In Norse mythology Yggdrassil (pronounced "Eggdrazil") is the father Ash tree who holds up the sky. His highest branches in the heavens and his roots in Norse hell. The first men were made from the wood of the ash. I am sure that Tolkein had this Norse mythology in mind when he described the trees of Celedor in Loth Lorien.
Right in the centre of the Laurel infested part of our wood there are several large Ash trees that fight up through the dross to reach the lofty blue sky 35-40 m up. They are truly magnificent. My research suggests that some of them could be 2-400 years old.
A recent foray into the dark heart of the wood found me with my chain saw stuck in the largest Laurel I have attempted to cut down. The classic pinch as the weight of the tree above collapses the cut and traps the blade. It was a quite a palaver to free the thing but I eventually managed it. I was desperate to start to free up what I believe is a full grown ash - the largest ash we possess. Originally coined as Oden he stands there with his wife Freya and dominates the top canopy. As truly beautiful specimen.
I am enjoying every small victory in the wood. While I don't have any real and detailed of knowledge of exactly the right thing to do it "feels" very right to drop a large invasive laurel and let the light flood into a glade containing one of the ancient native trees. And yes, I do hug them !
I am big bloke and I can't get my arms around this beautiful ash tree. At the base it is even wider - it reminds me of some of the tall buttressed trees I see in the Malaysian rain forest - Taman Nagarra. Thetrees forming the top canopy there are probably 40-50 m tall so quite comparable.
I have a plan to name, identify, log and label every tree in the wood over the next 5 years. I found a company that supplies the spring loaded fixtures so that the label will grow out as the tree increases its circumference. So here is the first named tree - an Ash Yggdrassil
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