Moo

I don't remember cattle roaming the forest as they do today when I was a child; today they're everywhere, on the open in heathland, in the wetland bottoms and amongst the unenclosed forest stands. I don't remember ever walking through woodland and coming face to face with a solitary cow like we did this morning. I'm sure they didn't, and that the cattle have been introduced, or re-introduced, in recent decades; or if they did the practice has become far more widespread. They may have been about and I just remember them, or the forest like that; I'm not infallible. Don't misunderstand me, I’m not complaining either, I welcome increased animal diversity out here. I'm just saying.

Backley

The Sun may have been out over the forest this morning, and lovely it was too; the winds though were bitter, coldest for a while I reckon. With the beautiful days we've enjoyed recently it's been easy to imagine winter vanquished; it isn't though, and we should remember we're not yet beyond the reach of winter's icy fingers.

Aw nuts!

 

As I was saying regards pannage, the Sweet Chestnuts (Castanea sativa) this year have been rubbish. Traditionally, for me anyway, the fringes of Backley Enclosure have always been prime chestnut collecting woodland, and I don't remember it ever being so poor there. Yeah, there were  a handful of gooduns here and there, but no real corkers, and for the most part they've been little more than empty leathery sacks. Same everywhere we've roamed too. I hope it's an anomaly and not a sign of things to come... you do get good and bad years after all.

Bratley from Backley

Across the wet valley in which Blackensford Brook is born, the ancient Bratley Wood as seen from Backley Enclosure. The forest was wet today, wet just hung there in the air and clung to everything, every fern and tuft of grass. The wet air muffled the forest, all you could hear was water, dripping from the boughs, flowing through the gullies, rattling over gravel and bursting over the detritus dams which frequently appear in the forest streams. That and the noise of your feet splashing with every step. Did I mention it was wet. Still, it was nice out.