Seasoned ash crackles in the burner; the amber logs aromatic and warming. Our basket of pine cones, gathered on our summer walks, make perfect fire-starters. Sadly, this year many local trees have fallen victim to 'ash dieback'; in the woodyard piles of aged trunks, wait to be logged and stacked for their next incarnation. Since January the predator has advanced steadily, striking majestic trees in their prime. Within years, the woodland may well revert to the heathland of the 1950s; a time when wild rabbits feasted daily on ash saplings. A time before they too were wiped out by another fatal virus - Myxomatosis. So a new cycle begins...
