Turning out nice

We’ve had a busy and productive March so far; including a weekend spent green woodworking in Easingwold on a course run by York Wood Crafts.

Gareth made a very impressive pole lathe and Maria made a three-legged stool using the shave-horse and froe.  We’re hoping to put the pole lathe to good use by turning some lovely new green wood craft products for our good friend Chirpy.  Watch this space! 

We’ve also been busy weaving and made some miniature baskets especially for kiddie’s Easter egg hunts which will shortly be on sale at Chirpy.

The ecology season will soon be back in full swing and so we'll be fitting our wood crafting in between newt surveys.  We're looking forward to getting out and about herptile hunting again!

Thats a rack

It was our last day in the woods at Sprotbrough today, for this winter anyway. We again joined the Don Gorge Conservation Volunteers for a day of tidying up in the coupe. The chaps made an excellent job with the brash fence around the boundary as well as tending to the fire, whilst we concentrated on stacking logs and racking up the smaller roundwood:

We intend to return to the woods later in the summer with a small kiln to turn this rack into BBQ charcoal.

The coupe is looking great after everyone's hard work. Bluebells and dog's mercury are already poking through. Who knows what will spring up as the light reaches this part of the woodland floor after years in the shadow of the trees we've now coppiced? We look forward to visiting later in the spring to find out!

Sap rising!

The past week has seen us getting seriously stuck into some coppicing at Sprotbrough, a SSSI YWT nature reserve near Doncaster. We've certainly put our newly acquired chainsaw skills to work!





"Wildlife treat of the week" was the sight of 3 buzzard soaring on the thermal above our brash bonfire!

We've only got one more day coppicing this season, before the breeding birds get into full swing. The sight of sap pouring from the stumps of our cut sycamores reminding us that spring is just around the corner!