Willowmena - entering a new phase

 Right from when I first visited the wood I was taken by the elegant profile of this tree.

I took so many photos and since it was autumn I didn't know what species it was. There were two large trees with the same lovely arching canopy side by side. There are some lovely older trees at Bel's Wood. There are 4 big oaks, 6 wild cherries and some very mature hazels.

In spring I realised that these trees were Goat Willows. The pussy willow fed the queen bumblebees as they emerged from their hibernation in late February. The abundance of flowers provides pollen and nectar early in the season so that the queens can establish their nests and start the process of producing the next year's bumblebees. Once she has fed herself and collected pollen to create her nest and nectar to sustain her, she will remain under ground for the rest of the year and will die at the end of the summer leaving new queens to take her place the following year.

I don't name all of the trees at Bel's Wood but those that have a distinctive profile and give character to an area acquire names. Willowmena for for obvious reasons! It took me a while to land on a consistent spelling.

My attraction to Willowmena was not just her elegant profile but that I could sit in her. By shuffling up her trunk it was possible to lie back and gaze into the canopy or spy on the road and land from an unusual and secret position. I had forgotten how lovely it is to sit in a tree until I went to the tree I used to climb as a child (the Smoky Tree) one day when visiting my parents' gravestone a couple of years ago. I decided then that I wanted to climb a tree every year and have done that since. Having access to Bel's Wood makes that easier although I don't trust the branches of the oak trees! Once in place and having adjusted to the height, I would often wonder whether this be so engaging. By letting my eyes soften and allowing the sounds & smells to take over, the sensation of lying back on Willowmena's trunk never failed to carry me away. I have taken friends in need of a quiet moment there to zone out and she has never disappointed. I think during Covid that was the closest to being held that I experienced.

Her partner tree (which always felt like her brother but didn't acquire a name) was blown down in Storm Arwen in 2021. The tree was made up of number of large separate trunks growing together.  They separated and fell in the storm.

The day after Storm Arwen

Spring and more large trunks have come down

I had the logs cleared away. I usually leave fallen trees to rot into the ground but these trunks were huge and covered a large proportion of the planned planting area. When the deer fence was erected the workmen cleared the trunks and made a large pile of logs which has created interesting habitats.

The final trunk came down in a storm a few years ago. Happily this trunk missed the newly planted saplings and will be providing excellent nutrient for the trees that follow on.

The area where the tree fell is now well established with the fallen tree to the left of the video

Willowmena has been showing signs of her age and she was no 1 on my list of trees likely to come down in the next big storm. Branches have come down and snapped and this summer the three trunks growing together have parted company. Fungus is growing inside the centre of the tree. I knew it was only a matter of time until she fell.

Storm Boelo has given her the final push.

She has missed the planted saplings as well which is a relief. It is also pleasing to see the buds for next year's pussy willow are well formed and there may be enough life in one of the trunks to allow those to come to fruition next spring.

Losing a tree is always worth marking. I have learned that it is part of the life cycle and not to be mourned. The project at Bel's Wood is to establish a woodland that can replicate itself. When these large trees come down it is a reminder of how important it has been to exclude deer so that saplings self seed and to have planted to kick start the process. I have put about 200 willow saplings in the ground (Goat and Ear) and have spied some self seed in the damp areas.

It will be many years before they produce as much food for insects and mature habitats for wildlife as Willowmena and her brother but they are establishing well. There are some middle age willows which will carry the load in the meanwhile and hopefully Willowmena will continue to contribute for a few more years above ground and for many more years enhancing the soil.