Starting Coppicing

 Some of us were not so keen to help...

 but the chainsaw soon took care of this hazel

Which we protected with a brash pile.

badgers fighting

Black buck

Potting

C potting out Hornbeam seeds and 2 Midland Hawthorn pips.  Our first attempts at growing on seeds for regenerating the wood.  The seeds are sourced from the wood.

Grass Snake Migration

What looked like a male and a female Grass Snake where making a journey down the wood towards to the river.  Maybe moving to their winter quarters.

Bye bye, Norway Maple

When the forestry commission visited they noticed a sick Norway Maple which didn't fit with the ancient wood - some previous owner planted it.  We felled it!

It was hot sweaty work.  Also you can see my new 3x3 tarp which was a birthday present.

mink or polecat

Taken near the river, plenty of rabbits in this bit of the wood.  Probably a mink, but could be a polecat

St John's Wort and more Squirrel control

Smiling for the camera

Rimfire

New tool in the management of squirrels

Muntjac and Fallow (plus fawns)

Summer Solstice

 Slept down the wood on the shortest night.

 the fox cam by while we were eating breakfast

 the dogs didn't notice

Damper bread was a new addition to the menu.

bucks and badgers

Best Badger photo yet.  We  have worked out having the camera lower to the ground gets better pictures.

Culled squirrel

C's first with the new air rifle

Egg predation

B found this empty egg shell, the hole suggest a polecat or a mink.

Oxlips Predation

Muntjac are a selective browser.  Unfortunately they selectively browse Oxlips.

Pond

New trailer

Bought this second hand  but it is pretty much new.  Drove down to the wood and loaded it up with elm!

Play ground

Alder down

Went down to check the wood after the storm on Saturday - only one tree down, a 3 trunk alder.  Looks like we will have a good lot of fire wood to sort out.

Muntjac doe

Fallen Dead Elm

A busy afternoon turning a fallen dead elm in to firewood….always fun with a chainsaw.

Buck by the stream