It's frothy, man

 

It's frothy, man.

Boiling mound

 

Thought to be Bronze Age in date 2500BC to 700BC there are in excess of 1600 boiling mounds or burnt mounds in the New Forest, mounds of severely fractured burnt flint. It's believed they're the result of heated stones placed in wooden troughs or leather bags filled with water, in order to.....?  Well, it could be to cook with, or brew, or tan, for a sweat lodge, or for all  manner of things domestic, or the prehistorians catch all, ritual. There was some research into Irish burnt mounds suggesting they were used in the textile production process. This mound, 4m or so in diameter, has a narrow path cutting through it, creating a natural sondage clearly showing the burnt flint deposit in section, a nice cross section of the entire feature, from the thin covering horizons down to the prehistoric ground surface the it sits on. Nice.

Churned

 

Timber extraction is a messy business, and when coupled with wet ground conditions, a really messy business. Tracked machinery causes terrible damage to the forest floor, churning the buggery out of it, wheeled vehicles are little better. It seems that no matter where you go throughout the forest extraction or clearing of one kind or another is under way; the volume of timber coming out of the stands must be extraordinary. Without restoration the scars of this work will be visible for years.

Autumn reflected

 

Autumn reflected

Unusual find

Racing along a narrow track through the heather I spun around as something caught my eye. It's amazing how your subconscious runs a program in the back ground which will register the out of place. On inspection I saw something definitely man made, and as soon as I handled it I had an inkling, and then when I turned it over I knew exactly was it was, but not what from. It's a ammunition clip, but for something higher calibre. Turns out to be a clip for a .55 Boys Anti Tank Rifle. The Boys was introduced into service in 1934, and although initially effective against light amour, it soon became redundant as the Second World War progressed and amour developed. The Boys was replaced in 1943 by the more effective and versatile PIAT. So when and how did this clip find its' way here?

Murrays' Passage

Misty through Murrays' Passage, this morning. The passage, a track crossing the boggy valley of Long Brook, created in memory of one Admiral Murray who was apparently killed whilst out hunting in the forest in 1901, or so says the small monument in the valley bottom.

Highland hues

Highland Water in autumn.

Aw nuts.

Well, the results are in, and it's decisive. It's been a shit year for sweet chestnuts. I'd called it wrong last year, so tried to give this year the benefit of the doubt, but no, the nuts this year really have been poor. Of course, that may not be universal, but about our roams it was a case of lots of early droppers little more than sacks, followed by a weak crop of below average size nuts, and few and far between. Could just be a bad year? Maybe. It has been poor across the board, I can’t think of a wild food that's had a particularly good year, neither fruit, nut or fungi.

Forest pool

Throughout the ages the extraction of gravel, sand and clay from about the forest has left  innumerable quarry sites. Many of these old quarries seasonally fill with water, and some hold year nearly all round. They create welcome wildlife oases throughout the forest.