Just come back from a week in S. of France and the weather here is just as hot. It’s nearly three weeks since my last visit to the woods, so I needed to get back there even though the heat was putting me off. I arrived good and early – 7.30am. I had planned to do little work because of the heat but the woods were refreshingly cool so I decided to do some more work on the shelter rebuild but first, a few small jobs.
I took several gallons of water to help my new saplings which actually seemed to be doing ok. Birdsong filled the air. A blackcap sang surprisingly loud for such a small bird. The young blackbirds have obviously fledged now and I’m sure I spotted a few of them during the day. I sometimes play a sort of trick on the wrens. I have a birdsong app on my phone and if I play the wren song, it draws them out. I was over-awed when one emerged and gradually flew closer to where I was standing, trying to suss out it’s rival. I was brewing my coffee but stood motionless as it bobbed around the table, finally landing on the top just two feet away. It strutted and pecked at the table a few times before eventually flying off. Money can’t buy that!
I added more upright poles to the shelter, ready to support the plastic tarp which should make the back and sides waterproof. Time consuming, as I had to walk to the other end of the woods to retrieve the poles that were left from the winter felling, then cut to size and screw to the frame. This is how it looked with it’s skeleton poles. Then at the end of the day with the back covered with tarp and another layer of poles. Just the sides to do next. I shall have to modify the window arrangement though.
The woods are a riot of growth now and I’m particularly pleased with the way the hazel copse is looking. Flooded with sunshine, the new hazel growth is shooting up and the ground cover is dense. I spotted lots of wild garlic seed heads and went to collect some. Most of them were empty now but I found a few which I shall try to germinate at home later. The bluebells were also shedding their shiny black seeds. Mental note for the future – collect them late June. I collected a few and scattered them in other less dense areas.
The birds and butterflies seem to like this area. A rustling in the undergrowth proved to be a song thrush which emerged on a branch to check me out. A large, bright orange, fluttery thing passed by and when it landed I sneaked up with my camera. A pair of butterflies were enjoying a bit of intimacy. Back home I identified them as Silver-washed Fritillary, the name coming from the silvery streaks on the underside of their wings which you can see here. The top of their wings are hardly visible in the photo but they were the most beautiful shade of orange.
By mid afternoon it was very hot. I’d done some useful jobs, had a good walk around and most importantly, re-connected with my woods. The calming and soul-healing benefits of spending quality time in your own little patch of woods is incredible. The difference between that or just visiting some public woods is huge. The fact that they are your woods allows you to work on it and with it, free from interference from public and authorities or any feelings of intrusion and that creates a deep personal connection with it which seems to elevate your mind and feelings. Medicine for the stressful world we normally inhabit.
