Wednesday 3 April 2013

First woodland BBQ of 2013

On Easter Monday we actually had our first BBQ in the woods, with our friends Jon and Louise visiting with their girls!

DSC_6088 BBQ in the woods

Yes, it was cold, but OK while the sun was out, and we had a fire burning as well... We also had various activities going on - Tracy and I had spent the morning moving logs on the arbor trolley:
DSC_6068 moving logs on a stein arbor trolley

DSC_6071 moving logs on a stein arbor trolley

The logs were loaded into the cutting racks and strapped down:
DSC_6074 logs

Tracy then got busy with the camera and got some good shots! First, adjusting the chain tension on the chainsaw:
DSC_6075 adjusting the chainsaw

Then cutting up the logs:
DSC_6077 chainsawing logs

DSC_6078 chainsawing logs

DSC_6081 chainsawing logs

As you can see, she didn't let a few saw chips get in her way!

There was some hand-sawing as well, with Megan and Mia getting involved:
DSC_6093 Sawing a log

They were helping Jon cut a piece off a seasoned birch log, that we then proceeded to make into a mallet. Here's Jon using a side axe to start trimming the handle down:
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You can see Jon's finished mallet here. There'll be a video on how to make a mallet coming shortly...

We also had a wander round the woods to look for signs of Spring. First up is some swelling buds on our fruit trees - maybe this year it won't rain continuously while the blossom is there, so the bees can actually get out and pollinate...
DSC_6062

Then over in my friend Alex's wood, which faces closer to south than ours, we saw our first Wood Anemones of the year!
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The whole woodland floor over there is looking much greener with the bluebells coming up...
DSC_6096 Woodland stream in Spring

DSC_6097 Woodland in Spring

Looking forward to a full show of Wood Anemones soon!

Mike

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