After I had felled the larch tree, the real work had begun

THE big larch tree in the garden has been on my hit list for some time. Its roots were invading the vegetable plot and it was in the way of a new run and pond for ducks that I’m building. The other day I finally felled it.

By my standards I didn’t make too bad a job of it. There’s minor collateral damage to a cherry tree that got hit a glancing blow but the larch fell more or less where it was supposed to.

I did fell it a bit too early in the year, before it had dropped all its needles and gone into full dormancy. But the ducks were on order, Khaki Campbells for eggs, and I was impatient to get their accommodation finished. And the bonus for my impatience was the wonderful resinous smell that hung over the whole garden as I cut the trunk into rings and split them for firewood.