After the clearing work around the house, there was, inevitably, something left behind: a rather impressive amount of small trees, branches and general woodland debris. Leaving it in piles everywhere seemed slightly untidy, so we came up with the next logical project — turning it into brushwood fences.
Armed with axes and the confidence that usually comes from not having thought a project through very carefully, my daughter and I got to work. (Note who’s handling the tools and who’s just taking selfies.) The basic principle was simple enough: cut the material to size, stack it between posts, and eventually call it a fence. It also had the pleasant advantage of giving all those trees that had been removed during the clearing a second career.
Once the first sections were in place, the result actually started to look surprisingly convincing. The fences now mark parts of the woodland around the house and, more importantly, keep the piles of branches from looking quite so much like piles of branches. From the right angle, they even look intentional.
Of course, no outdoor project in Sweden is complete without weather making a contribution. One of the fence inspections was accompanied by a steady rain, which gave the whole scene an especially cheerful atmosphere. Fortunately, we had already reached the stage where getting wet could be described as part of the plan.
Maja, as usual, took her responsibilities seriously and inspected the finished work. After a thorough examination, she seemed reasonably satisfied. The fences are now in place, the cleared trees have found a useful new purpose, and the woodland has acquired yet another feature that was definitely part of the plan all along.