Only a quick post today as I’m absolutely shattered after walking around Ickworth Park for around eight hours with the Ancient Tree Forum. The park is currently being grazed with sheep, and lambing season is in full swing. The little ones have taken a liking to the base of large lapsed oak pollards, to shelter from the generally dreary weather of early April (as the old ‘April showers’ saying goes). Be it a basal cavity, or just a gap between two buttress roots, nothing is off bounds for these little lambs. Of course, this is actually bad for the tree, as the high amount of lamb excrement nitrifies the soil quite significantly, and there is also some compaction damage and bark damage as a result of the presence of the lambs (and sheep), too. Of course, for the lambs, the relationship is wholly beneficial.
Arboriculture 