Not the beavers this time

Farmer Franz & son Markus cut down this poplar 10 days ago, alongside the stream where the beavers have been so busy the last few years. We walked almost all of the length of the stream between Frechenrieden and Attenhausen and it's quite amazing how many trees they have felled or in the process of.

Franz had planned on a hour to saw down the 1.40m dia. tree. It took several more and that helped by a big tractor and winch. He said they had to work a bit like the beavers, cutting away slices to get access to the core. The tree was very stubborn and they even feared the whip effect when trying to pull it over might cause the tractor to do a roll!

Another great day. We are being truly blessed even if it means cold nights (-4°C) last night and frozen water pipes in the horse stables. Day time it doesn't get much above 10°C but it's very pleasant and the bees are enjoying it too.