I Spy

I retrieved the wildlife camera from the wood which was revealing in many ways. It was interesting to find out what goes bump in the night........

Pieces Of Eight

Yarr. I found me a couple of likely shipmates to seek ol' Blackbeards treasure. We set out with a map on the high seas in search of dubloons and pieces of eight.

Stove To Go

One simple pleasure owning owning a woodland is creating a little camp and having a spot of lunch in the outdoors. If you want something hot then I expect people either create an open fire or use a camping stove.

I stumbled across a portable wood stove and it's really rather neat. The legs fold under the stove box and the flue pipe comes apart into four sections that also fit inside the stove box. So it all packs down into a very portable unit with carry handle too.

I Spy With My Little Eye

We're a nosy bunch us humans. I'm no different but face a bit of a problem. I don't live in my wood so naturally I don't have much time to keep an eye on the comings and goings. I'm hoping that they are mainly non-human but you never know. I'm more keen on the feathered activity and want to keep an eye on the owl boxes for any sign of activity. But I can't lurk in the dark all night in the hope of seeing something. The deer are but a fleeting glance too so it would be good to see a little more of them.

So I scoured the web for a technical solution (well google did all the work to be fair). Wildlife cameramen employ motion sensitive cameras to take the pain out of watching a specific spot so why not me?! I discovered there are some off the shelf solutions without getting too technical either. So I bought this to try and capture some of the comings and goings.

Chainsaws-grrrrrr

I've just acquired a shiny new chainsaw, a Husqvarna 346xp. It's a neat bit of kit. I've hopefully struck a nice balance between a quality saw yet not some oversized beast way too large for my needs.

When I bought the woodland I had this quaint notion that I would be managing it just with hand tools. Me, an axe, a saw and the trees. All very frontier like and only missing a raccoon hat. My first winter soon taught me a valuable lesson - it's hard work! It's not the felling. I've only tackled small stuff which is doable with just a bow saw. It's the logging up that is the real drag. It became apparent that if I was going to fit this around work and life that I'd better employ some petrol powered help.
 

Twit Twoo

One of the most majestic creatures in a woodland must be the owl. It'a got the lot. Cute fluffy chicks, a stealthy killer and swivelling head to keep it's oh so good eyes trained on it's next victim. Good hearing apparently too despite not having much visible in the way of ear lugs like us humans. It's hard not to admire any top predator. Unless you happen to be fluffy and snack sized.

Food for thought

We grow some fruit and veg and have a small allotment plot. We've not been doing it too long and still have a lot to learn but our modest successes are worthwhile when you cook a meal using your own produce.Because of our limited space I've pondered about how to use the wood to increase the range we grow. Obviously there are a few limitations, light being the main one. After spring when the canopy has closed it becomes very dark on the forest floor

As an experiment I've planted gooseberries, blackberries and raspberries, all of which have a woodland heritage and should tolerate some shade.