 |
| My feet, and a load of plants, resting. |
Today we were up above Slaithwaite, beginning some hedge planting.
We were; myself, Jess, Tanya, Stephen K., Stephen M., Steve, Hap, Dave, Geoff, Philip, Michael, Heidi, and Matthew. Plus the owner and two colleagues.
We planted approx. 300 Hawthorn, 100 Blackthorn, 10 Hazel, 10 Crab Apple, 10 Field Maple and 10 Dog Rose.
From now til Christmas it'll be Christmas tunes!
 |
| Kayleigh and Tanya |
This morning we were in the woods alongside Marsden golf course this morning. Stephen, Dave, Philip, Kayleigh and Tanya were practising with the chainsaws and winch, thinning some small nurse species larch, and felling some leaning and falling over trees. I was across the other side of the clough moving some tree stakes to where they will be needed when we replant some of the wildfire areas.
All the woodland management team were appropriately dressed, to the max.
 |
| Dave applying tension. |
Afterwards there was the pre-season meeting, and we were joined by Richard, Cath, John, Hap and Jess.
 |
| Jess sees through us. |
A day of a few parts. Geoff, Stephen, Dave, Hap, Kayleigh, Jess, Tanya and Peter were at the nursery cross cutting and splitting logs.
I met up with Philip and Duncan to go visit a prospective new site.
Then I went up to Scammonden to do a soil depth survey for a planned planting area (required by our patrons, so that they can safely rule out the presence of deep peat).
 |
| Peter and Geoff admire their own work. |
https://youtu.be/7YvAYIJSSZY
A small crew chopped up wood for wood fuel this morning at the nursery: Dave split some of the big stuff with the hydraulic splitter, Peter, Geoff and Jess chopped logs and Michael stacked them in the wood store. The logs will be seasoned and ready for sale in six months or so. The dense and sinewy cherry proved especially difficult to split and chop, but we three-quarters filled an empty bay by the end. It rained steadily most of the morning but was not unpleasant, though our departure time coincided with some heavier stuff, so was prescient.