Bel's Wood

I have found moving  saplings to be a meditative task. It cannot be rushed. I staked, protected and marked the self seeded saplings in autumn and need to find those again amongst the dead bracken, thriving brambles and gorse. I started in January knowing I had 39 saplings to find with plenty of time until the trees come out of dormancy in spring. I chose a gorgeous sunny day with no wind, bird song and the sound of birds flitting about filled the air - Robin, Blue tits and Wren and took my time wanting to learn how to tackle this new task. A Raven honked over head as I went on my hunt for the red marked stakes. Two red stripes signifies that this is an oak; one stripe anything else  as I am clear where I want the oaks to go Oaks bury their roots deep in the ground and grow directly downwards. The length of the tap root is longer than shoot showing above ground. Working patiently through the loam, the hard and rocky layer and into the clay I lifted the first one. The tap root...

  It’s been 4 years since the land constituting Bel’s Wood was enclosed and grazing ceased. The deer fence was erected 3 years ago the wood became fully deer proof just over a year ago.  The land is visibly recovering with self seeded saplings appearing on the woodland floor and some of the mature trees are changing now they are not being continually grazed. New saplings are appearing - the most common are Blackthorn and Birch I’m not protecting the Blackthorn as it is so common and have their own thorns but I have moved some well established Birch into areas where some bought in saplings planted last year didn’t take and I am protecting those from smaller mammals such as hares and voles with spirals. I am particularly pleased to see these self seeded Ash saplings and I have left them where they are hoping that they estalish themselves and are Ash Dieback free. I found about a dozen of these tiddlers under a deep Hawthorn and Hazel canopy and realise these are Ash too. They ...

With so much tall grass and bracken triggering the cameras I have been placing them up trees recently to see what is happening in the canopy. I have picked up a good selection of secret goings on over the last month or two including some lovely Woodpecker, Jay and Owl activity. The downside of watching the activity in branches is the number of grey squirrels running up and down. It looks like the numbers are up this year and I am talking to neighbours about managing the numbers as the South Lakes grey population migrate north and threaten one of the last remaining populations of Red Squirrels. They will also pose a threat to the newly planted trees as they become more established as they will be vulnerable to damage to the bark. The ratio on the cameras is about 80% squirrel to 20% something else. Here I am including the ‘something else’.  NB the temperature reported on this camera has always been out by about 8ºc! One of the most common birds I see and hear at the wood is the blue...

 I have been taking standard photographs across the wood over the last 4 years. I am not always consistent but since Ceclia the Sessile Oak is a favourite spot to visit I have a good selection showing the different seasons and changes on the land. My friend took this photo of me when I have just taken responsibility for the land. I was measuring her girth to estimate her age. But yes I am a tree hugger now! The Woodland Trust publish this Ready Reckoner for aging oaks. It was developed in South East England so it is likely that it underestimates the age of a tree grown in the Cumbria. This table would say she is about 150 years old. I suspect 200 years is more likely as she is dropping branches like a mature oak tree does. I named her as she is a prominent tree and therefore useful for navigation. At the beginning I used to get disorientated in the wood and I would say to myself - oh yes I recognise that big old oak and there is another one etc. So giving individual trees names hel...