PATH EDGING

 

Friends of Filnore Woods Volunteers set about path repairs last Sunday, in the Valley Woodland, near posts 9 and 10.  Derek is also sawing down a dead elder by the path.

Poles have to be fixed on the downhill side to prevent erosion of the path.  Both the poles and the pegs to hold them in place are made from wood harvested on site.  The pegs are nailed into the poles to hold them in place.  Here are Jim and Peter at work.  Note lump hammer in Jim's hand and Silky saw in red transport device.

The path is then built up with woodchip, when we can get enough.

Derek, Andy and Eric with, respectively, lump hammer, drill and refreshment.  

Half a dozen sharpened pegs on the floor.

Photos by Alan, who was also the man in charge.

WINTER TREES 5: HAZEL

Hazel is more of a shrub than a tree as it produces lots of stems from the one root.  This makes it a very useful coppice plant providing a load of poles if cut regularly.  

It is also one of the ways of identifying hazel.

But at this time of year the numerous male catkins are clear identifiers, whether silhouetted against the sky or shining golden in the sun against a darker background.

  

Alders also have catkins early in the year but usually with last year's little conelets still hanging on.  And alders are usually recognisable by the way they grow on just one main stem.

 

 

WINTER TREES 4: BLACKTHORN

2nd January was sunny here.  Blackthorn twigs against a blue sky look very prickly.  The side shoots with the thorns at the end stick out more or less at right angles, with flower buds waiting to hatch.

In March blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)is covered in white blossom on bare twigs before the leaves come out - an excellent early supply of pollen and nectar for insects.  It is easy to confuse blackthorn with all the various wild plums, myrobalan, cherry plum, bullace etc (Prunus cerasifera) but these blossom two to four weeks earlier, the leaves coming out with the flowers, on green twigs.

Blackthorn is best known for its very tart fruits, the sloes - see my post of 28th September 2022.  But what I remember most about it are the thorns.  It's habit of suckering and spreading into a thicket, ideal for small birds to nest in, makes it an excellent plant for hedges.   BUT when you come to trim or lay a blackthorn hedge the thorns will penetrate the toughest of gloves.

As well as sheltering birds, the leaves are essential food for the caterpillars of two of our threatened butterfly species, the black and the brown hairstreaks, and over 200 other invertebrates feed on the leaves, so I will forgive its prickly nature.

Blackthorn wood is excellent firewood.  Although it is usually a shrubby bush, it can grow into a tree about 5m tall with black bark - hence the name.  Its black bark looks well on walking sticks, Irish shillelaghs and magic wands.

JAY

These attractive members of the crow family are rather secretive but you may hear them scolding each other like so many Donald Ducks.  Their fluorescent blue wing feathers or even whole wings were at one time used to decorate fashionable ladies' hats !!!

  They are responsible for planting many oak trees in grassland.  They store the acorns in underground caches in autumn and those surplus to requirements have a good chance of growing into oaks.  

 

VIEW OF OLDBURY CHURCH

A wintery view of Oldbury Church from the viewpoint at Filnore Woods, with the River Severn and the Forest of Dean behind.

 

RUSTYBACK FERN

Of the three miniature ferns that grow on walls rustyback is the most tolerant and so the commonest.

It often grows on sunny walls whereas Maidenhair Spleenwort (see post for October 29th) and Wall Rue seem to prefer shady spots.  

It gets its name from the rust coloured hairs on the underside of the fronds.

 

HOLLY BERRIES

Nothing is so Christmassy as holly.

If only the birds would leave the berries until January.

This was what they looked like on 4th November.  

By now they have nearly all been gobbled.