Two years ago hedge laid hazel, doing well on the boundary of the wood.
We just made it, before the Beast from the East settled on us, and on our hazel cuttings and on the great leaning ash felled to the ground. Snow came and lay the next day, and took our little temperate island by surprise despite the dire warnings, and we all realised how un Norwegian we all were and unused to coping with an inch or six of snow.
But back to the coppice. After 3 years, this was the plan, to get a coppicing group together to annually coppice and work the wood, in exchange for firewood. The idea was spurred on by Mark Fisher wanting to join the group. I set up a google group which consisted Mark, Jon, Paul, Pauline, and Marion. The winter fixture was delayed by Paul who has gone down with Bels Palsey which will linger longer than anticipated and has more serious ramifications especially to Paul’s eye, that does not blink or water. One side of his face is without information. No pain, thankfully, unlike it’s near relation Shingles that Barry knows so intimately. We kept hoping that it would subside and Paul would be able to work both at Holton Hall Park and in my wood. So the fixed date came late in the day, the last day of February and it was propped up by Jon, who would come with his chain saw, a necessary requisit for a worthwhile area of coppicing.
Forester Jon, Bellringer Jon, Molly Jon, all these and more he is, although Forester no longer, as most recently he made a radical change in direction, given up the certainty of working for the Forestry Commission, and go freelance.
Snow or frozen rail tracks prevented Mark from coming that glorious winter sun morning, when we met in the cabin for tea and coffee, warmed by the log burner heated earlier that morning by the efficient Henry. (Henry and Tess are the new tree wardens, living in the wood in their Mercedes bus). Natasha was the surprise addition, on holiday this week, and keen to take part.
The area I selected was to complete the clearing around the Angel. We did well. Despite the almost immediate delay with broken chain saw chain. By a late lunch at 2, of pheasent stew or South Indian veg, we had coppiced all the hazel in the area. And in addition, Jon managed to fell the very leaning Ash, a bit hairy with all that tension, and a few dead silver birches.
Mark arrived fresh from Belfast, in time to help re kindle the bonfire, which was tough going in the damp snow. We did well the two of us, amid a few snow flurries, and got all the brush wood burnt. Henry nursed the final pieces so all that was left was a hot hole in the snow.
Kaliwood 