I was out and about for a proper ‘scrat’ today, for the first time in ages, just Molly (the spaniel) and me.
I decided to take myself down towards the river, as We’ve not been down there, since June 17th and I was keen to see what I could forage in the way of materials.
I began; by collecting some good quality, thick (by UK standards) birch bark, from a long dead but still upright tree, I keep an eye on, away in the ‘thick’. The tree has played host to a family of woodpeckers every year, for the last 4 years that I know of, but the top 4 foot x 8” section (with their hole in it) had fallen off, probably in the recent gales, so I decided to harvest the bark from this bit on the ground.
Another, nearby ‘dead standing’ tree is host to some splendid polypores of about 8”-12” across, but these are too high to get at.
I never take bark from living trees, other than the very thin papery stuff, which peels off every year. I also don’t remove bark from dead standing trees either, preferring to wait till they drop, before harvesting the bark. I believe this allows the tree to stand for much longer, making it possible for the likes of woodpeckers etc to make a home in a high, safe location.
Anyway, I moved on, down toward the river and passed a long ago, toppled Ash:
It’s been in this location for at least 11 years and though the original upper bits are rotting now, the main stems are sprouting away merrily, every year:
When I looked a little closer, I found an added bonus:
In the form of ‘King Alfreds Cakes’ or ‘Cramp Balls’ These make superb tinder or rather, ember extenders and I gathered a conservative pocket full, for demonstration purposes, next year.
I carried on toward the river and checked out a few Hazels, that we coppiced last autumn;
The shoots are about 4-5 foot in length at the moment but only about pencil thick. Another couple of years will see them getting toward a useful size.
There are several other Hazels, we have coppiced over the last few years, which are ready for harvesting this year. As well as numerous others, of up to 3-4 inch diameter, which could do with coppicing too, if only to offer stick makers a decent free supply in the future!
There are a few ‘project’ ideas which I have in mind for the thicker Hazel, mainly involving splitting it down and making wicker or wattle fencing, but I’ll need a major hand getting that off the ground!.
You can get folk to come along and hack the stuff down, but then dragging it 2 miles, back to ‘base’ is a logistics problem requiring either a cart or a van!
I may yet see if I can get the Ranger interested and that way we would be able to get the use of the FC Transit pickup or LandRover.
Anyone interested in a bit of coppicing and fencing, next Feb/March? If so; just let me know, and I’ll ‘start the wheels a turning’
Anyway, we made it to the river but it was too high to let Molly go in, although she was mad keen to get amongst it.
We made our way home, a bit tired but happy to have been out for a proper scrat!
Cheers
R.B.
I decided to take myself down towards the river, as We’ve not been down there, since June 17th and I was keen to see what I could forage in the way of materials.
I began; by collecting some good quality, thick (by UK standards) birch bark, from a long dead but still upright tree, I keep an eye on, away in the ‘thick’. The tree has played host to a family of woodpeckers every year, for the last 4 years that I know of, but the top 4 foot x 8” section (with their hole in it) had fallen off, probably in the recent gales, so I decided to harvest the bark from this bit on the ground.
Another, nearby ‘dead standing’ tree is host to some splendid polypores of about 8”-12” across, but these are too high to get at.
I never take bark from living trees, other than the very thin papery stuff, which peels off every year. I also don’t remove bark from dead standing trees either, preferring to wait till they drop, before harvesting the bark. I believe this allows the tree to stand for much longer, making it possible for the likes of woodpeckers etc to make a home in a high, safe location.
Anyway, I moved on, down toward the river and passed a long ago, toppled Ash:
It’s been in this location for at least 11 years and though the original upper bits are rotting now, the main stems are sprouting away merrily, every year:
When I looked a little closer, I found an added bonus:
In the form of ‘King Alfreds Cakes’ or ‘Cramp Balls’ These make superb tinder or rather, ember extenders and I gathered a conservative pocket full, for demonstration purposes, next year.
I carried on toward the river and checked out a few Hazels, that we coppiced last autumn;
The shoots are about 4-5 foot in length at the moment but only about pencil thick. Another couple of years will see them getting toward a useful size.
There are several other Hazels, we have coppiced over the last few years, which are ready for harvesting this year. As well as numerous others, of up to 3-4 inch diameter, which could do with coppicing too, if only to offer stick makers a decent free supply in the future!
There are a few ‘project’ ideas which I have in mind for the thicker Hazel, mainly involving splitting it down and making wicker or wattle fencing, but I’ll need a major hand getting that off the ground!.
You can get folk to come along and hack the stuff down, but then dragging it 2 miles, back to ‘base’ is a logistics problem requiring either a cart or a van!
I may yet see if I can get the Ranger interested and that way we would be able to get the use of the FC Transit pickup or LandRover.
Anyone interested in a bit of coppicing and fencing, next Feb/March? If so; just let me know, and I’ll ‘start the wheels a turning’
Anyway, we made it to the river but it was too high to let Molly go in, although she was mad keen to get amongst it.
We made our way home, a bit tired but happy to have been out for a proper scrat!
Cheers
R.B.
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the better and easier the job will be. 
