From Late November onwards we were in the grip of a very cold period that was ideal weather for thinning out the woodlands. Work began in Cabin Wood,

removing bent pines and any that were starting to affect the growth of surrounding oaks. We also took the opportunity to lop pine branches. All the brash was dragged to the woodland entrance and chipped with the noisy machine. Most of this work was undertaken by the Tuesday Group of adults with learning difficulties.

Joe, Michael,Billy and Jonathan clearing pines     In early December we moved into Aughton Cliffs Wood and repeated the process, cutting out selected pine trees by hand and dragging or carrying the trunks and branches to central piles for processing. There were a few days when the weather was decidedly ‘damp’ but we were under pressure to complete the thinning work before the nesting season started in March.

It became clear that we were not going to complete the task in time without the assistance of a chainsaw. This cut the trees down and lopped all the side branches, leaving the rest of the team to drag the logs straight into a trailer and the branches into         Another log leaves the wood led by Ree

piles in the rides ready for chipping. As weather permitted, we continued through Willow Bank Wood, Bluebell Wood and North Wood and completed the work just in time.  

The trailer loads of logs were taken to a stockpile at the poly tunnel, where on wet days we would cut the trunks up into firewood. The wood is being left under cover to dry out and will be ready to sell as firewood in the autumn.

The large piles of branches were chipped into a trailer and taken to the 

The team with tree trunks loaded in North Wood     barn. If left in heaps, the wood chip would start to compost so many hours were then spent filling net bags so the chip could breath easily and dissipate any heat.

Heavy snow fell overnight on the 17^th December. This made getting round the bird feeders much more time consuming, particularly as the snow turned to ice. However, this was just the time when wildlife is under most pressure and we

 made sure all the feeders were kept filled. This meant wading through snow up to 45cm deep and scraping off the bird tables that got heavily coated with ice. As usual, our tame robin was

desperate for us to get the food out and alighted on the bird table as we were cleaning it!

The maintenance and repair crew of Jim and         Steve, Nick and John on John ended up with some major repairs to our               feeder patrol    

tipper trailer in December. Whilst tipping out some soil, the floor covering board slid out and broke, revealing a rotten main floor and crossbeams. The whole floor assembly had to be replaced. This was a major task involving refurbishment of the metal framing, replacing the wooden flooring and then covering with new metal protective sheeting. This was a time consuming job but at least meant working under cover though in an unheated barn.

When the snow melted our thoughts turned to carrying on with the hedgelaying in Triangle Wood. We were able to put in a few days when the

weather was fine, as in the image here but for

nearly two months each task day either rained or had hard frost overnight or was forecast. We were rapidly running out of time to complete the length of

Caitlin, Luke, Matt and Chris finish hedgelaying     of hedge before the sap started rising and birds would be nesting in the wood. Progress was slow with the hand tools. Finally, the chainsaw was brought out at the beginning of March and the last 20 metres of hedge was completed in an afternoon. The image shows the hedge stretching off into the distance.

Even in its dormant state, the hedgelaying has made a dramatic difference to the character of Triangle wood. It has opened it up, letting light flood into the west facing side. We hope this will encourage a more diverse ground flora. We will be monitoring the hedge closely over the next few months and look forward to it bursting into leaf and starting to provide a good dense nesting habitat.

Whilst some of us were longing for some fine dry weather, Derek continued on the cabin interior refurbishment. A new main sliding door was fitted and the porch area completed. Then a major interior painting and decorating programme began. The walls, ceiling, window frames, skirting boards and doorframes have been treated, making a great difference to the place.

This year we are also growing vegetables and salad crops in a small way. Betty and Matthew have been busy planning and preparing the ground, with a little help from others and have sown a variety of vegetables. They will be offered to volunteers and members at competitive rates.

It has been a long hard winter and as the days grow longer, we are looking forward to a pleasant spring and early summer. We are looking forward to planting the rest of the heathland and planting wildflowers in the meadows whilst having our lunches and afternoon teas outside.