Ash id & wood harvesting concerns

[THOaken]

Hello, BCUK.

So another id thread today. Black buds, check. Distinct splodges on bark, check. Is this Ash?

Also, I was going to ask this next question in the DIY and Traditional Crafts section, but I think it fits more within Flora & Fauna. Now I've asked this question before, but it's still a concern. I haven't made any wooden utensils for quite a while, and that's down to the fact that I can't really find any suitable wood. I can't find any recently fallen Birch and I haven't come across Sycamore or any other good carving wood. My question lies with Hazel as that at least is abundant in my woods. I've taken a piece of Hazel before, but I wasn't so pleased with the fact that it was a very large branch that extended out and it came down and resulted in just two smalls poons. It didn't feel right. The same feeling is why I left the woods today without taking anything even though I could have and I said I would in the video. How I wish I could just have a pile of greenwood and carry on with my projects.

[video=youtube_share;w9VGyT24PVc]http://youtu.be/w9VGyT24PVc[/video]

Thanks for reading.

 

[Kong]

you can not see the woods for the trees can you what are those things hanging of the tree?
they look like ash keys to me

 

[Goatboy]

Yup it's ash, you can also see Ash Keys (the seeds) hanging from a branch in the background. Ash is pretty fast growing stuff considering the tree is the last to get and the first to shed it's leaves. It's been grown as a harvestable wood for firewood and timber for a long time so and actually thrives on pollarding/harvesting. As long as you have permission to take it I wouldn't feel bad about cutting it. (It can be beneficial for the tree). So saying superstitious old forester that I am I always apologised to a tree before cutting it! Remember that all the stuff you carve off of the projects can be used for other things - fire lighting and fuel being the simplest. You have real fire places in the house yes? Ash is a much sought after fire fuel.

 

[THOaken]

http://www.bushcraftliving.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12036

This post on another forum reassures me slightly and so does yours, Goatboy. I think I will just go through with it. It is two more projects in just one branch after all...

Edit: And thanks for the ash id. I didn't know they were called Ash "keys".

 

[Stew]

There's a lot more in that length of wood than just two spoons.

 

[Goatboy]

No worries,

Ash has lots of uses, the keys can be pickled when young and taste a bit like capers, so not to everyones taste. The sap was traditionally given to babies when Christened in Scotland and parts of Scandinavia due to it's magical and astringent properties and can be used as tool handles and the likes. It cleaves beautifully and I've made split ash fences in the past. Cleaved wood doesn't rot as quickly as sawn wood as the cell walls aren't ruptured in the process. Nice stuff to work with and any spoil will help keep you warm.

 

[Stringmaker]

So saying superstitious old forester that I am I always apologised to a tree before cutting it!

Good for you.

I hope you grovelled to the Elder Mother as well?

 

[Goatboy]

Good for you.

I hope you grovelled to the Elder Mother as well?

Nowt wrong with saying sorry The only thing I refuse point blank to cut is Holly. But then it's considered really bad luck for a forester to cut holly. Makes lovely carvings though! (And Harry Potter wands if you are into them!)

 

[Stringmaker]

Nowt wrong with saying sorry The only thing I refuse point blank to cut is Holly. But then it's considered really bad luck for a forester to cut holly. Makes lovely carvings though! (And Harry Potter wands if you are into them!)

That's lucky then; my wife pruned our young holly tree before Christmas so I'm safe!

 

[Quixoticgeek]

A small request: if it is Ash (and it certainly looks like it). Please leave it.

Chalara Fraxinea (aka Ash die back) is reaping havoc with Britain and Europe's ash trees, and we need every single one we have in the hope that some of them have some resistance.

Ash is a beautiful tree and a beautiful wood. But it is under such threat, that I would suggest you leave it to see if it's one of the lucky ones not to get wiped out.

Thanks

J

 

[THOaken]

A small request: if it is Ash (and it certainly looks like it). Please leave it.

Chalara Fraxinea (aka Ash die back) is reaping havoc with Britain and Europe's ash trees, and we need every single one we have in the hope that some of them have some resistance.

Ash is a beautiful tree and a beautiful wood. But it is under such threat, that I would suggest you leave it to see if it's one of the lucky ones not to get wiped out.

Thanks

J

The ash id and hazel harvesting are two separate parts of this thread. I was never going to take the ash.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

The ash id and hazel harvesting are two separate parts of this thread. I was never going to take the ash.

My apologies. Misread.

I have a batch of Hazel that I hope to harvest soon.

J

 

[Spinnaker]

That's lucky then; my wife pruned our young holly tree before Christmas so I'm safe!

The folklore is that the felling of a whole holly will bring bad luck. Harvesting the greenery, gathering the berries, such as for Christmas decorations (leave some for the birds), pollarding, pruning or the cutting of boughs is defensible. Holly branches usually grow straight with a hard, tough wood - good for making walking sticks.