TIMBER !

       Trees die for many reasons including old age. They also get attacked by disease, insects and fungal infections and, if weakened, really dry weather can tip them over the edge. This Scots Pine had been losing its needles over couple of years and was clearly on the way out for whatever reason. The time had come to fell it before it came down on its own accord and caused damage. Being in an area near to our camp site meant it needed attention before the winter winds and certainly before it hurt anyone. Normally I might tackle a tree like this myself but being located next to others and near our woodland hut meant getting it to fall in the right direction and this needed more specialist skill than I had. If a tree is cut, falls into other trees nearby and gets "hung up" it can cause real problems getting it down to the ground. It was a job that called for our expert, Ashley. He decided that the best approach was to climb the tree and take off the dead branches at its crown, then shorten it a little so when felled it would avoid snagging the branches of the neighbouring oak tree. Working at height like this requires both nerves and expertise. 

         Once cleared of its dead branches the pine was felled, and then cut into log sized rounds, ready to be used as fire wood. Counting the rings showed that it had been planted in the 1970s like all of the pines around it, once seen as a cash crop but never harvested. On the ground below there are several pine saplings and perhaps one day one will grow strong enough to fill the gap now made.

The dead pine, so close to its healthy neighbours

the first stage

Tackling the dead branches that otherwise would snag in surrounding trees

The top most branches cut away

just the trunk remained

on the ground

........meanwhile the first fungi and colours of Autumn