The weather has turned a whole season this week. A few days ago we were having warm days that would be welcome in summer. Now Autumn is definitely here. The first frosts this week will hasten the dropping of leaves from the trees and so it was evident at the woods yesterday. It changes the whole feel and perspective and can even disorient you as you have become accustomed to the heavy, leafy clothing that summer has been wearing. It happens again in late spring only in reverse. I’ll talk more about that shortly. A short walk around with my camera found these amazing clumps of fungi growing on dead tree stumps.

The day was earmarked for some serious bramble-bashing. I’ve been lenient on it for a year, mainly due to having so many more interesting or rewarding jobs to do. Last week gave me a taster of how much differece it makes when you can clear an area. I had spent an hour just pulling it up at the roots so the idea was to repeat that and finish that small area, then hit the big boys with the petrol brushcutter. There’s so much bramble in some areas that pulling isn’t an option.  So going over it with the brushcutter first, clears the heavy ground cover which allows easier access and weakens the plants. The roots are still in and will sprout again in spring. Maybe another quick going over in late summer will weaken them further, then the following year I can probably start pulling them up by the roots. Whilst pulling some yesterday I found a tiny yew sapling. I’ve been hoping to find some but so far to no avail, even though there is a massive one just over the border and I was sure there would be some saplings nearby in my plot, but no. I found this where I least expected it. I’ve protected it with a cut-off plastic water bottle.

So onto the bramble war. This area has grown really thick with it since I planted some saplings two years ago which are now in danger of being smothered. this is the before photo.

and this is after.

It looks severe doesn’t it? I sat nearby and ate my lunch. A robin came to investigate the new landscape. It was bobbing back and forth all around, probably looking for new food disturbed by the work. But it occurred to me that the once familiar landscape, had suddenly changed. The robin would be used to what was there and might need to re-familiarise itself with the new terrain. Good or bad for wildllife? Well it depends on your perspective. Some insect species will rely on the bramble to lay eggs on, animals feed on the berries (though in my woods it’s largely just foliage and few berries) and some animals and birds will have protection from predators and rain. On the other hand, nothing much else can grow under the heavy shade. Without the bramble cover, other plants should germinate and provide a richer diversity which will benifit other insects and animals. The bare looking ground now will soon be overgrown again next summer, so it’s a short term loss for a longer term gain.

That lead me to thinking about how the change in seasons can be disorienting at first. You don’t consciously realise it but the familiar clumps of bramble here and there, the odd foxglove or burdock plant, the shape of certain trees are all visual clues that your brain must be processing to help keep your position identifiable. When it changes at the end of the season, it’s almost a different place.

Here’s the sycamore plantation that was another target for bramble clearing. This area is fairly boring. The trees were planted in the 1960s and have been neglected. They should have been thinned and in summer the area is incredibly dark. So there’s not much ground cover other than bramble. The pathway I cut two years ago proved that the underlying wood anemonies and bluebells really enjoyed the lack of brambles. After clearing a sizeable chunk of this area, I am looking forward to am amazing spring show of the anemonies. This was hard back-breaking work but very satisfying. Again it looks severe but eventually I hope other ground cover will take advantage. There are some very nice ferns in areas of low bramble cover which I am hoping will spread.