Willow Pollarding in the snow

Our  Willow Grove at Old Copse hadn't been pollarded (cut at around head height)  since we created it  (together with Milo and Martha) in January 2015,  so this winter we decided it was time to do it again. It was a particularly cold day, and shortly after we started, so did the snow. 

 

John, our forester, and Ana, from Mexico

    A clump of pollarded willow

Goat Willow grows very well in this part of the 'wet wood', the main wet wood nearby is full of very tall Alder trees which are closely associated with wet woodland (see Woodland Trust article). However some goat willows had started to grow tall and spindly and a couple had collapsed onto the ground for the deer to eat.  Old Copse was, and still is to an extent,  lacking in a range of tree age and height, having been completely untouched for many years. Regular pollarding, i.e. cutting  at shoulder height ,  gives trees strength and stability . It also  keeps the foliage out of reach of deer. 

We pollarded half of the Willow Grove this time, leaving the other 50%  until  next year, because the Emperor butterfly, which we are trying to attract, need goat willow leaves, their favourite food plant, to eat and lay their eggs on. Hatched larvae are well camouflaged with the midrib of willow leaves. The caterpillars overwinter in willow twig forks, then pupate in the Summer and are active at night.  

The beautiful Purple Emperor butterfly

As adults, purple emperor's main food sources are aphid honeydew and tree sap, though they also come to ground to feed on animal dung and carrion .During July, males congregate on particularly tall 'master trees' awaiting mates. Females either couple up with a male or swoop to the ground as a signal that they have already mated. 

Despite a decline in the 20th century, thought to have been caused by widespread   large-scale loss and fragmentation of ancient woodland  together with the removal and  'tidying-up' of areas of goat willow, which is usually considered  non-productive 'scrub', it seems the Purple Emperors may be expanding its range again,  even into suburban areas particularly in  South -central England which is still  their  prime territory . Knepp Castle has had enormous success in attracting Purple Emperors due to their rewilding programme, and that isn't far from Old Copse. They favour oak woodland, and though Old Copse has a fair number of oaks, with many regenerating naturally (and protected from deer)  there aren't that many tall ones in the vicinity of the Willow Grove, so we hope they might make use of the tall birches instead.  

Burning the Brash. No chance of setting the woodland floor on fire in the cold and wet

First time we've seen icicles at the cabin

A rare sight - snowing in the wood 

Wet woodland looks different regionally, like this carr with birch, alder and willow.

Credit: Alastair Hotchkiss / WTML

More snow!

Just when we thought we'd  missed the chance of snow this winter, there was a further wintry blast on Saturday night. Not nearly as much snow as in 2009 (see link in previous post) but better than nothing. Overcast and bitterly cold in the wood, it was warm and cosy for lunch in the cabin. Here's  a few pictures:

Herbie the Snowdog

Somewhat  disappointed to have missed the snow excitement while away abroad basking in  sunshine and warmth. Watching  storks attending to their shambolic nests , and  swifts and swallows gathering before they make their long journey back to an English Spring  was some compensation for missing this 'extreme weather event'   but it  would  have been great to see the log cabin in the snow.  It last snowed in the wood during the winter of 2010/11 and before that in 2009 and the cabin wasn't built until 2014 . Let's hope there won't be too many years before the next snowfall. So, sadly there are  no snowy Old Copse photos  - but  for all Herbie fans here he is having a fabulous time  at Ditchling Beacon. He seems to have enjoyed his first snow experience as much as he loves  visiting Old Copse.

December report

The big news this month was the heavy snowfall on the night of 18th/19th December. We set off the next day, by which time of course the snow had turned to ice and we got stuck in Slaugham and had to be pushed off the ice by kindly villagers. After a long detour around Sussex we eventually arrived via Grouse Road, silent, icebound and empty apart from a large dog fox loping along the verge. The wood was completely magical - full of deer tracks and a curious robin who somehow crept into every photo frame.

A couple of days later we took four children and three adults for a pre-Christmas bonfire and picnic in the snowy wood. Using some kindling brought from home we created a lovely small fire on the remains of a rhododendron and toasted marshmallows in temperatures just above freezing. We were back on Christmas day by which time most of the snow had gone, leaving everything bare and flattened. The inevitable ancient litter was exposed and we collected a dozen jam jars, several bottles and half an old lavvy from under the yew tree!