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...

The entrance to Bel’s Wood has a small clearing for a few cars and a gate to the country lane. I arrive and leave from this point on each visit. Right from the beginning I admired this mature Silver Birch overlooking the entrance. It always felt like a welcome and a farewell; grand but standing back; beautiful, tall and confident. It took a while but after a visit from some relatives to the wood I associated the tree with Marion and so I now call this tree The Marion Tree. I have photographed and taken videos of The Marion Tree in all seasons and thought I would collate them here as they begin to tell the story of Bel’s Wood and the work I have done there with help over the last 5 years. I am pleased to find this photo which was taken the day I visited the wood for the first time in August 2020 when it was on the market. The gate was not in place at this point and I was fighting my way through the bracken to try and reach the perimeter to get a sense of the whole plot. Two years la...