Missing Cat, Logging & Loppers

Finally some decent weather so some time outside. However, it’s not been a good week. Amber, our blind cat from the rescue, started going outside. She was being cautious, mapping the area in her mind and not going too far. On the third day after starting to go out she vanished.

She has a radio locator on her collar but was out of range. We and our neighbours have searched, checked outbuildings, put up posters etc. but to no avail. I’m afraid that a fox may have had her. Normally a cat is fairly safe from a fox, cats can both run and fight. Foxes know that an injury, even one cat bite, can fester and be fatal so they seek easier prey but Amber could neither run nor fight effectively if attacked.

We’re both very sad but there’s always a chance, if a slim one, that she’ll turn up. She’s chipped so even if she lost her collar and someone took her to a vet or rescue they’d identify her. People win the lottery on a slim chance, I’d just like to win Amber back.

New Loppers

Thursday and Friday we continued working in the orchard area. I was up with my loppers, trimming the privet cuttings ready to shred and cutting and cleaning the thicker branches out to season for firewood.

I’ve had my loppers for at least 25 years and they’ve seen better days. A bolt keeps coming loose and the blade has been damaged so they’re quite hard work. I decided to treat myself to new ones and bought a pair for a huge £13.00. Now for £13.00 they’re excellent value for money but compared with my old ones, they’re flimsy.

They cut thin branches better but they won’t tackle thick ones. You’d think I’d have learned by now; buy cheap, buy twice. Second hand or ‘reduced to clear’ bargains are great but cheap is usually waste. So they’re back to the shop that offers 28 days no quibble returns.

I’ve bought a pair of Draper ratchet loppers off Ebay. They look to be the same model that Amazon has for £45.00 and I paid £26.99 so hopefully a real bargain. Twice the price of the cheap ones but if these last 25 years.. well they’ll outlast me.

Tree Felling

My pal from the village was up with his chainsaws and lumberjacking kit. It turned out that the sycamore north of the house had a large hole in it and was rotting inside. It might of lasted another year or two but one strong gust of wind from the right direction could have brought it crashing down. It’s now a six foot trunk but should re-grow as a pollard.

The last tree to come down was the ash in the orchard. It completely dominated and shaded the orchard and this too was getting risky. Ash have a habit of suddenly snapping when they get too big. It’s now being logged up and, being ash, will make excellent firewood. The ash has gone back to a stump and we should get a load of shoots and eventually be able to coppice it.

Part of me feels really guilty at all this tree cutting but the fact is that trees need managing just like anything else. We’re planting an awful lot more than we’re taking out so the end result should be a truly carbon neutral power supply along with increased bio-diversity and habitats for wild creatures.