Start of 2015-16 coppicing

This year we're coppicing an area over in Sweep Wood, adjacent to the foot path:

The other side of it is an area we coppiced two years ago, which is regrowing nicely now:

Here's a photo from before I started:

And here's one from yesterday, after putting in a bit over a day's work - the first stack of split and striped timber for firewood is over half full already!

Here's a couple of other views of the area coppiced so far. Progress sometimes seems slow, but as I'm processing the timber by splitting or striping it as I go along, I'm saving myself some work further down the line.

I've also coppiced the trees along the side of the pond again, partly because I needed to land a larger chestnut tree there, but also because the lack of light in the pond meant there wasn't much growing it in. These trees were last coppiced in winter 2007/2008, so it's not surprising they'd shaded the pond - I might not leave them so long next time!

Mike