h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It was hands-on in the wood again. Another day of lugging trunks, hefting logs, getting twanged by branches, tugs of war with long lengths of honeysuckle, untangling chainsaw chains, searching for ... well today two nuts off the chainsaw bar, bruising thumbs and looking at wood, lots of wood, lots of kinds of wood, lots of sizes of wood. Hazel is a much denser, finer wood than birch. Heavier too. Willow's dense but lighter than hazel. Alder is redder on the cut ends. Willow is the worst for throwing onto the brash pile, the spread of the branches catches on anything in reach. Ash grows beautifully straight. Leant up against the log pile there's now a nice collection of future fence posts. Young hazel is beautifully straight too. Leant up against the log pile there's now a nice collection of future bean poles and hurdle uprights.

Next year's leaf buds are already on the ash and the willow, black and light green respectively. The oaks are still hanging onto this year's leaves. Birches have a scattering of yellow leaves left too, but on the whole the wood is now a forest of trunks and the little hollies are visible again. So is the setting sun, glowing red through the trunks at four o-clock. Getting home after sunset, the chickens had gone to roost but came out looking for supper when they heard the latch on the gate. Just one egg to collect, the days are getting too short for eggs.

oooOOOooOooo cool

It was a work day today - office work. Got day to day stuff done, bank reconciliations, supplier payments, sorted out questions for job interviews on Thursday, met with the bank relationship manager, discussed bank charges, security cash collections, how donations are holding up and deposit account interest. We didn't discuss what banks have done to the economy. Then I read an email relating to our current reorganising that made me angrier than I've been in five years. Maybe it was mere thoughtlessness, I will find out on Friday.

On Sunday we were in the wood all day, spending it very much as this day last year. The patch being coppiced this autumn is a bit different. It has sweet chestnut trees, whose leaves are glorious yellow, and rowans, a young elm (fantastic to find that) and mature holly. The elm should have a better chance to grow now it's taller than anything close around it. At the end of the day I stood in the back of the ranger waiting for S to hand logs for the stove over the deer fence and watched the sun dropping down through the birch tree and the oak canopy.

Getting home, the chickens had gone in but came out for their supper and there were three eggs.
Ancient woodland and the cycle of chickens and eggs endures. Office restructures, management agro, thoughtless emails are less than the leaves falling from the trees.

LL Waz, so glad you have the antidote of nature, fresh air and exercise to balance against the business stuff which sounds horribly boring to me

My silverbirch has lost its leaves, so have most of the street trees, but a huge oak on the railway line is still bright orange, but the slightest gust of wind sends leaves showering all over the place. A neighbours lawn can't be seen for orange leaves! Glad it isn't mine!


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