I’m a bit slow posting this as it was Sunday when I went to the woods and to be honest, not much to talk about woodland-wise. I’ve been busy with other things. I’ve bought myself a “micro campervan”. Basically it’s a small work van that has been professionally converted into a camper. It’s not much bigger than a large car and although theoretically you could sleep four people, you wouldn’t want to and ideally just right for one person. I am hoping to get some camping nights at the woods soon and this will make it so much easier and quicker to set up and take down than a tent. Plus I can go off traveling too.
Sunday’s trip was really to show a new pal my woods. I met him through the Bodgers Gazette, he was part of the Kent group but moved north and got in touch with me. We met for coffee a few times and hit it off well. Maybe in future we will do some green woodworking together.
It’s very dark and quiet in the woods this time of year. Not much bird life to be seen, they will be laying low as they go through the summer moult and just recovering from the breeding season. I’ll just leave you with a few photos I took. Hopefully I will have more content next time.
Photo above are the berries of Arum Maculatum aka Lords and Ladies or Cuckoo Pint.
It was almost four weeks since my last visit when I went yesterday. The heatwave kept me at home last weekend and I’ve been busy with other things and had little motivation to head to the woods. There are no particular jobs urgently need doing and hanging about in the woods when you are already lonely doesn’t feel great.
I invited my pal to come and just hang out for a while. He’s just bought an old Mazda Bongo camper and I was keen to see it and also thought it would give him a reason to take it out on the road and see how it drives. It’s not been fully converted with cupboards and sinks etc. It’s really like a mini bus or people carrier with multiple seats which slide and fold flat but it has a pop up top so you can stand in it and also a drop down board that acts as an upstairs bunk. I liked it and it’s perfectly adequate as it is for a few nights camping seeing as he’s a fellow bushcrafter and owns various stoves, tarps and camping gear. He will probably make some modifications when he’s had time to think about it and what he’d like from it. He’s named it Willie after his favourite country singer Willie Nelson. I hope to do an overnighter in my tent before long and probably my mate and Willie will join me.
The woods haven’t changed much since the last visit. Very dark and quiet. The trees seem to be bearing up well to the very dry months we have had but it was good to see there had been a recent heavy rainfall. My water butt was full to the brim after my last visit when I emptied it completely into the small pond. Wildlife was scarce but we spotted two roe deer, a tiny mouse and a buzzard. Little sign of other birds but they do go quiet at this time of year and I believe they start their plumage moult which impairs their flying and makes them more vulnerable to predation, so they tend to lie low.
This is the oak gall I showed you before. It’s starting to ripen but there was no hole in it yet so the small developing wasp is still in there.
I just love the visual beauty of gnarly old birch bark. It also contains a lot of oil and although the wood from birch rots very quickly, the bark can remain intact for years. This is part of a fallen dead one. The oily bark is great for tinder and fire lighting and much valued in bushcraft circles.
There’s not much else to write about this time but hopefully I will be making more regular trips to the woods now. Bye for now.
