Fallen small-leafed lime in The Close

Some of you may have noticed that one of the casualties of last weekend's storms was the small-leaved lime tree in one of the corners of The Close. Year 6 were able to use the fallen tree as a natural navigation tool; determining the direction of the prevailing wind (the buttresses much thicker on the south-west side) and the branches growing outward rather than upward on the southern side. 

We also followed the growth rings of the tree to find the heart of the wood, (the windward edge of the tree tends to grow shorter than the sheltered side. Sebastian counted 37 growth rings, suggesting that this tree was only just starting it’s life, in 1984.