And breathe ( weekend 7th Sept)

Looking good

The weather over this week has been glorious, for a change, and once again we packed picnics and dedicated the weekend to work at  the woodland; this time armed with numerous sharp bladed tools to begin chopping the low hanging branches. 

view to magic corner, before chopping.

We have decided to make a start on the sycamore as these create the most shade over half of the meadow.  Throughout the week, whilst husband was at work, I spent several hours a day chopping the smaller branches from the trees.  Not only am I pleased to contribute to the physical labour the land requires but I found this very therapeutic work.  My experience of this type of work has, so far, been limited to the confines of our garden, where I have been known to unwittingly kill off previously healthy plants with my over-zealous 'pruning'.  Needless to say I was a little apprehensive as I didn't want to damage beyond repair this beautiful space.  As I tentatively began chopping the leaf ends off the branches it became obvious that this needn't be a concern; within a very short time the benefits became clear; I could almost hear the land sighing with relief as the sun began to shine through onto the previously shaded soil and I allowed the outline of the trees to dictate which branches should be removed.  By the end of the week I had chopped and sawn off all the branches that could be reached without using a ladder and was rather pleased with my handy work. (picture below)

As the week progressed I became more excited about the arrival of a chainsaw for the weekend. Naively, I thought the power tool would cut through the wood like a knife through butter.  My common sense soon got the better of me when I watched husband cutting through the first large branch.  It didn't look easy; infact it looked just as hard as using the handsaw but immensely more dangerous and I swiftly declined from using aforementioned powertool.  If I am to be honest, I found the noise and power from the machine slightly discomforting and it took great amounts of tenacity for me to remain on the same field as it, let alone pass it up and watch husband set to work, balanced precariously on a ladder, 6 foot up a tree.  This is not to say I wimped out entirely; I sensibly nominated myself in charge of the handsaw.

In these pictures I am trying to show how far the branches reach into the centre of the meadow.  The embankment is barely visible beyond them.

 

 I apologise for the mumble jumble of pics-Ive not figured out how to format them to fit; clicking on them doesn't work and so far I can only edit the first uploaded pictures- Any suggestions?