The woodstack - holm oak, maritime pine, beech and sycamore.
The Martime Pine - pinus pinaster - was planted as part of the 20th century expansion of St Margarets Bay as a seaside resort.
Maritime pine is tough to split due to the many embedded cross-branches. In the end I resorted to a big Bahco maul and the chainsaw for some of the worst offenders (until the brake broke).
A maritime pine against the evening sky: it is more straggly and lacks the lustrous red bark of the Scots Pine. A native of the Central and Western Mediterranean it grows best in close packed plantations.
Beech wood - fagus sylvatica - from the lower trunk where it has formed these super-tough burrs. The richer colours on the left are where water has gotten into the wood.
There is a difference between looking a gift horse in the mouth and accepting him and his family: part of the haul of complimentary logs. Mainly Martitime Pine with some big Beech rounds as well. The neighbour's cat inspectiong.
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