In The Pink

I am a little fed up with this weather as it makes for poor photography but I have to say when you get out and about it is lovely out there, it just does not lend itself well to photographs! Or at least not to my photographs and level of competency! I really urge you though, if the grey days are keeping you in, to get out there for a walk. We are of course encouraged to take several daily walks by our dogs and I love having the excuse to get out. After we lost our first two pups, Pink and Mojo, we were without animals for a while and although I still went out walking it was by no way as frequent an event as it is now and we currently enjoy 3-4 walks daily. Although the trees have shed their leaves there are many evergreen trees, plants and shrubs on the verges and in the hedgerows including pine, cypress, broom, holly and ivy, and the new growth on the deciduous trees has its own hue such as the purple/ brown of the birch trees. Many of the fields have been seeded w...

Since I took these photos last weekend we have had a week of storms that have stripped the trees of their remaining leaves. It has been a beautiful autumn so I don't feel cheated, and winter gives us an opportunity to appreciate trees varying and delicate branch structures and take a close look at the years extension growth and new buds, waiting to burst next spring.

Blimey it's the weekend! Well that marks the end of my second week in the new job which is going really well still. I have tendered for a big tree contract with an influential client which will look good on the marketing material if we get it, fingers crossed! Otherwise its great to be working at home and not having to spend up to 2 hours a day just going to and from the office. It is also saving me a fortune in fuel! I think the pups might be a little bored despite having company for the day and getting longer walks. They do enjoy coming out and about with me and being in the truck. I have received comments from people who expect that the dogs hate being in the truck and will prefer the new arrangement but I think it is the other way round. I did specifically buy a truck with the biggest back section I could get and had a grill made so I can leave the tailgate open when I park up. We always parked in a nice shady spot with a good view for them and plenty of wildlife to watch and b...

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I have had this song in my head for days. I am desperate for rain and we have not had any significant rain for over 6 weeks now. I have newly planted trees drooping all over and my clients do not want to pay to water them. It is a costly affair but so very vital. Drought stress can cause irreversible damage to a trees ability to photosynthesise, to feed itself. This is one of my favourite albums ever. I love the whole album without exception and think it to be Sting's best. If you are not familiar with it I strongly recommend you give it a listen. Image Credit: Albumy Rock & Metal

This week has all been about planting for me. I have some extensive group restoration and formal planting schemes planned for this year and am ordering trees for delivery in the autumn. I usually buy containerised trees and will be going to the nursery in July to pick out the specific trees I want. The nursery are very good however if you leave it until they arrive on site it is difficult to go through them all and make sure there are no issues. Also when you are spending between £80 - £200 on a tree you want to make sure its the best of the bunch. I went to one of the formal parks I manage yesterday to look at some trees that have been vandalised. They will need to be replaced in the autumn. While I was there I took some pictures of the trees that have been establishing at the park. Some of these species I will be planting at other sites later in the year. The species shown here in order of appearance are: Giant Redwood or Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) , Deodar Cedar ( Cedru...

I woke up to autumn this morning. The last few days have been wet and cooler but this morning had a very autumn feel. Anyway this beautiful song popped into my head and some clever soul on you tube has added these lovely shots to the track for a slide-show so I thought I would share it.

These Yew trees are between 250 and 300 years old, as far as we can guess; Yews being difficult to age. There were loads of them on site but this group lent itself to a good group photo.

This weeks six concentrates on some great moments over the busy past couple of weeks, hence this feature being absent last week! It's been busy both socially and on the work front and has heralded some great moments. Item 1: The North York Moors First off is our visit last weekend to the North Yorkshire Moors (correctly referred to as the North York Moors) to visit some good friends who relocated to that part of the country earlier this year and it was absolutely stunning. It was our first visit to see them and to that particular part of the Mo ors. We like to make the most of our time in the great outdoors and every holiday is usually spent camping in Scotland or Wales but these past few weeks have reminded me just what there is available within England and at a much shorter distance. I think Scotland will always be my favourite part of the UK (followed by Northumberland) but our trip to the Moors, and recent visit to the Peak District has encouraged us to get back to more weeken...