Spring cleaning

They've been doing some land management work along Red Rise Brook, clearing invasive shrubs and trees, opening up vistas and reconnecting areas. It's easy to see the forest as natural landscape, and forget that all it's constituent parts, heath, wood, lawns, are all the consequence of a constant cycle of management, and far from natural. That said, I love it.

Tags

Bonnie, Ben, Jack and Molly, shiny discs, nailed to a birch in Red Rise Shade. What's the story there, I wonder?

Blackthorn

All along Mill Lawn Brook the Blackthorn are coming into flower.

And so it begins!

As is my way, I've left it late to start up the lotty. I make the same excuses every year. Most of the seasoned holders are up there all year doing something or other, March to Octobers my season, though adopting that maintenance regime does mean some tough work to get it back in shape.

Misty Moor

Dartmoor touches me like no other landscape I know, in any season, in any weather, the magic is so tangible, the landscape crackles with energy.  There's just something about the place. Maybe it's primal aspects of the rugged landscape with its exposed moors, high tors and deeply wooded river valleys, often cloaked in mists. Maybe its that where ever you walk, you walk in the footsteps of the moors past inhabitants, like an archaeological onion the moor has layer upon layer of history. Low cloud and swirling mist, heavy with moisture, shrouded the Moor today, and as damp as that was, it couldn't dampen our spirits or our desire to explore. First to Merrivale, a complexed landscape of natural rocks and human activity and occupation, of isolated Bronze Age stones settings, rows, kists, circles and menhirs. Constructed during a very different climatic period of drier warmer days and clear sky nights, their current isolated setting in a deteriorating climate lends them an additional air of forlorn mystery. Then it was off to Wistman's Wood. Tucked into the side of the West Dart River valley, it's all that remains of a much more extensive woodland, remnant of our Atlantic rainforest. It's gnarled Oaks emerging from moss covered boulders have a fantasy air about them, home to mythical beasts and fairy folk. Below them the West Dart was in full flow, bubbling and splashing as it sought to escape the Moor.  Returning to the car we made our way across the Moor, stopping periodically to take in a site or a view, before our final stop at Hay Tor and its adjacent quarry.  We arrived at Hay Tor during a break in the clouds, bathed in warming sun, although by the time we reached the Tor the cloud had returned and with strong gusting winds which made any ascent of the Tor too treacherous to contemplate.  I love the Moor, I feel so connected to it, I felt it my first time there and that feeling has only grown over the years of visits and camps.

Totnes gig at Unit23, part 1: Invisible Opera Company of Tibet

Totnes on the River Dart, Devon's Glastonbury, they say, was our destination this evening for a night of musical entertainment at Unit23. Unit23 a great little venue well suited to the times, a unit on an industrial estate, it's well laid out, a good sized space with balconies/mezzanine on three sides, no frills, but well functional, with good sound too; a great place. At a time when small/medium town centre venues are being pushed out, places on the periphery are ideally suited to fill a need.  A need for live music. No neighbours to piss off, either.  We were here to catch Magic Bus and Gong, although when we arrived we discovered that that Gong family favourite, the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet had been added to the evening, and what a great way to start the evening. There's a nice funky punky rock vibe to the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet, they're a band which always keep it real.  A nice mix of tracks, a couple of old Here & Now/Gong numbers from the 'Floating Anarchy' period, one which was 'Stoned Innocent Frankenstein' which was interrupted by interference from guitarist Brian Zero's musical t shirt.  All the bands tracks have lyrics that have something to say, this is proper festy/protest music, it's got a DIY feel to it, and is performed with fashion and humour.  That not to suggest that it's amateur or anything, not at all, they're all great well seasoned musicians and performers.  Jackie Juno delivers her vocals with gusto, and both her and Catriona McTeabag, on backing vocals, give flamboyant expressive performances. Tracy Austin-tatious Loquacious, on drums, and Phil Whitehouse, on bass, effortlessly created a bouncy uplifting rhythm section. Whilst Julian Veasy put in a solid performance on keys and synth. All great musicians. Even though there's a punky element to the sound and performance, it's also warm and engaging. The band didn't do a very long set, though what they did do was quality, and was a great appetizer for what was to come. As I say, the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet's music and performance has a real old school free festy feel to it and it's lovely. And, hey, a bit of Tory cussing too. Can't be bad.

Totnes gig at Unit23, part 2: Magic Bus

Well, the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet had got our evening off to a great start. The place was now filling up with an interesting selection of the colourful and goodly folk of Totnes, ready for one of tonight’s headline acts, the fantastic, Magic Bus. We discovered Magic Bus a couple of years ago, and if you've stumbled across my past blog posts about them, then you'll know I dig the bands sound and the atmosphere of musical joy they create. Magic Bus are Viv Goodwin-Darke on flute and vocals; Paul Evans on guitar and vocals; Terence Waldstradt on guitar and vocals, Wihll Mellorz on bass, Mitch Pike on drums and of course Jay Darlington on all things key and twiddly; all are splendid musicians and masters of the craft. I always feel uncomfortable about 'they're like' statements, though do it all the time,  it's a useful descriptive tool. So, if you like that 70's Canterbury psychedelic prog sound, with a soupçon of West coast and a handful of mushrooms, you'll f*cking love Magic Bus, they're in that tradition, it's the organ/flute/harmonies combo thing. I really dig the fluty/organ sound combo, which create the ethereal stream of wistful magic which meanders through all the 'Bus's' tracks. Lovely! As expected tonight’s performance didn't disappoint, in fact from the get go tonight the band took their performance to new heights. Whenever we've seen them they've delivered great performances, tonight though they were cooking on gas. Maybe it's because Totnes is home territory, that the band appeared really relaxed, in a way we'd not seen them before. Maybe it's the addition of a heavier drummer (not in any way a criticism of previous drummer Connor, who is a top drummer and lovely chap), that the tracks seemed performed with added gusto. I don't know. Whatever the reason, there was a different energy this evening and a sense of freedom and joyful abandon in their performance. They kicked off with 'Sunflower', off of 'Transmissions from Sogmore's Garden'; a sunny afternoon under dappled sun type of a song, a beautiful track to create an uplifting atmosphere.  And, we were off on a magical bus journey. They played a nice mix of favourites from their previous two albums, and a good sprinkling of new songs from their forthcoming album too.  All took you smiling through worlds of psychedelic bliss.  Their new tracks have a jazzier flavour to them, still distinctively Magic Bus though; they certainly all sounded great. I'm definitely looking forward to their upcoming release, released in a month or so, on vinyl too! The jazzy sound made a complimentary addition to the bands more established psychedelic, folky, prog, rock sound. Paul mentioned the influence of Gong on them, that's no bad thing, I can think of worse things to be influenced by.  We all take influence, it's where those influences take our mind and creativity that's important. And Magic Bus have clearly created something of their very own, you know a Magic Bus track when you hear one. Every track was played to perfection. The best Magic Bus performance we'd seen, by a country mile, and I've thought every performance we'd seen has been bloody marvellous. Everybody was having a whale of a time, and the band looked like they were really enjoying it too, all smiles (it was the smiley-est I'd seen Jay, who usually looks quite studious), and that's what it's all about, everyone having a good time. Well, job done. A big thanks to the band, the venue and the inhabitants of Totnes who made for a memorable evening. I can't wait to see Magic Bus at the Avalon Weekender, nor wait for their latest waxing. Check Magic Bus out, or lose out, it's as simple as that.

Now, Gong!

Rhinefields Sandys

Walking near Rhinefields Sandy's enclosure I noticed the gate was open, and couldn't resist going in. Rhinefields Sandy's was a place we used to enjoy walking, it's one of the places we walked our older children when they were young, it was the place our eldest said his first word, on a chilly winters day, with the winds swaying the coniferous canopy, he said 'tree'. Not too many years later the woodland was enclosed by 3m high deer fencing and the access gates locked, and so it has been for over fifteen years. I think they'd been doing some thinning out and forgotten to close up. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed the access. The main path remained quite clear, narrowed by encroaching growth, but clear. Whereas some of the other paths had all nut disappeared, like the one in the picture, which used to be a broad forestry track, though now is hardly recognizable. Nature will regain her dominance quickly if left to her own devices. It was nice to walk there again.

Cursus Barrow

It's been a while since I've walked over Martin Down, it's a stunning landscape. It's a landscape steeped in history too. The seasonal nakedness of the trees allows for a clearer look at some of downs oldest monuments, here a group of Neolithic Long Barrows which cluster around the north-eastern terminal end of Dorset Cursus. These would have been collective burial monuments, chambered bone houses, with the interned bones often sorted by type. There is evidence from some Long Barrows of the bones having been removed then returned.

Last leg

Some trees are just tenacious in their determination to cling on to the very end! Nothing remains of the fallen upper portion of this tree, long returned to the earth. Yet, with only a small fraction of its original girth remaining this tree stands defiant to the last. You've got to respect such endurance, man.

The Neighbourhood Strange

A nice surprise to return home to after a damp walk under sullen skies. The latest 7'' waxing from Salisbury's premier psychedelic garage combo, The Neighbourhood Strange. A nice high grade cardboard sleeve with a colourfully tripped out cover houses a quality heavy weight vinyl. This second single is a double 'A' sider of glorious 60's infused psychedelia, and complements nicely their earlier release. Both tracks are organ heavy, guitar driven numbers with tight drumming, though both very different. The A side's 'let's get high' is quite a dancey number with a cellar club feel to it, great organ and jangly guitar give this track a really nice groovy feel to it, great vocals too. You can help but move to it. The AA side 'One last chance' has a slower feel to it, a lamenting number with an appropriately heavier feel to it, there's a heavier garage guitar sound on this one and some tidy drumming, again nice organ and vocals. Very happy with it. Thing is, listening to it just makes you want more, I want to hear what an album would sound like...bloody good I'd imagine. If not an album, at least an EP. Anyway, don't take my word buy a copy here. 

Puddle

It may not be the most stable of nursery’s, not the most permanent and it's certainly susceptible to disturbance, possibly traumatic, but this puddle is home to this clutch of tadpoles. Tadpoles whose parents thought a puddle on a well used rangers track would be prime littlun raising territory. Still, they're resilient little buggers and have already survived the frosts and by the looks of the puddle, numerous boots, hooves and Land Rover tyres.  So, I sure they'll be okay.

Bratley Enclosure Bank

A mature Beech grows from the bank of Bratley Enclosure (1829). The known age of the enclosure gives a nice indicator of the trees age. It's also interesting to see how simple earthworks can remain prominent features of a landscape for hundreds of years, if not much much longer.

Young Turk

The Young Turks of the forest know the wheel turns and that their time is coming.

Broken Britain

That's what's wrong with this country, nothing does what it's supposed to. 

Up above the streets and houses

The weather was interesting today. When the sun came out it was really lovely, illuminating the landscape as if spring had come calling, though this was only ever out fleetingly. Then before you knew it, the winds drove the clouds back obscuring the sun, bring with them rain and hail. Then there were the moments when it rained as the sun shone, a foxes riddle and a monkeys dance as my old mother used to say; I don't know why, she was a bit bonkers. At these moments of weather transition rainbows formed. I was looking at one such rainbow over Ober Water towards Rhinefields Sandy's when I noticed that the rainbow passed in front of the trees of the enclosure, and by shifting my position slightly I could see where the ends touched down. I don't remember ever seeing a rainbow like that before; I got quiet excited. I also made a note of where the ends of the rainbow were, just in case.

Daffs

It's nice to see the life and colour returning to the forest. A solitary clump of Daffodils (one of the Narcissus genus, though I don't know which one) stood out as they shone in the morning sun.  I couldn't tell if they were a wild or cultivated variety, the petals were lighter than the flower (though not much) and they were quite small which would suggest a wild form. Though from their position at the confluence of two small streams where they become Mill Lawn Brook and them being the only specimens in the vicinity, I imagine they were placed there with purpose. The forest was good walking this morning.

The Greek Theatre 'Broken Circle'

I came across 'The Greek Theatre' through Mega Dodo Records and what a stroke of luck, because I found a gem of an album. At the core of The Greek Theatre are song writers Sven Froberg and Fredrik Persson hailing from Stockholm Sweden, they along with supporting musicians have created a fantastic softer folky end of the spectrum psychedelic joy...'Broken Circle'. Every track on Broken Circle is perfect, filled with interesting nooks and crannies for your ears and mind to explore. The duo are clearly influenced by the late 60's, with a good helping of the early 70's, that doesn't mean the sound's dated, it isn't. There's a real contemporary feel to it especially the vocals, although when the harmonies kick in your clearly leaning towards late 60's west coast, which is no more evident than on Ruby-Khon, a short plinky plonky guitar number with delicate out there vocals. My favourite track on Broken Circle is 'Paper Moon' an upbeat yet dreamy track with soft psychedelic pop flavours. There are heavier number too, well, not still not that heavy, overall it's an upbeat, though mellow album.  It should be a massive hit with folk who dig this end of psychedelia (that's me that is, and it is), that said, take this back to 1970 and I'm certain people would go wild for it. Maybe that just makes it timeless. Whatever, it's a great album, made up of well crafted songs performed by high calibre musicians. Love it!

Ramsons

The Ramson (Allium ursinum) leaves having been showing out for a while, though only now are a few flower buds starting to show.  These buds looked quite close to flowering. It's a real sign that spring approaches. I couldn't resist having a nibble on a couple of buds. At first they tasted very mild and I thought it might have been too soon try one, though that thought was quickly dispelled as the garlicy heat began to fill my taste buds.  Good stuff.