This represents the best thing that’s happened in my life of late. You remember, just before my spectacular fall from grace last autumn? We were planting trees in our field. Well, I get sent out there each day in my wellies to walk around and get some fresh air by DM as part of my therapeutic “healing” process.

I’ve been charged with reporting “life” because he’s disappointed that we planted and then have to wait for several months before seeing anything other than a bunch of dead twigs with plastic sheathing in the ground.

These Salix (willow to you and me) are the most remarkable of all because they come without a rootball or any other visible means of life support. They are quite literally twigs that are shoved into a slit in the ground made by a spade. Because willow is so amazingly tenacious, clutching at life through the smallest of opportunities, it sets to work as soon as it goes in and starts to provide itself with a root system then bursts forth and that’s exactly what it’s done.

We’ve got ten of these willows, a special hybrid that’s reputed to grow eight feet per year and bred expressly for cropping for fuel. They will be ready to start cropping in four years time barring a natural disaster.

I’m now two weeks into my medication and hoping that as my doc says, I’ll start to get an occasional good day soon. This is a good start.


Last year, wood was my subject too although on that occasion it was a rather lovely overmantle from ebay!