I arrived yesterday to a beautiful sunny morning at the woods. As you can see, it is at it’s peak in terms of lush, fresh colour. In another few weeks the canopy will thicken and the colour of the leaves deepen and it will be a much darker place. I had a few jobs to do but the main one was to plant four small oak saplings that I grew at home from acorns. Unfortunately the growing leads have all been nipped out by some small animal and caused the trees to bush out. Not what you want for nice straight timber but I still wanted to plant them. Perhaps when they have grown substantially they could be coppiced and used for projects or firewood. The brambles and nettles are running riot and the area I chose for the trees needed clearing. On a small scale area it is best to hand pull as much as you can and the earth was soft enough from the rain that it was relatively easy. Still hot and hard work though. The area looks very small in the photo and in actuality is about nine square metres. It probably took about an hour of steady work and pricks and stings.
There are signs in the nearby grass that roe deer are laying low there and I am sure they would find the new growth tasty, so I netted them off. I had planted a birch tree a few weeks ago so included that in the enclosure.
The son of one of my neighbours was camping in their plot with some friends. He came over to say hello and invited me to meet his friends and have a look at the work his father has been doing. Later my immediate neighbours arrived too and as I was leaving, I met someone who had bought a plot a year ago. The company of good, like-minded people is therapy for me.
I am aware that much of the work I had planned to do in the past, has not been done and that time moves fast for me these days. Among those are – building a new composting toilet, extending the log store and setting up the pole lathe and blacksmith forge. I would like to get the last two done this year at least. I am considering staying over for a few nights to crack on with them. The key to it is first, to plan and make sure I have the materials. I must try harder!
On my walkabout I spotted some little heads poking out of a nest box. The lighting was poor but I managed to get some shots of them, they are blue tits. There seemed to be one dominant one that kept poking it’s open beak out of the hole, it amused me.
I will leave you with a few more photos of this lovely day at the woods
Diary of a man and his woodland 
June 3, 2024 at 2:40 pm
Most trees growing in forests, even very shade-tolerant species like beech, will lose their lower branches and form a relatively straight trunk suitable for lumber as they grow upwards rather than outwards in search of light. Thus, unless your oaks are growing in a very bright and sunny spot, they will probably develop a nice form on their own provided they are protected from over-populated herbivores (e. g., deer). A nice form can be imposed on trees growing in the open by pruning, though this becomes more difficult with increasing tree height. I cannot speak with any authority on European oaks, but with North American species, one major limiting factor is not too much light, but rather too little. None of our many oaks do well under heavy shade. I wish yours luck.
I only recently discovered your blog and am looking forward to future posts.
A fellow Woodlander
June 3, 2024 at 3:06 pm
Thankyou that is helpful