Woodcraft

Matthew and the guys are here today, chopping up the fallen tree. My mother heard the chainsaws and asked- in all innocence- if it was Aileen singing.

Matthew pointed out how the trees- including the one that fell- are riddled with woodpeckers' nests. So the little fellows we see at the feeders live locally; It's nice to know. Mind you, they're weakening the trees. And that's life on earth; you can't build without breaking.

Woodcraft II

All done.

They've chopped the fallen tree into brushwood and firewood and pushed the stump upright in the hope that it might "coppice"- meaning put out new growth. I've not come across "coppice" used as a verb in quite that sense before- but I like it- and if it isn't standard English it should be.