Coppicing

One thing we have plenty of are trees. And now that we have the woodburner, trees mean warmth!

Pervious owners of Hillside have neglected the garden and allowed the numerous Hazel trees to run riot, resulting in very tall trees which provide too much shade. So while we're still waiting for building work to start it seemed a good time to do some woodland management.

Hazels thrive when cut right back to just above ground level, a term known as coppicing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppice, allowing the wood to be harvested for fuel or other uses. (Hazel also makes great walking sticks but I think it'll be a while before I have time for such hobbies!) So we've just coppiced some of the Hazels and plan to do the rest over the coming weeks, giving us a great stack of Hazel poles ready to be sawn into logs to start the woodstack for next winter. I think the squirrel will be unimpressed though.

Not burnt any Hazel on the stove yet but it is supposed to be a good fuel. http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs315001.pdf