Gravenhurst has few landmarks. Two ancient churches, a charming methodist chapel, a Victorian school house, a village hall. Our river and its bridges are modest in scale, our hills unmountainous. But we do have something that is very much worthy of note, and that’s a tree. If I asked where you’d find ‘here be dragons’ […]
If you use a chainsaw, electric or petrol, you use chain oil. This sticky oil is pumped into the groove of a chainsaw’s guide bar when the throttle is activated. The chain distributes it around the bar, providing essential lubrication and cooling. When the chain is running, oil is being pumped onto it and flung […]
In June 2018 I published a post entitled “A tale of two ashes” in which I described the fate of two young ash trees I had coppiced the year before and which, after regrowing vigorously were succumbing, to different extents, to Chalara ash dieback – A tale of two ashes – Wassledine . I did […]
When did you last see a newt? Have you ever seen one? Would you even want to? If you have a pond, you might just be lucky enough to have these amphibians quietly enjoying your garden alongside you. And unless you study your pond in spring, when they drop in to lay eggs, you might […]
At this time of year we aim to be completely prepared for winter. All winter feed is in, water supplies are working and insulated against the coming frost, shed clean and tidy. For once I think we can tick all of those boxes. We put off the day when the herd comes indoors until the […]
Last September, I met Lyndsey from Central Beds Council at Centenary Wood, near Greenfield, to talk about some ride widening she wanted us to do for her. In return for taking out some young trees that were overshadowing some paths and causing them to stay muddy through most of the year, we’d get to bring […]
For years I’ve been waging lowkey war on the sallow that grows in one hazel plantation we look after. (Sallow for simplicity, but I’m including ‘goat willow’, Salix caprea ‘grey willow’ S. cinerea, as well as hybrids of the two, under that umbrella). Knowing sallow is an important part of the woodland ecosystem, I’ve never […]
Suddenly it’s quiet in the woods. It happens sometime in July, and it happens almost overnight. Because for large parts of the year the wood is my office, I’m lucky enough to enjoy the seasonal tide of bird song as the sound track of my working day, so when these dramatic changes happen, even I, […]
Hazel (Corylus avellana), like many shrubs, can be propagated by part burying stems whilst they are still attached to the parent plant – layering. Roots and shoots will, with luck, be produced at the point of contact with the soil and these new plants can be left in place or moved to a new location. […]
I first came across the term ‘succession’ in a biological context during my ‘A’ levels, many years ago. Unlike most of the stuff included in those exam courses, it really caught my attention. It wasn’t until well into the first year of the biology degree course I later scraped on to, that I noticed it […]