wood for the taking

Today we went to the local Normanby Hall Country park, as they are still cutting down trees from the strong winds a few weeks back. It was a treat for me as there is loads of free wood going, great if you have a log fire or a pole lathe and an art degree. We helped ourselves to as many logs as we could carry beech and oak, but also aquired some beautiful Wellingtonia pine slices from the trunk of the tree about 2 feet across. I thought I might try and make tables out of them but I’ll see after I’ve scratched my beard for a while. The best part about the pine is that in the middle it’s almost bright pink possibly due to the effects of rotting but I’m no expert.

We also watched a huge tree being cut down, I was in my element, so much so I forgot to take a photo. The little lad loved it too. It’s another thing that I have never seen before, so simple but it made my day.

I had a chat with the head Ranger at the park and was sad but not surprised to find that most of the wood is just burned. Some gets sold to local wood yards but they only want it if it is right next to the road and cut up into lengths. As the park does not have the facilities this rarely happens. They cut up as much as they can and people are invited to collect it but this only applys to the large trunks which need to be removed, much of the smaller branches are still burned. My permaculture brain was working overtime trying to think of a better solution but it was money and time against them. The Ranger said she felt the same but there was not alot she could do.

The artist in me would love to work there turning the huge trunks into sculptures, like one of my heros David Nash but it’s not an option they have to be removed as soon as possible, this is a council run park. I also wonder whether this type of storm will be on the increase in the years to come but only time will tell.

Here is a tree goblin that was seen just after the tree was felled it muttered something about ice cream and ran off.