We went out on a mercy mission yesterday. Thornhill Primary were due to come out to the Moss and cut themselves a Christmas tree but extremely cold temperatures and deep snow made it a bit dodgy for them so myself and Nick headed out to the West Moss-side part of Flanders to cut the school a tree. The trees a self-seeding Scots pine that we don't really want to have growing out on the Moss as if they become established they will dry out the bog habitat. So we cut down lots of these seedlings every year but where possible find a home for them. You can't get a much more environmentally friendly tree that a Flanders Moss Christmas tree as they are being cut to benefit a valuable habitat. However most pine seedlings are way out on the Moss and it is a huge problem getting them off the moss once cut. But we had identified a small group of accessible trees that might have soemthing suitable and headed out on an incredibly cold morning. Kate Sankey from West Moss-side farm joined us and told us gleefully that it had been -15 C the night before. Well it still felt something like that but the spectacle of the snow-covered, ice-encrusted moss with the back drop of majestic mountains took the edge off the frost bite as we marched out towards the bog, passing Kate's Shetland cattle that graze the Moss edge and were steaming away looking comfortable under their shaggy black coats. Trees were identified, cut and then hauled back, the exercise disproving my theory that I had lost 2 toes to the cause. All the trees off Flanders are trees of character, that is that they are not always the conventional Christmas tree shape. The one we cut for the school had had a bit of bark stripping by a hungry deer, probably Rudolf I told the teachers. They always look a bit worried when the tree turns up at the school as sometimes the children have chosen a tree that might have 2 crowns (value for money) of patchy branches but this time dispite the bare bits they were pleasantly surprised by the tree we brought them. So mercy mission accomplished, despite the drastic weather the children of Thornhill Primary will still have their Flanders Moss tree for Christmas.
