Winter continues and so does the work

It's past the middle of February. The pruners have been hard at work and the results are impressive. There is a lot of wood lying around waiting to be dragged out and disposed of!






On the lower bloc at least two thirds of the trees
have been cut back to singles stem

 

While on the upper bloc it is a similar story.     

A bonfire is welcome on a cold day,

and a pile of brambles adds crackle!

Not all the prunings are burnt however and this structure will provide a home for bugs and beetles.

we have been lucky with the weather and most working days have been fine.  But at the beginning of February some serious snow arrived and work had to be called off.

At the same time  as the snow arrived the catkins were opening up and letting their pollen float on the wind....

No sign as yet of the females, the little red tassels which produce the nuts.  It is always surprising that the two, male and female, do not usually coincide.  There is some debate as to whether cobnuts are self-fertile or if they are dependent on the wild hazels in the hedgerows to pollinate the female flowers.  We will not know until the summer whether this is going to be a good year for cobnuts.