The Old Copse Ride is a mudbath now that the Autumn rain has started in earnest, and the tractor trundles up and down with its load of timber mashing it up as it goes. The target for finishing the job is the end of November. Then, once we've made some space in the brash we plan to start doing a bit of replanting from December to February; primarily oak, beech, cherry and hazel, most of which we've raised ourselves or transplanted from other, unsuitable areas of the wood , such as the Ride. We'll use our recycled, but still serviceable tree protectors to put off the deer. We're hoping that this will work . If it doesn't we'll have to consider some expensive deer fencing. Our target is to plant a minimum of 100 trees this season; protect any young trees that have so far escaped the deer; and buy in some if we can find a reputable local supplier.
The tractor with a special attachment is used to extract the felled logs. Faster than using a heavy horse.
Sarah gets a lesson in tractor and timber lifting management. Verdict: 'It's harder than it looks'
Here's some ghostly night time trailcam footage of a few of our much too large (50 + at the last
count) deer population. They are having a good old nosey around the pine felling area.
