Nettles

A large brown Owl swoops from a branch directly above me, disturbed by my movement below its perch, it takes an effortless glide through the greening boughs of the surrounding trees to rest again unseen.  Holm Hill Enclosure is bursting into life, the recent sunny weather and last nights rain have brought out the leaf buds and the woodland is rapidly greening, filling out, all the views through the woodland are contracting, blurring, soon to disappear; the trees full of leaves will create dells and secret groves.  I stopped on a dry gravel bank, exposed as Highland Water has reduced to a shallow gentle flow, that said, there are some deeper stretches and where trees have fallen in to the stream deep holes have formed.  The banks of the stream are covered with the detritus of the winter floods; as the water has resided it has left a jumble of branches and stumps, frequently causing obstructions. On the gravel I laid a small fire; papery birch bark and dry fern for tinder, so wood shavings I collected in Pinnick wood and brittle dead birch twigs for kindling; half a dozen strikes and it was off.  The Bush craft muscle was exercised again by gathering Nettles for soup; at the site of Holm Hill Cottage, long since gone, two patches of nettles flourish; I've found it unusual to find nettle patches of any size in the forest, so these are a boon.  After a couple of nettle tops collected my fingers began to tingle as the formic acid got to work, I persevered until I had gathered sufficient for dinner; these nettles are strong and the tingling sensation will remain into tomorrow. The site of the old cottage has a distinctive scent due to the Eucalyptus trees, today it was complimented by the addition of the scent of cherry  blossom blooming nearby.