After walking down to the school-bus pick-up we have a regular morning walk back through the woodland. Rather magical at this time of year …
Spindle….
Some knock-out colours in Pomfret’s Wood at the moment!
‘European spindle wood is very hard, and can be cut to a sharp point; it was used in the past for making spindles for wool-spinning and for butchers’ skewers.
Charcoal produced from this plant is seen as superior among artists due to its strength and density.’ [from Wikipedia]
Had no idea when we planted this that it’s a source of superior charcoal! Can’t wait to give it a go!
Paths
When we planned Pomfret’s Wood the aim was to create a place to walk through every day. We planned out paths and spaces winding through the space. Pleased we did! A joy every day to walk the same paths - always something new…
Teasle-tastic
Each year we’re finding different plants have their moment - this year it’s teasles! Looking like something from an alien world…
All the greens
After a wet winter and spring, we’ve had yet another week of heavy rain - everything is lush …
Set free!
Planted in 2004, this gaggle of birch have finally been set free!
As usual, what I thought might be done by morning coffee took a little longer… some stubborn posts dug out by hand.
After the storms…
A fair few storms swept across the UK in the past weeks … Dusted off the chainsaw and set to work.
A couple of years drying out and these lovely oak logs will be on the fire …
Reach for the sky!
The trees have had a stunning growth spurt this year! These photos are taken a year apart - bursting out of the tubes the new growth is reaching for the sky :-)
It does mean, however, that the trees are a little top heavy and a tad vulnerable to strong winds. Recent Storm Babet has toppled a few … team Pomfret were out this weekend with stakes and mallet making good.
Tree rescue
Autumn winds are upon us… The trees in Pomfrets Wood have ‘exploded’ this year, many shooting up over 10ft tall. However, as we draw into autumn the winds are picking up and the trees are still in leaf. They’re catching the full force of the strong gusts and many aren’t able to take the strain - Boeing and buckling under the pressure.
So - it’s time for tree rescue! Fresh stakes and a lump hammer sort out most of the fallen….
Making Hay...
As we haven’t been using pesticides or fertilisers the quality of our hay is generally pretty poor. Even so, it can still be used and it’s important for us to have it cut and taken away. There’s been a long enough break in the weather for our neighbour to get into the fields - great to see it all baled up and ready to go. Iggy’s making great use - surveying his kingdom :-)
Strip the Willow..
Looks like the deer are back. Several willow down in willow corner have been stripped. Bark has been removed all the way around, so they will most likely perish. It’s just nature doing it’s thing - though I did have a few choice words to mutter when I saw this this morning!
Spring is here :-)
The equinox has been and gone, the clocks have magically shifted by an hour and we are firmly well into Spring! … and true to form for everything is bursting into life … here’s just a few photos form our daily walk with Iggy over the last week or so…
Winter Frosts
It’s been a while since I’ve posted … the trees have been dormant and all quiet in the wood ;-)
Freezing foggy nights have resulted in amazing frosty mornings.
Baling up…
After being cut a few days ago, Panda returned and rowed up the hay. We’ve left it sitting a while to give any of the yellow rattle seeds a chance to drop.
Panda then returned once more to bake. Having been cut so late it’s pretty poor quality hay - may find a local cattle farmer interested in taking it for free, or we may simply stack it in the corner of the field - just as long as we take it off the meadow…
It’s great to have it cut and gone, and with it being so late in the year we’ll probably have little grass growth from now on. The dog’s loving it! Running around like a fool :-)
This year’s cut…
A couple of weeks ago Panda let us know that his old mower had mowed its last. However, after scanning the auctions he’s bought himself a new one - hurrah! He came and tried it out on the meadow in Pomfret’s Wood. Wow. Only took 10 min. We’re happy. Panda’s happy. Unfortunately the teasels aren’t too happy :-(
Apples
Not ‘strictly’ in Pomfrets Wood, though worth a mention :-) As you turn down our drive way you’re greeted by a wonderful row of well tended apple trees. I can take no credit! Over thirty years ago, before Debbie and I met, Debbie was courting a young gentleman who was a keeper of the orchard at local Ampleforth College. As a gesture of good will to Debbie’s parents he planted a wonderful range of apple trees along the approach to the family farm - a selection of varieties that ripen from the earliest to latest of the season - we now benefit from have steady supply of apples for many many weeks.
The young gent may have left but the apples remain ;-)
New on The Lund
Every morning at least one of us takes a walk around Pomfret’s Wood with Iggy the dog. I was out with the boys this morning and spotted this butterfly we hadn’t seen here before. We think it’s a ‘speckled wood’ - very common, found pretty much everywhere across the UK - but new to me :-)
Fingers Tightly Crossed
Fingers are tightly crossed here at the moment… Like most of the UK we’ve had a long spell without rain, along with temperatures steadily rising to a high yesterday of over 40C. The earth has turned to dust, the grass is brown and brittle - and we’re hoping, hoping the trees make it through Ok. Only time will tell…
More Butterflies :-)
This one I believe is a Comma …
Into summer
Four days into summer time…
