Cherry v hazel, “holy” flint and a fallen sentinel.

The featured picture shows a wild cherry tree that has fallen over and landed on top of an existing hazel. I don’t know when the wild cherry actually fell over but it is likely to have been say 10 years ago as the hazel tree has responded by setting root where it has been pinned to the ground by the cherry.

Although the cherry has been down for a while I am hoping that it may well be in good enough condition to be milled into planks and live on in a piece of furniture maybe.

Here are the “before” and “after” shots of the initial clear up. I will go back and coppice the hazel on the next visit.

It is amazing how a hazel uses every opportunity to survive. If hit and partially uprooted by another huge tree many trees would give up the ghost and die. But the hazel adapts and grows into whatever situation is created and becomes stronger as a result having put down new roots and in effect regenerated into additional potentially separate plants.

One aspect of cutting into the area around roots and fallen trees lying on the or near the ground is the risk of hitting a flint with the saw. There is no surer or quicker way to blunt a chain saw blade than to run it for a few seconds on a flint! No other option than to sharpen the blade as without an edge it simply tries to rub its way through the tree.

The flint above appeared from amongst the root system of the cherry and is a curious item in that it has a hole in its centre. Not sure how this would have been formed but it looks perfect even down to appearing to have a countersunk edge to the hole.

Standing dead wood is a very positive aspect of any woodland providing suitable habitat for numerous species of insects and in turn a source of food for the birds. There are a series of beech trees in Pops Wood that have died over the last decade or so but have been happily stood there sentinel like, becoming bleached in the weather. Sadly one of these standing dead trees came down over Christmas. However when you look at the base of the tree it appears that it was simply balanced there anyway as the roots are completely rotted away.