There is a strip of woodland between the lane down to the Cabin Woods and the home field, where the cattle are at the moment. We planted it about 7 years ago for shelter and shade and to link the woods behind the house with the main woodland areas that we planted about ten years ago when we bought the farm.
Narrow strips of woodland don’t generate enough shade to keep the brambles down and the fence along the lane has become overgrown with a big strong crop of them. I’m constantly having to cut them back to allow tractors and my jeep to get down the lane. Their desire is to knit up the bare ground and turn it back into forest.
Brambles eating up the fence.
I decided to go in and do a bit of clearing in order to keep the brambles at bay and also to prune up some of the trees. I wanted to go at a slow pace and enjoy the work. Tough gloves, thorn proof jacket and jeans, loppers, secateurs and a fold up pruning saw. I left the slash hook behind in the shed, as there is a chance at this time of the year that there still might be a nest in use.
Within minutes I was noticed by the most observant of the bullocks.
Our cattle are pets. Three bullocks and three cows. They keep the fields as fields. They provide wonderful dung for the garden. And we just love these wonderful big gentle creatures being here. One of their secret wishes is that the fences that keep them out of the woodlands would magically disappear some day and they could walk in and have their fill of the lush leaves and sweet wild herbs, including brambles. So of course when I started pruning the trees these two spotted the action and guessed there might be something in it for them.
Two of the bullocks enjoying a feast of ash and oak leaves from the prunings.
In times past I’m told that people would collect ash leaves throughout the summer for cattle feed through the winter months. The cattle love them.
Our little black bullock licking up every leaf with his prickly long tongue.
Here on this farm I’m always trying to strike a balance between what we want to achieve, ie beautiful, productive woodlands that offer shelter for the fields and what the birds and creatures who live here want, ie lots of wildness for cover, homes and food. There was no hurry. I wanted to enjoy the work and going slowly like this means I hear any warning call from small birds whose nest I mightn’t have spotted during my preliminary search. Underneath the brambles I noticed the tracks of hares that lead to their little hiding places.
Hidden beneath the brambles, a cosy, leaf-lined sleeping place for the many hares that live on our farm.
Three Hours Later……..
The work I’ve done on this top section of the little strip of woods is quite drastic. I wanted to really blitz that corner and clear out the fence really well. I’ve tried to keep some cover for the birds by heaping the brambles in the centre and linking the piles up with the hare runs. The freshly pruned trees look so bare, but I know even by the end of this growing season the crowns will fill out, settle down and there will be new growth appearing on the floor again.
The fence reappears, trees pruned and brambles heaped up for bird cover.
I’m always astonished by the ever enduring desire of the earth to cover itself. And how efficiently and quickly it does it, when let. When I finished this corner of work I had to go to Carrick-on-Shannon to collect something. On the busy main street, with people walking everywhere, I noticed this familiar little plant growing between a stone wall and the harsh pavement:
Tomato plant sneaking in on a busy pavement in Carrick-on-Shannon
It’s little message of the earth’s abundance offered a cheery counterpoint to all the doom and gloom talk on the radio on the drive to Carrick.
Related posts:
- Helping Hands
- Forest Action Down on the Farm
- Love Your Brambles
- Thinning the Cabin Woods
- Dry Weather
Tags: Brambles, Jan's Farm Forest
