After the Coupe: Wild flowers bloom

Wood anemones

Wood sorrel

Primroses

Dog's Mercury

Violet

 

Wood harvesting – A lesson learned

Andrew & Son: Ready to roll

Andrew said, “Next year, instead of moving the wood twice, let’s load it right on the trailer, as we cut and clear.”

There sure is a lot of wood to move … some 25 trailer loads to be transported back to the charcoal burning area. That must be at least 20 tons to be lifted by two-and-a-half  backs and pulled through the mud by little Ford Dexter.

But here is Mike the Druid, thinking and doing in parallel. He is making a frame for a cover for the charcoal burning barrels, so they can be used outside, even if it rains.

Jan said, “Wow! Now we can take the charcoal burners to the wood, instead of the wood to the charcoal burners!” It felt as was if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. There will no need to move more charcoal wood, this year, or ever after.

Charcoal is small fraction of  the weight of wood, and has a higher calorific value.

Making charcoal burning mobile

 

The last Ash felled this year

Sawing

Jumping

March 21 is “Ladies’ Day” (aka the Spring Equinox). The well- founded tradition is that that no trees should be felled until next year.

Now the sap starts rising and the birds can start nesting safely.

Unfortunately, there’s six biggish trees down which must be cross cut for fire wood (as well as an enormous oak which came down in a storm), so it will still be a few weeks before the noise of the chainsaw is banished.

This particular tree came down perfectly. Nevertheless, it is amazing how lighted-footed one can be in steel tipped chainsaw boots when the trunk begins to crack.

 

Today – The Avenue way is open

An overgrown,  disused ride becomes a new Avenue which will, in a few years time, be lined by great trees. It’s a lucky thing, too, since we will be able to use Ford Dexter to pull the charcoal wood out now. In future, the Avenue will make it possible to pull out the harvests of  thousands of hazel spar gads and poles.

The Avenue - Westbound

The Avenue - Eastbound

 

Yesterday – Order emerging from chaos

Andrew and billhook take a break

There is no doubt that it’s hard work. Trunks of the felled trees have to be sawn in half, and all the side branches chopped off with the billhook. The side branches or ‘brash’ must be picked up off the ground and laid in lines called, ‘wind rows’, while the trunks have to be dragged and piled up next to the rides.

Bend, lift, saw, chop over and over and over again without the help of any machinery,  just as our ancestors did for hundreds of years.

The result is a new landscape with straight young oak and ash trees planted by the previous owner which in 50 years time will make the high canopy to be then further thinned for timber.  During this time, it will be possible to cut approximately 10 hazel crops of thousands of gads and poles each.

Cherry and oak trunks with wind rows behind them

Wind rows make an excellent habitat for birds and bugs. After a few years, they rot down giving a place  to live for fungi and other micro-organisms who are vital members of the woodland family.

 

Yesterday – Processing charcoal in parallel with coppicing

Steaming off water and gases

Leaving 99 per cent carbon sequestered

The day starts by lighting the kindling and layering the wood in the oil drum, while trying to dodge the smoke.

When it is going properly, the process can be left for approximately four hours, enabling coppicing to going on in parallel with the charcoal burning. Indeed, the trees are also always growing in parallel with our activities.

When the wood is cooked, the fire is starved of oxygen by kicking out the ventilation bricks, and sealing the the top with stand.

Not only is charcoal the perfect smokeless fuel for cooking and heating, it is also wonderful soil conditioner.

We are a small doing small scale experiment adding charcoal fines (powder) to the little veg patch.

For other key info on charcoal, see http://openintelligence.amplify.com/?s=charcoal

 

The Coppicers

Jan the Destroyer

First a great mess is made …

Andrew the Spar maker

Then it has to be tidied up, and the cuttings graded into Yurt poles, charcoal wood and hazel gads for thatching spars.

All the cutting must traditionally be completed by March 21 (“ladies day”), so that nesting is not disturbed and the trees are not damaged by being cut down when the sap is rising.

Andrew will be back here in five years time to harvest the hazel with which to make his spars.

It’s all about working with natural cycles

 

Letting in the light

This year's Coupe: Half full or half empty?

A day of cutting down the birch and hazel with the chainsaw exposed beautiful, straight young oaks, ash, cherry and hornbeam which had been planted 20 years earlier by the previous owner.

Not only will the big trees grow faster to form a timber canopy, but the understory of  the hazel will grow back straighter  and more vigourously,  perfect for making thatching spars and Yurt poles.

 

Still, there’s a lot to be getting on with

Next Year’s Coppice (for cutting)

Last Year’s Coppice (for charcoal burning)

When coppicing, the more a tree is chopped down the stronger its “stool”, and the more vigorous its regrowth becomes. The general practice is to re-coppice every five to nine years depending on what the wood is to be used for e.g. five for thatching spars and nine for Yurt poles.

 

Then there’s just being there

Ancient Lightening-Split Oak