Not A Box

A sad day yesterday. I regret that we may have incurred the wrath of the witches, fairies or spirits; certainly the birds will miss it.

We have had to cut down our Hawthorn tree because the roots were pushing against the front wall. The wall had been stapled well before we bought the house (twenty five years ago) and was beginning to bow but, as a result of alterations next door, a crack popped open.

There appears to be no alternative to removing the tree altogether and rebuilding the wall, a task Mr Flum has begun. When it was cut I noticed that the thorn tree had grown around a stem of Box which was growing close by, so that's my blip.

The trunk was some eight inches across, though now cut into a couple of eighteen inch lengths but I don't know if there is any use for it. Google tells me that "the wood of the Hawthorn can seldom be obtained of a large-enough size for much practical use, and is liable to warp; but its toughness recommends its use for the cogs of wooden mill-wheels, and, as a substitute for box-wood in engraving". If anyone needs to replace a few mill-wheel cogs, just let me know before Mr Flum has an enormous bonfire.

And please tell me what I should do to appease the spirits.