There was a mixed bag of weather in the last week of November. The cold snap was replaced by some milder days.
It was on one of those days when a bunch of dead trees (situated in the small wooded area by the back of the Hall school) had been earmarked for felling .
Unfortunately, one of the trees uprooted itself a few days earlier, so it had already been chain-sawed.
As you can see, it was next to the path.
Matt, Tabby, Chris and myself were all involved. We cordoned off the area before work started.
To help direct the trees as they fell, a rope was attached midway and pulled taut as the chainsaw cut through the trunk.
All of the smaller branches were then lopped or sawn and dragged into the undergrowth.
The thicker pieces were cut into logs for transporting back to the lodge.
We still had time to continue coppicing laurel in the east woods. We don't like to rest on our laurels 😄.
December 2025. There was more team work the following week.
Tabby and I began the day by planting a new parkland tree (dedicated to a couple, celebrating 60 years of marriage).
Meanwhile, Matt and Chris were putting the finishing touches to a new 'viewing seat', situated at the top end of the park.
Christened by a dodgy looking set of characters!
Having rested, it was off for more coppicing. This time it was willow, quite a bit actually.
The long stems were lopped and tied into bundles, these will be destined for crafting purposes.
We had just enough time for a spot of litter picking. End of another busy day.
It was certainly a month for felling trees. Matt had hired a 'cherry picker' to facilitate chopping down some trees in the west woods.
We followed up the next day clearing away most of the branches. Two more trees (dead elms) were then removed by Oak Lane, near the car park and just behind the fence-line.
We were back there again on my last visit of the year (a bit further down the fence-line). We had the task of clearing overgrown bramble and vines, which had completely covered the fence. This was quite thick in places, and I think we were winning.....
.....until the weather had its say and brought the day's proceedings to a premature end.
