Roe harvest

The harvesting of Roe enclosures' Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) which began at the back end of last year is moving on at a pace. I reckon maybe 2/3rds of the trees are in the process of being removed in parts, the timber stacks on the sides of the tracks are piling up.

Preparing for extraction

This bridge over Linford Brook has been temporary strengthened in preparation for timber harvest and extraction from the surrounding Milkham enclosure. There's a lot of forestry activity around the enclosures at the moment, mostly the thinning of mature Douglas stands. Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) timber is of high quality and much sought after and valued by carpenters for a wide range of uses. 

Cone resin

Of late I've seen several of the forests' Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) cones oozing sticky fragrant resin, not just the cones either, their needle like leaves too. As well as being a highly prized and versatile timber with wide ranging use, and its needles making a renowned healing tea, the resin of the Douglas can also be used as an antiseptic to treat wounds, chewed as a gum, or used to treat coughs, colds and sore throats. I just love the smell of it. 

Fir Cone

 

We're more used to seeing coniferous cones in their final dry brown form littering the winter stands-if we register them at all, it's easy to forget how they began verdant, supple, delicate in form and colour; natures' designs are so cool. There are few different cones found in the New Forest, this one belongs to a Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii).

Douglas downed

Aw, what a bummer, man; sadly the mighty Douglas Fir that I featured in my post of the 6th of February has joined the hallowed ranks of the fallen. My heart sunk as I approached a familiar parcel of woodland and new immediately which tree had succumbed to Storm Eunice; what a shame. The once towering Fir's shattered and ripped trunk is evidence of the power of the elements; the forces involved in causing that sort of damage are something else; what must it have been like when it went; I'm sure it put up a heroic stand, defiant to the end.

Douglas

My favourite non native tree species found in the forest is the majestic North American Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). The oldest in Douglas Firs in the forest date from around the middle of the 1800's, and if they're lucky they'll still be here in another 400 years or more; that said, I don't know whether they'll reach their full potential in size or age outside their native region. They're impressive trees, their crowns often standing proud of the surrounding canopy, a thick gnarly russet hued outer bark hides a fibrous red/orange hued inner bark, wounds yield good quantities of heavily scented resin which has medicinal uses, and can be used as incense too. The most notable group of Douglas Firs in the forest create the impressive focus of  Rhinefield's Ornamental Drive, though many others can be found alone or in various sized groups throughout the forest.

Douglas Bark

Gnarly bark the old Douglas Fir, colourful too.

Breaking through

A momentary break in the clouds reminds us that the sun still shines beyond the blanketed which currently obscures our sky, as soft golden light shone through, illuminating stands and casting long shadows. It feels much colder today, but it's a different cold than that of recent, it feels drier. That may be as there's a little less wind about at the moment to force the damp through you. It feels rather nice, really, right weather right season, not something we get much of these days. I hope for a cold dry winter.