Final cut down

My last visit of the season - as a coppicer, at any rate. I will be back for lambing.

It feels strange to know that the winter's project is over.

Daisy came with the chainsaw to make sure we could finish a row and leave a neat line of cut stools. That hugely accelerated the process - she also cut up the big stems. But I wanted to have a decent job to do on this final day so she left me enough to process.

When I arrived, I saw that the bull - a Longhorn called Magnificent - was in the meadow with his two (castrated) sons. I wish I'd taken a picture. Magnificent is gorgeous. He stood next to the smaller son, shielding him from me, and licked him on the neck. Daisy says that the bull has very poor sight and she and Tom believe that the two bullocks act as guides. Seeing eye bullocks. It's a very moving story. I must ask Tom about it as he is passionate about the cows and notices all the familial relationships.

After Daisy had gone, a guy I had met before came up. He's a wood carver and is someone very connected to the land. We talked about hares and old souls, about ancient trees and the beauty of birds. It was good to talk to someone on a similar wavelength.

Just before I left, I heard a raven and saw it fly overhead. That felt fitting.