Rotten fruit wood

      Every time that I walk past this pile of rotting apple logs it breaks my heart. Somebody has sawn and cleaned up an old apple tree or two into cords and then thrown it down with no thought about drying and seasoning the timber for the fire or wood burning stove. The inevitable result is that it is rotting away and full of woodworm, moss, lichen and mould.
      No doubt it is a cosy home for wildlife, certainly there is plenty of fungi on it in the autumn, and we find animal long bones around the heap that are probably from hares or rabbits, we often see a little owl perched on it too, watching for beetles and worms on the soil and grass below I expect. It is a proper mini-nature reserve.
      Normally the two Jack Russell Terriers love it too climbing on it and trying to get inside it, but not on a pouring wet morning when all they want to do is get home, dry off and sleep, so let's go.