Chicken tree

Chicken of the woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) is currently to be found in bountiful quantities throughout the older deciduous woodland of the forest. After not seeing much of it about I thought it might have been a subdued year for Chicken of the woods, though it would appear I was being a touch previous as in the last couple of weeks it's come on rather splendidly. In certain woods you can't turn round with seeing another clump.

Burley Old

Created in 1700, Burley Old enclosure was one of the first enclosures made under the 1698 New Forest Act. Lovely.

Hermitage

Set deep in old woodland, this strange piece of woodland art puts me in mind of a hermitage, just big enough for a person to sit in and take some degree of shelter from the elements, whilst still being able to enjoy the view. A perfect place for contemplation and communion with nature.

Freindly pony

More than not the forest ponies don't really want much to do with you, but occasionally one will, for what ever reason, take a liking to you. This pony took a liking to me today, coming up to me I made a fuss of her.  When I stopped though she nuzzled me to continue and did so every time I tried to stop; remaining content whilst being fussed over. Then when I started to walk off, she followed and followed for a ways too.  They're real characters the forest ponies.

Summers end

As I walked along Highland Water I mused that Summers end would soon be upon us. This year my feelings weren't tinged with regret and disappointment as in the last couple of years, for this year we've had a summer and a reasonably good one at that. Not that I don't welcome the changing seasons, I welcome them all, as I enjoy them all, look forward to them all. Though you feel you've missed out, or somehow been diddled, in those years where a season has failed to fully materialize. No, hail and farewell Summer and hail and farewell Autumn.

Chunky Chicken

Cutting through a Chicken of the woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) 'shelf' it's clear as to where it gets its name from and why. The interior looks strikingly like cooked chicken and also exhibits a very similar texture.  

Baby Oysters

A little bit of rain and the forest fungi wakes up. Bursting through fallen, or still standing, decaying Beech trunk and bough, the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) can frequently be found after rain at almost any time of the year and is always a welcome find due to their good eating.  In my opinion best caught young, within a day really of appearing in drier periods and two or three at the most in wet periods, as they tend to spoil quite quickly.

Flow

A brief episode of rain and the dried woodland streams come back to life and flow again. Although I think it wont be long before they're once more dry. No, it wont be for a few more weeks until their flow is once more guaranteed. Still, the forest looks refreshed and the greens a little greener for the welcomed shower. 

Three Kings

Three Kings stand proud, aware of our presence, aware of the danger we pose to them and their harem of 30 or so Does and ready to disappear into the tangled shade of the nearby woodland in a heartbeat.  They and their massed Does do just that as we move towards them. Dispersing like a fractal, in half, then each half in half again and so on until groups of 2 or 3 head off in multiple vectors through the dappled woodland and disappear. A splendid survival strategy; confuse any hunter by creating more targets than they know what to do with. And before you know it they're gone, too far ahead and spread out to successfully capture.

Autumn calls

You can't yet see it, though carried lightly on the breeze you can occasionally smell it, you can certainly sense it, feel it.  From somewhere deep inside of you, there is a registering, a registering from a long distant period, a primal understanding from a time when our connection with nature was deeper, more immediate and vital. Change is coming; Autumn calls.

Brinken

Dead wood

I read somewhere theres an old saying that an average Oak trees life is made up of 300 years growing, 300 years living and 300 years dying. Well it's certainly true that even when an a gnarled old Oak has long since ceased to to bear leaf and its bark withered and dropped, it still retains a presence, and importantly a purpose, in the woodland.

Summer Boletus

Oh my, always a lovely sight, a boletus. On this occasion the, not so common, Summer Boletus (Boletus reticulatus). Rarer in Britain and more common in Southern Europe, you do see the Summer Boletus and it's a good eater too. Though, as I say, it's not so common, and so I left it; it shouldn't be too long, hopefully, before the Ceps appear, I can wait. I've seen these before, but never so young. This young specimen still retains a velvety cap; that'll go as the fungi matures. Nice find and a further portent of autumn.

Changes

Ch ch ch changes, as Bowie sang, the forest is entering a period of change. I know that nature's always in flux, though mostly it goes unnoticed. But there are periods when it's very tangible. I smelt it first last week, subtle on the breeze.......Autumn, or rather the outriders of autumn, heralding the seasons approach.  You can smell it, the sweet petrichor. You can feel it, fresh on your skin, filling your lungs. But beyond the physical, you feel it. Spring and autumn, the most trans-formative of the seasons; the two seasons I enjoy the most, both so full of anticipation and hurried activity.  I think it's natural to be moved at these times. Not too long ago autumn would have been as important to us as it is to the other animals, before globalization the coming of autumn and the certainty that winter was to follow, would have been a period of heightened anxiety as we gathered in the harvests which represented our survival.  Naturally that echoes in us.

Chase Avenue

The majestic Chase Avenue, running east west for about a mile and a half through Chase Woods, is quite the sight. Set in the rolling downs of the Dorset Wiltshire border, Chase Wood covers about 470 ha, with a significant proportion of that being recorded as ancient or ancient semi-natural woodland, it is a great place to loose yourself; if you were of a mind to, you could keep walking within the shade of the canopy all day. Chase Avenue, is a planned avenue of paired Beech trees, and in some sections doubled, cuts through the woodland with purpose, creating a most excellent walk. Composed of two straight sections which meet in large open circle in the middle, the avenue runs up and down combes over rises, so isn't a boring linear affair; each and every way you look there are differing woodland views. There are a few paths marked on the OS map (Explorer 118 Shaftsbury and Cranbourne Chase) cutting through or skirting Chase Woods, though the best paths are the 'permissive' ones, identified by wooden posts marked with a black directional arrow on a white circle, they afford you the best walking. The path along Chase Avenue is a permissive one. The photo above is taken from the eastern end of the avenue.

Stour morning

An early morning walk along the River Stour.

Sloes

Sloes as big as cherries! Autumn is coming and I'm look forward to it. In the forest, in a good year, autumn is a season of bountiful blessings, berries, nuts, mushrooms, all are for the gathering. Lovely. I'm already planning what wines and spirits to make, as well as what I'm going to do with, fingers crossed, this years mushrooms. It's a busy season, but one in which you feel really connected with mature and grateful for her bounties.

Avon Water

Feral Tractor

I came across a feral tractor on the hill overlooking the Encombe Valley, I say feral it has obviously lived all its life outside in the wild. No storage in a shed for this beast. Rusty and ragged and with the appearance of neglect, you'd have been forgiven for thinking it another abandoned piece of farm machinery; a common sight. Though you'd have been mistaken. This tractor was still working and in use. It amazes me how so often you see farm, and other, machinery just left out apparently neglected and yet they still appear to remain serviceable for years. It crosses my mind if they last so long with no care taken over them, how much longer they'd last if treated with more care; a life time maybe.

Egmont Bight and Freshwater Step waterfall

A view across Egmont Bight towards Houns Tout, Chapmans Pool and in the distance St Aldhelm's Head, taken from the cliffs above Freshwater Steps waterfall. Dark grey Kimmeridge clays dominate the geology of this section of coast, fragile and subject to slides and collapse, the sea is often coloured by fresh its deposits. Freshwater Step waterfall is small, although it can be transformed during the winter months, what is notable though about the waterfall is the protruding Kimmeridge clay step which gave the waterfall its name. Sticking out into the sea as it does, even at low tide, it cuts across the beach creating an impassible obstacle, making a walk from Kimmeridge to Chapmans Pool along the seashore impossible.  We first found this out many years ago after walking the considerable distance from Kimmeridge, along what is in places is an arduous shoreline, only to be faced with the even more arduous walk back. There used to be steps up from the beach to the coastal path on the Kimmeridge side, steps we had hoped to climb in order for an easier walk back, though sadly these fell in to disrepair, decay and finally by the time we required them, oblivion. Today though, the walk was along the cliff top, in glorious sunshine and the views were equally as glorious. No matter what the season or what the weather the Jurassic Coast never fails to lift and inspire. 

Chicken in a tree

I noticed some Chicken of the woods about 3m up an Oak amongst the stands of Camel Green. Last year these woods were full of Chicken of the woods, on one walk I counted 11 or more good sized specimens; not so this year though, this young clump is the only specimen I've spied in a while.  I didn't collect any, too young and there's plenty of time (as long as anyone else doesn't see it) for it to get bigger. Still though, I wanted to see if it was get-able and so, using the Ivy which clings to the tree, I climbed up to a position where I could have collect some. It's good to practice.

lughnasadh

Blessings at lughnasadh. 

First harvest, the grain harvest, may your dreams and desires be as successful as natures bounty.

Lightning?

I've never seen this before in the forest. A large straight quite mature Oak has a strip of bark peeled from the crown to the ground, and into the ground. Thin strips of bark hang from several places along the trunk and all around lay splintered pieces of bark; up to 15m from the tree. At first I though a branch must have fallen and pulled a strip of bark down with it, but there is no branch to be seen. What's more, on inspection it's clear the bark wasn't ripped or stripped from the trunk, more exploded with force from within, from under the bark. How else can the splinters 15m from the tree be explained? I mean splinters too. From 5cm to 30cm, and everything in between, and from 2mm or 3mm to no more than 10mm across. Some weird stuff. I spend some time wandering about and pondering and all I could think was it must have been lightning. Though, there were no scorch or burn marks to be seen. Like just the energy without the heat and fire. There was another oak close by which appeared to have experience something similar but not to the same extent. This tree is gnarlier and the damage line snakes across the trunk from a few meters up down into the ground; the bark here has been popped of the trunk in rough pieces about 30cm long. I'm sure the two events are connected. Crazy, nature always reserves the right to amaze and astound.