Not a Quick Fix

We live in a culture where the immediate is if not all, then nearly so. Bands are world famous for two records, then join Lord Lucan. Politicians promise instant cures to complex problems clearly beyond them. Football managers cannot afford three losses in a row. It's good to take a step back and think about a year and more hence.

Yes, it's about wood chopping again. We had some major tree surgery done, and the wood chopped into manageable bits for me to split and stack (actually for my wife to stack in the main, she is far more careful than I). It took maybe six hours of work spread over several days, but we now have a store under cover, drying quietly for use in two years' time.There is enough for a whole winter, which is a pleasing thought, though the winter of 2015/16.

We can afford to wait that long as we dried a stock for use now two years back. There is more coming through for next year.

At 54 I rather like the idea of looking forward a couple of years. I'm at that age when it is far from a given that I will be here then - a good friend of similar age died this summer, no signs then a massive fatal heart attack. Maybe beneath the surface such actions anchoring one to the future are signs of confidence, or maybe of hope.

The care of the trees is an eco thing too. Two were lifted, the crowns now higher so more light can come through. Two had boughs removed to leave one healthy main trunk, again more light. And the big fir-tree that was shadowing our house and next door's (the tree oddly owned by both as it is in the hedge) has been lopped to bring daytime brightness to my study, which is both cheering and economic (no electric light on now as it would have been a month back). We hope the extra rays will help perk up our kitchen garden crops next year, especially the smaller fruit trees we have planted. And I hope that I will one day, preferably before my late seventies, see the walnut tree produce a sackful.

Death of the Ash

This post is not in any way meant to celebrate the forthcoming slaughter of the ash trees across the country as the dreaded die back fungus takes hold. The sad prospect of large numbers of trees being felled and then burned does prompt a question or two about what will happen to the wood. Does it have to be burned under controlled conditions? If so, what are they? Or will there be a sudden glut of ash firewood on the market? If the wood from trees felled to beat (some hope) the fungus does make it to market, will wood-burner makers see a sudden upsurge in business with prices for the fuel falling?

We have been given a portion of our neighbour's ash that came down recently, only fair as it came down on our nearly new shed. It is usable when green supposedly, though we intend other than with kindling to leave it  until next year's burning season. And it splits really easily, even huge slices across the bottom part of the trunk can be broken down with a few lusty blows of my somewhat blunt axe. Our greenhouse, empty at this time of year of plants, is currently full of netting sacks full of the wood in a variety of thicknesses, from chunks that will burn for an hour to kindling via firewood sticks, the hope being that the wood dries more quickly in there. It's an ill wind and all that.