How to have fun in January

Well, you can gather snowdrops and crocus. Or you can cut down some trees, which is what corbies have been doing this weekend.  Along the drive, the ash and sycamores are getting tall and taking light away from the roses. We are taking out the biggest. They will be next winter's firewood. We are taking lower branches away from  most trees now, and leaving the skinny ash and sycamores to put on some width before cutting them down. It was not part of the plan to coppice the trees I planted on the drive 20-odd years ago. But it's good that you can remove a lot of trees and still have a lot of trees.