Slick

A colourful slick on a wetland tributary, not to worry though as this oily slick is not the consequence of contamination, rather a natural phenomena caused by bacteria.  Groovy looking, reminds me of marbling with oil paints.

Berry good year

 

It's been a very good year for Blackberries, quantity wise anyways, unfortunately not so much on taste, with quite a number having a disappointingly bland taste. Maybe as a consequence you've seen more folk out gathering; weirdly though, even with the widespread abundance of blackberries, most of the people I've seen collecting were doing so on the sides of roads; what's that about? According to folklore today's the last day to collect blackberries, or least one of them, I've seen a couple; since Christianity' arrival it's been said that when the Devil fell from heaven he landed in a bramble thicket and cursed the bush, before that though it was a puck or malevolent spirits which rendered the berries foul. That in one form or another a similar story has existed for such a long time suggests there's a real world reason for avoiding late in the season blackberries, which if you've tried them is evident.

Pannage

Pannage is upon us and I understand the pigs have been released into the forest; although as yet we've not spotted any. What a grand old tradition pannage is; the practice is nearly 1000 years old, dating to establishment of the royal hunting forest by William of Normandy way back in 1079. It's a joy meeting the pigs amongst the trees, well, for the most part that is, occasionally you'll come up against some brute, in which case......run! 

Marco Rossi, The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

 

Recently I was kindly gifted this absolute gem by a close friend; The Sincerest Form Of Flattery by Marco Rossi, a fabulous 8'' lathe cut EP from the wonderful Fruits de Mer records (Friend Of The Fish 67). Rossi dishes up a glorious slice of 60's psychedelia sensitively re-imagined for our times, beautiful; we could certainly do with some of that 60's hope. As you'd imagine being from FdM this is a quality item, top notch by every metric, bravo. Marco Rossi is best known for being a member of The Kevin McDermott Orchestra and the fabulous Gothic Chicken (Not heard of them? Then you really must check 'em out, 'cos you're missing out.). It's immediately evident that Rossi has a deep understanding, love and respect for the original source material and the 60's psychedelic period from which they came, as his interpretations do the originals justice conjuring the same atmosphere and yet still managing to bring something new to each; he's chosen four wonderful tracks, interesting left field choices too, beginning with 'Ivy Ivy' by The Left Banke, followed by 'My Friend' by Spirit, 'L.A' by Orange Bicycle and finally 'Forget All About It' by The Nazz. Man, this is good. Rossi's arrangement and production are perfectly pitched, his attention to detail meticulous, getting everything spot on, his voice naturally lends itself to the genre and all together he's rendered a warm and engaging 60's musical aesthetic that you can just sink right into...sumptuous. I understand that these four tracks are but an appetizer, and that there's a whole CD available! Now, CD's are my last choice of format, I've never forgiven Tomorrows World for it's false claims regarding the durability of CD's; that said, I'll be trying to procure a copy toot suite. Would you believe it this project was produced in a bedroom too, mental! Yup, that's right, Rossi created this in a bedroom. Far out.

The Boys

 

Change is afoot in the forest. No matter how stuffed our weather is the wheel still turns, and as we fast approach rutting season the deer are on the move, the stags are getting frisky and you're beginning to hear their barking echoing through the stands. This morning as we followed Fletchers Water near Queen Bower (site of a Medieval hunting lodge) we crossed a group of seven or so youngish looking stags engaged in boisterous activity; who disappeared off single file across Fletchers Green when they realised they were being watched, periodically pausing to look back and ensure we weren't following.

Saharan sunrise

A Saharan sunrise to compliment last evenings sunset. That's all we saw of the sun on this mornings walk; shortly after sunrise the clouds closed becoming a grey blanket and it wasn't too long before it was raining.

Saharan sunset

Apparently it's dust from the Sahara that's creating the warm hued sunsets and sunrises of recent days. Very nice too.

Oak Pinhole Borer

This fallen mature oak trunk shows the tell tale signs of Oak Pinhole Borer beetle (Platypus cylindrus) infestation, the entire length of this substantial trunk is effected, covered in fine sawdust, as the the floor below. They clearly attack in numbers; I say attack although that's not entirely fair, the Oak Pinhole Borer goes for dead wood or declining trees and isn't the cause of a trees downfall. Called 'Oak' Pinhole Borer this hungry bug will be just as happy with other deciduous trees such as Beech or Sweet Chestnut too. Apparently they were listed as rare by the mid 1980's although the Great Storm of 87' saw their fortunes change with an abundance of dead wood suddenly becoming available.

Drying out

 

This morning the ponies had the right idea; in Red Rise a group of them congregated amongst a cool shady stand of Yews. The unseasonally warm weather continues and the forest continues to dry out; right when we should be looking forward to the mushroom season too. Bah! (shakes fist)

Swansong

Back again to Mudeford Quay to take in the days' swansong. The clouds a touch thicker and darker this evening; we were gifted a lovely sunset nonetheless. I wasn't the only one taking it the sinking Sun; I wonder if and how other creatures register and experience things like sunsets.

Mudeford quay

 

We used to holiday each year in Cornwall, we loved it, and as you'd expect every day we'd find ourselves somewhere on the coast. This evening I was sat on the edge of the harbour at Mudeford Quay watching the Sun's westward transit, around me the sound of happy chatter, the smell of fish and chips, on the water swans, gliding paddle boarders and the parade of small boats making their way single file up The Run into the harbour at days end, and my mind drifted off; then the dawning realization, this feels just like Cornwall. A warm wave of nostalgia washed over me, then I thought, why don't we come here more often? How could we neglect this local gem. One of the aspects we loved about Cornwall is right here at the end of the road, always has been, and we're such rare visitors. The type of dawning realization that experience tells me I'm undoubtedly destined to repeat.

Burley Old

The forest felt at peace this morning, it was quiet and still, but for the sunny bird song that floated through the canopy. What a beautiful space to find oneself in.

Birch seed casings

 

All across the Common this morning, the gossamer threads of spiders toil were festooned with Silver Birch (Betula pendula) seed casings, the majority of the papery winged seeds having been transported elsewhere on the winds. A mature Silver Birch, and many of those over the Common are mature, can produce up to one million seeds; certainly like hedging their reproductive bets.

Markway

The sun rises through the remaining stand of trees in Markway enclosure, a broad strip of juvenile deciduous trees running the west side of the enclosure, the rest of the enclosure was of coniferous stock now all clean cut. 

Misty hollows

 

Mists hung silently in the boggy hollows and tributaries of the early morning forest; there's a mysterious otherworldly quality to the Forest when conditions are like this.

Haws

 

It is a real bumper year for Haws, the forests' Hawthorns (Crataegus monogyna) are putting on quite the show. If you'd ever considered collecting haws for making jams and jellies or maybe for their medicinal qualities making syrups, teas and tinctures then this would appear to be a good year. I think I may have made Haw wine once? You can eat the fleshy ones straight off the bough too, though try and spit the seeds out, they're a bit cyanide-y. That aside the berries are bloody good for you.

Purple reign

 

Every year heather's purple reign is accompanied by the buzzing sounds of enthusiastic activity; heather (Calluna vulgarisis) is very popular with the pollinators, honey Bees (Apis mellifera) particularly love it and you'll often see classic wooden bee hives tucked amongst the gorse thickets to take advantage of natures bounty.

Autumn Lady’s Tresses

Spy Holms is covered in Autumn Lady’s Tresses orchid (Spiranthes spiralis); it's been a bumper season for these delicate beauties, so much so you have to mindful of your steps.   

Bridge repairs

It's good to see the forest infrastructure being maintained; if you're going to pimp the forest out, the least you can do is look after it. Personally I'm not in favour of the heavy marketing of the forest, not that I'm going all 'get off my land' or ought, I just feel the forest should be a world you're somehow drawn to or one you fortuitously stumble upon, not a commodity to be sold and exploited.  

The bladed scribe

 

Some trees more than others attract the attentions of the bladed scribe. This once smooth Beech (hence it's attraction) at Standing Hat has drawn the attention of so many graffiti 'artists' that in many cases their individual works are lost in the creative melee. What you can make out though, is that the 80's appears to have been a popular period.

Character actor

 

I have to give it to the summer, it's remained committed to character throughout; regrettably that character has been an Oscar worthy portrait of autumn. Bloody Hell, another overcast grey day punctuated by light rains and today with occasional rumbles of thunder to boot. Oh huzzah.

Settling in

Back earlier in the year I mentioned signs of badger activity at the site of an long abandoned sett. On passing the spot this morning it was clear that some of the old setts' entrances have been reopened, one in particular. A good sign I'm hoping.

Red velvet

Usually the Beefsteak fungi (Fistulina hepatica) I see have a burgundy hue to them, this example on a long ago fallen trunk was bright red; popping out of a fold in the wood it looked as if the tree was sticking it's tongue out at me, or blowing a raspberry. How rude.   

Chuck

 

A couple text book examples of young Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) clumps bursting from a weathered oak trunk; very nice.

Red rise brook

Red Rise Brook this morning. Time spent sat by a brook is always time well spent I say.

Islands Thorns

We've spent our recent Sunday long walks amongst the glorious stands at the north of the forest, the extensive block of woodland created by Islands Thorns, Amberwood, Alderhill and Sloden enclosures and sprawling ancient woodland that surrounds them. What a wonderful tract of forest. It's one of those all too rare places where beyond the occasional aerial intrusion the sounds of modernity are absent, here you can really hear the woodland; quiet yourself and let your senses reach out, layer upon layer of sound will be revealed to you. I recommend the walking here, endless path permutations through splendid woodland with more sights and vistas than you could shake a stick at; what's not to like, so atmospheric here too.

Eyeworth Pond

 

Tucked away, hidden at the head of a wooded valley Eyeworth Pond was created in the late 19th century in order to supply the nearby gunpowder factory by damming one of the the upper tributaries of Latchmore Brook; until 1921 the factory here produced smokeless gunpowder, and at the height of it's success it employed 100 people. Though it wasn't the first industry in this locale, nor possibly the largest; under the Romans this part of the forest was a major centre of pottery production in the 3rd century AD, running numerous large kilns. It's hard to imagine bustling industries here in the tranquillity of the deep forest. 

The Rookery

On old maps this corner of Cumber enclosure is marked 'The Rookery'; a name which I reckon pre-dates the present enclosed plantation of 1843, and could be associated with nearby Rhinefeild House.  Although the current Rhinefeild house (a 4* hotel) only dates from the late 19th century, the site has been lived on in one form or other since the 11th century. That's the value of old maps, they hold forgotten histories and hints to previous land use; the name 'The Rookery' is missing from contemporary OS Maps, and with it that nod to history.

Rare fruit

Apples from three of the Commons' apple trees; the others were either barren or the few fruits they had were inaccessible. On the whole it's been a pitiful year for apples over the Common; and not just over the Common, neighbours with cookers say their fruits are fewer and smaller. It started well enough, with plenty of blossom, though it has come to nought, a very thin harvest indeed. Shame. And no, they hadn't be scrumped already, I was point and had to wade through dense bracken, bramble and nettle to reach these trees. That said, it was worth it even for a few fruits; the Commons' apples, although not huge, and sometimes slightly thicker skinned, are very tasty nonetheless.  Heritage varieties do you think? I do.

Luxury beliefs

We're increasingly told via the media that we're a society wracked with anxiety brought about by our existential climate crisis and accompanying breakdown. I'm sure that many experience anxiety, and that many find themselves on a sliding scale of concern, then there's magnitudes more for who, for the most part, pay lip service to the virtuous thing to say. Cynical, moi? Well, riddle me this, 52% of Britons will be taking a holiday this year, out of which a staggering 42% intend to travel internationally.  You know, I got to thinking if you were to represent those who claim to be anxious/worried about the climate and those holidaying abroad in a Venn diagram I'd wager a good majority would appear in the overlapping group. Is that luxury beliefs or cognitive dissonance? Don't misunderstand me, I'm not singling people out, it's just they're a really good example of 'us' as a whole; we're the Achilles' heel(s) of climate mitigation, as it's easy to support agendas and policies in abstract, although support often melts away when our virtuous beliefs collide with the realities of necessity or desire. Explains where all the people have been. It's been noticeable that even on good days the forest and beach have been far emptier than you'd normally expect them to be, the roads too; it being summer and all. That, and 48% of the population won't be taking a holiday; and I imagine that if we added this group to our Venn diagram they'd neither be holidaying nor putting climate change high on their list of concerns (not saying it's not there); sea levels rising 'over there' mean little to those already struggling to keep their heads above water over here. Ah, the times they aren't a-changin' (no it a good way at least), mostly because we ain't learnin', eh. It's no wonder we're so far away from genuine systemic change. 

Not this morning

 

Oh huzzah, yet another wet and overcast summer day in the woods; not even this Common Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus) could be bothered to rise to the occasion, not this morning. That said, of course it's nice out in the forest at any time; it's just I was quite looking forward to a summer. 

Ooh!

The Ooh tree; the best tree face I've seen in ages.

Malus

Out in the forest it's been a very good year for Crab Apples (Malus sylvestris) many of the trees are hanging with fruit. 

Think

I've observed over the last couple of years that open or not properly closed gates have become a growing phenomena; to the point that we come across at least one on nearly every walk. On the whole I don't think this is malice or wilful ignorance, more inadequate understanding of the environment born of a lack of socialization to the countryside. That said, surely closing a gate isn't rocket science; some of those gates, like this one above, open on to forest roads.  

Alderhill

 

Alderhill Enclosure

Bracken

 

The Commons' bracken has been humbled by the recent rains, battered down from well above head height to somewhere just above the waist. Bracken had many wide ranging traditional uses, and in past communities it was a much valued resource; although today due to it's highly invasive nature it's seen more as a threat to biodiversity. You can see why too. I can't think of an environment in which it doesn't appear to flourish, it's been suggested that bracken covers 1.6% of the UK.

An orange spot

Many of the forest stands are marked for change, the 'orange spot' identifying a tree for felling, and there's a hell of a lot of spotted trunks about; all over the forest too. It's the conifers which are going, the cash crop, money trees; some whole blocks are to be clear cut, others to be thinned as well as any coniferous invaders removed from adjacent deciduous blocks. I don't know what the forestry have got planned for the clear cut blocks, replanting or restoration to open heath maybe; the deciduous blocks though, I'm looking forward to seeing them opened up.

Out of time

I'm seeing mushrooms I'd not normally expect to encounter until mid/late September; for example these Hedgehog mushrooms (Hydnum repandum), which  look like they've already been up for a week or so. Out in the woods expectation clashes with reality, I'm expecting to find summer though all my senses tell me it's autumn out here. And why wouldn't they. 

 

We've just experienced the 6th wettest July on record, though our sensationalist media, fixated with the extremes of climate change, the flames and floods, have said very little (as far as I know). I'm not suggesting that extreme weather episodes aren't important or newsworthy, nor that we wont be effected by the consequences of extreme weather, though I don't think they'll define 'our' climate change experience. No, ours, extreme episodes aside, is going to manifest in systemic change to environments and ecosystems, brought on by an increase in periods of unseasonal weather and the weakening of fixed seasons; wet when it should be dry, warm when it should be cold and vice versa. The impact on our insect, floral and faunal communities both wild and domesticated cannot be underestimated, nor can the impact on the natural cycles they are we rely upon. I think the media are missing an opportunity to bring everyday climate change at home into focus. Moreover, media silence has created a vacuum quickly and easily filled by mocking climate deniers plying their superficially compelling (under the circumstances) 'climate change, puh' narrative. Silly really.

Dapper fallow

Wandering Red Rise Hill, a young looking Fallow Deer stag (Dama dama), 2 or 3 years old I reckon, looks immaculate, a  proper dapper fallow; did you know each deer has a unique pattern of spots. Cool, eh. 

Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh blessings /|\