3 feet long by 2 feet in circumference. Historically used as a fuel source; Read more…

Now that spring is upon us and the bracken has withered, it’s time to thin out the new plantation. Lots of self-set Douglas fir and Scots pine have emerged from the undergrowth, and I guess, I must have now cleared over 1000! I’ve kept a few on, to fill out Read more…

Two nights chasing the Northern Lights and this is the result. On the subtle side, I admit, but this is an un-retouched smartphone image. It followed a red alert from my AuroraWatch app, measuring a whopping 300 nanotesla (whatever that might mean!). I’m guessing the glowing cloud is the reflected Read more…

Repairing the fence that circles the wood is an ongoing task. Although I regularly undertake tree inspections, stormy weather can push over even the soundest of specimens, and windblown trees seem to gravitate towards the fence line! It’s hard work, but, at last, I’ve invested in a wire strainer which Read more…

Just under the bark of most tree species, you’ll find the phloem layer which transports essential carbohydrates to the rest of the plant. Its fibres have been used for millennia to make numerous products such as cordage, baskets, and textiles. Commonly called bast fibre, it is harvested from the felled Read more…

Occasionally, with a bit of help from our dogs, Bertie and Nellie, we find cast deer-antlers in the wood. Deer antler is an amazingly workable and strong material, little wonder that it has been used as an essential tool-making resource for millennia. I’ve just made this nalbinding needle – it Read more…