You could say it’s the calm before the storm. My elderly mother is fading slowly and we will have a funeral to arrange before long. It’s been an incredibly stressful month visiting her in hospital most days so the woodland visit brought a much needed break. In a way, the cycle of the seasons reminds us that everything living is just temporary and that much as we love something or someone, eventually we have to accept it’s time for their departure. I guess for me, the timing of autumn and my mother’s impending passing has a special significance. Enough of the morbid stuff now.

The day started foggy, grey and gloomy. It lightened slightly as the day went on but far from it being unpleasant, I enjoyed the still, damp day very much. There was an atmosphere of calm and serenity and a feeling that the wood was winding down and shutting up shop. I took my usual walk around first, making sure I took in all the beauty of the autumn colours and taking a good look at how my new trees have progressed in their first year. So far they all seem to have survived. Nice to see that as the old leaves fall, next years buds are already formed and ready for spring. It’s also a time when I check out my plans that I’ve been thinking about since the last visit. There’s so much physical work to do but it really is important to give yourself the time to savour your woods and just enjoy being there. I had done some more tree felling – about 7 and every single one got hung up in a neighbouring tree and needed some difficult manoeuvring to release them. The log pile is growing too and once cut up, split and dried, is probably enough for next winter. That’s a job for spring when felling will have stopped.

I took a much needed break mid-afternoon and decided to just sit and watch for birds down near where I have some feeders. All was quiet and nothing much to be seen. I have a birdsong app on my phone which I have used to attract attention from wrens in the past. I played that and immediately got a response from nearby. I played that and the robin song a few more times and within minutes, there were calls from here and there and numerous small birds flitting about in the trees and visiting the feeders. Now here’s something I have only just realised after reading an excellent book – The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs by Tristan Gooley. He tells us that birds are incredibly aware of what’s going on around them and that when there are possible predators around, tend to give warning calls or remain silent. But more enlightening is the possibility that different species understand each other and take heed of what others are “saying”. So that might account for the flurry of activity that seemed to be sparked off by my phone’s wren calls. Maybe it’s a positive call that says “everything is OK and you can come out now” in bird-talk. It’s no coincidence, I’ve done this a few times now in different locations. I played the wren song on the moors one time and within minutes I counted a dozen wrens bobbing about. If you have a bird song app try it. Sit still and quietly for a few minutes and play a small birds song, one that is likely to be in the area and see what happens.