The tree

Set in the burgeoning sea of stinging nettles that edges Creepy Woods stands the tree. It's not the only tree, there are four of them, four Oaks in a line, no doubt the former boundary to a field or paddock, although it's the only tree climbable, and with the capacity for three or four people to lounge.  We'd  meet at the 'tree' when foraging, or just if was a nice day. It was a favourite place to just hang out. I remember it being a great place for sunsets, the land gently rises and you're afforded an expansive canvas for the sun to express himself. Then the fields were far more extensive, a broad green buffer between Christchurch and Highcliffe. Though thirty years on, and several parcels of development later, the trees stand in a shrinking island of post agricultural land, a shadow of their former glory. Still, they, and the woodland, remain a haven for wildlife and a good place to forage wild resources.  It was stinging nettle again for me today. Well, it's free food, delicious and nutritious. I'd postponed my walk today because of rain, when I did set off I was well dressed, and I walked home in my t-shirt; that's when you know springs here proper.