willow - lekker!!

I saw Jay's post about sprout tops and thought I might put something in about food - well, this is chewing food as opposed to eating food.
Living in Holland and being below sea level it is very wet, water everywhere. So much water we dont know what to do with it. Willow trees love water and will grow best if their roots are constantly damp, so there is plenty of the stuff around.
Even now, being a warm autumn I am still picking off leafy branches of willow. The rabbits pull off and eat all the leaves and small twigs and trim away at the bark.

As well as this I have a tree cutter man who supplies me with small branches of the curly /distorted willow when he comes across them. They are all de leafed by the time I get them and we saw them into sticks of 12-18 inches. Now this is real 'candy' for the buns. They will take off all the smooth green bark and eat it. Very fibrous, good for their teeth and it keeps them busy and away from the furniture.
I have seen willow sticks for sale in pet shops ( what a con!!!) - they look dry, brown and I imagine are unappetizing for rabbits.
I know the UK is damp generally but especially in the west and of course around rivers/ streams. I'm sure there are tree cutters trimming, pruning and pulling out willows all the time. Worth a try to get them to deliver you a big bundle of sticks for a small cost. An idea anyway...

sarah
ps - 'lekker' means tasty in Dutch!!