Another great #woodland Tuesday where we planted
30 sycamore
20 Wester Red Cedar
10 Beech
50 Oak
This in space created by trees that had died due to #ash die-back, each tree having a staked tree guard.👍
#Woodland Tuesday & blue skies! Replaced border saplings that have died along the hedge we laid a few years ago. We won’t allow this roadside hedge to be #flailed - the cause, in my opinion, for the loss of traditional border marking trees. Also planted #JapaneseCedar on a slope lost to Die Back.
The real time #geography lessons continues - the land slip has slightly increased and the stone bank on the inner bend become more robust as the out channel has narrowed, deepened and accelerated. Love it! Planting #Alder and #sweet chestnut to day👍
Warm sunshine today so managed to plant about 100 #oak and #sweetchestnut nuts that I’ve had stratifying in the fridge. Might have let them get too dry tho’ as the root tips were going brown - any thoughts?
Also managed to turn my compost heaps - hard work!!
Another damp day in the #woods clearing fallen trees and processing the wood into saleable logs - they’ve just got to dry out first….might take some time😂
👍🙏 we selected,felled,milled and dried the wood before building the shed - extremely satisfying…especially for the owner (not me😂)
First #woodland Tuesday of 2026 & it was cold! After repositioning the bridge to the shed as a recent flood lifted it off its foundations the rest of the day saw us clearing cord wood, the frozen ground lets us get trailers in and out - plus chopping a few stumps to get access. Happy New Year all🤞👍
After the storm a bright but quiet day in the woods - Dotty very much enjoying the peace🙂
Another busy but damp #woodland Tuesday and the result of strong winds on sick ash trees was once again very evident. But really it’s old men playing with small boy toys - and getting it wrong! But it’s fun trying😂😂
Another busy #woodland Tuesday - we’ve got a lot of wood (Ash) chopped, drying and ready to be delivered and there’s plenty more where this lot came from👍. And my nursery seems to be doing well - I’m amazed the saplings are still in full, healthy leaf given November is drawing to a close🤷♂️👍
With some large poplar down it’s important to get it off the ground - cut into 8 foot lengths and rolled onto dunnage. No rot here thank you👍. And a .50 cal cartridge found in one wood used by US troops before DDay - markings confirm made in #NewBrighton #Minnesota at the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant.
As I’m on light duties 😏 I spent #woodland Tuesday making kindling. We use the slab wood off cuts from the milling process and remove the bark to make mulch for young saplings - waste not want not😇
The charcoal burn. Lit at 0700 with the top ajar - closed closed an hour later. There are 8 vents: 4 in & 4 outlets & we rotate them every 4 hours for even burn. Shut all to deny the fire any oxygen at 2300 - poss a bit early, we’ll see! Lovely in the woods lit by a harvest moon chatting with mates.
Perfect trip around Normandy in the van. Great to find Airfield B3 near Gold Beach where the #RAF Servicing Commandos operated after landing on D+1. Also found the names of LAC Crofts and AC1 Skeggs at the UK Memorial both RAFSCs who died during the landings. Never forget.
Collected some good #acorns from the #wood to germinate. Filled a plastic bag with my home grown moist compost, added the 50 acorns and sealed the bag. Then I put them in the fridge - cold stratification is essential to bring them out of dormancy and so to germinate. I’ll update in a few months.
Another #woodland Tuesday. Keeping a tidy work area is one thing but this is surely going too far! But then again there’s room for improvement with the daily inspection (DI) and maintenance of our motor transport 😂
After a one day drive from Orkney to Dorset 😅 I needed a gentle #woodland Tuesday! A visit from this wee tractor made wood recovery from bramble patches so much easier..I just wish it was permanent. Rest of the day spent mapping all trees of over 170cm girth…all good data for the future👍
#ScapaFlow is full of history. This is one of two slipways built at Houton in the NE corner of the Flow for getting seaplanes in and out of the water in WWI. In Aug 1917, it was near here in Scapa Flow that Sqn Cdr Edwin Dunning completed the first deck land on a moving ship.
Not in the woods today but back in my beloved #Orkney. Driving home from the ferry I was met with this view over #ScapaFlow …. It’s great to see so many ships in this historic harbour twice home to the wartime #RoyalNavy
And here we are ….. a good first day in glorious sunshine at #StockGaylard # OakFair. And the charcoal is flying off the trailer 👍👍
A pretty good burn - there are a few “browns” but good charcoal too. Graded and bagged it’s off for sale at this weekends Oak Fair👍
Really hot day thankfully not working in the woods- but no peace for the wicked . With the annual Stock Gaylard #Oak Fair rapidly approaching it’s time to make #bat boxes👍
Sadly I couldn’t be there but the boys lit the #charcoal #kiln very early yesterday morning. It’s been closed down now but we’ll have to wait and see if it was a success or whether we’ve got “browns” - undercooked wood🤷♂️. Ruby the dog ever vigilant👍
#woodland Tuesday involved clearing and sawdust mulching around some young #oak and #sweetchestnut saplings - they’ve grown well after the attention/water we’ve given them throughout the dry spell. And then onto some heavy lifting of wind fallen larch . Should make some good fence posts 👍
Back to #woodland Tuesday after my trip up to #Orkney. A light day gathering wood & stacking our #charcoal kiln for a future burn. The “chimneys” at the bottom control the airflow allowing it to be shut off completely at the critical moment. I’m no expert in this art - we’ll see what happens soon🤞
Well done to the good folk of #Whitby for honouring and remembering their fallen. Two veterans of Afghanistan honoured and remembered both in St Mary’s Church up by the Abbey and on the iconic cobb at the harbour entrance. 🫡
The Maria Dickin Award to animals of note in WWII was 1st given to Winkie. This pigeon, covered in oil, flew 120 mls to deliver the coords of a downed ac - the crew were rescued. All bombers carried pigeons.
Stein Albidso escaped Nazi Norway to Stonehaven in ‘40 in the pictured seaplane-remarkable
The joy of travel - this time winding our way south down the east coast of Scotland (trying to visit all RNLI stations in UK), we came across this memorial to the RAF Banff Strike Wing. I didn’t know of them but it’s worth reading their story in the photos and remembering the 80 men who were lost.
The last remains of the #Norholmen, a trawler that ran aground in late 1966 below the Stromness graveyard at Warbeth in #Orkney where my parents now rest. I remember it well as, with its mast hanging over the cemetery, it proved very atmospheric and rather eerie.
More WWII history in #Orkney. Old ships were sunk between the southern isles to stop the enemy entering Scapa Flow. Sadly in Oct 39, U47 snuck in & sank #HMS Royal Oak with the loss of 830+ men & boys. Churchill then ordered the construction of concrete barriers to seal 4 entrances to the Flow.
