I’m drowning in Coronovirus news. The media is unrelenting with it’s reporting and fear mongering, so a day in the woods was just the medicine I needed yesterday. Spring has notably stepped forward since the last visit and these are the first showings of Wood anemone flowers. In the next few weeks the woodland floor will be totally transformed from the drab brown of winter with a carpet of green and white. These plants are only to be seen in early spring, taking advantage of the sunlight before the tree canopy closes in. Some of the mosses are looking amazing too.
As I took my early morning walk around the woods, a loud gaggling could be heard above. I expected to see a flock of geese and was surprised to see 20-30 swans flying above the tree tops in formation. I checked the pond and cleared out some of the many leaves. No sign of frogspawn yet. As I filled the bird feeders, the little birds were already gathering in the small oak trees that the feeders hang on. As soon as I finished and stepped back, they swooped in, eagerly taking a seed and flying off to a quiet spot to eat it. Then back for another. They will need to build their strength for the nesting season.
The recent storms have set me back with my tree felling/thinning plans so I wanted to take down a few more before spring really kicks in. I took down eight sycamore and left them on the ground to deal with later. There are still lots more to thin out over the next few years before the area can be left for a while. The gradual thinning is preferable to a more active felling approach, so that the humidity and light levels aren’t disturbed too much to the detriment of ground cover, mosses etc. These will be the last until next winter.
Time for a brew and a rest. I bought a rubber stamp with a logo I designed to use on my various crafts – woodwork, leather etc. I wanted to add my makers mark just to add some professionalism to my products. This little pouch is one I made to hold a vesta match case which lives in my vintage camp stove kit and I tried the stamp out on it. It’s slightly smudged but I don’t mind. The name I chose for my logo is Erthe Crafte. Most of the materials I use are derived from the Earth originally and I like the medieval spelling.
Back to work, dragging and carrying out some of the four feet long logs I had previously cut so they can be stacked for seasoning and cutting up in the future. The pile is looking good and no doubt the gaps between the logs will be used by various small creatures as shelter and nesting places.
I took another walk around to see what elements of nature have woken up from Winter. My feral honey bee colony is still alive, several bees could be seen in and out of the hole. Primroses are in flower, wild garlic leaves are shooting up and the leaves on the smaller trees like Hawthorn, Hazel and Elder are opening. I spotted a Peacock butterfly enjoying the sun but it closed it’s wings before I could take a photo. Nearby a small bunch of wild daffodils were in flower and a large Bumble Bee was out foraging. I’ll leave you with a few more photos of the woods at this amazing time of year.
Peacock butterfly with folded wings
wild Daffodils
dead Beech leaves left over from Autumn
Hawthorn leaves opening
March 15, 2020 at 8:29 pm
Gorgeous photos, how lovely to see the woodland coming back to life.
I was thinking about you the other day 🙂 More specifically I was thinking about your bird feeding. You are not able to visit the wood as often as you’d like and clearly the birds value the feed you provide when you are there, so, could you rig up something along the lines of the feeders used where pheasants are raised? It would hold so much more seed than a regular feeder, possibly enough to keep the birds going until you were back to do a top up?
March 15, 2020 at 9:07 pm
Thanks for your kind comments and suggestions. The idea of a bigger or automatic feeder is good but raises a couple of issues. The feeders need to be squirrel proof as the greys will get the lions share and I don’t want that. I am also concerned that the birds don’t get to rely on my food. So I consider my occasional food as an easy meal and a booster to supplement what they can find. They should be able to find enough without me, the woodland is teeming with insects and other natural sources. I am grateful for your input though. Always open to suggestions.