Ridley Wood

 

A twin trunk Beech in Ridley Wood.

Mast

 

It's looking a good year for Mast, the forests' Beech (Fagus sylvatica) are putting on a good show; of course, time will tell. Though fiddly and time consuming to process, 'beechnuts' are potentially a valuable wild food resource. Found in prehistoric contexts beechnuts have a long history of use; traditionally they're dry pan toasted, crushed and roasted for a coffee substitute, pressed for oil, and more. Come autumn the pigs at pannage love them too. 

The broad arrow

 

Traditionally the mark of government property, the 'Broad Arrow' is the most common form of graffiti you find in the forest. A symbol in use from the end of the Middle Ages right up until the 1980's. The 'Broad Arrows' of the New Forest represent 'Admiralty Marks' or 'Kings' Marks', marking trees for future use by in Royal Navy shipyards. Times changed though, as did the needs of the shipbuilder, and by the middle of the 19th century iron had replaced timber and these marked trees never made it to sea.

Stranger

A stranger in a strange stand. A radiant young beech shines alone, cloaked in her autumn tints amongst a stand of dour oaks reluctant to accept the coming fall.

Canopy

 

Canopy

Berry Beeches

 

Berry Beeches

Gnawed beech

Back in 2016 this mature Mark Ash beech only narrowly escaped a complete ring stripping by dint of two narrow crevices into which the ponies teeth couldn't reach. You'd imagine this level of bark damage would be catastrophic, though remarkably the tree survives today thanks to those narrow crevices. Isn't nature amazing.

Ch ch changes.......or not.

Carved 95 years ago, so what's changed since CB made their mark on this mature beech in 1929. Well, what was going on in 1929? It was the beginning of the Great Depression, the beginning of a devastatingly period of poverty and decline, there was violent conflict between Jews and Arabs in Mandatory Palestine which saw hundreds dead and injured, across Europe nationalism and fascism on the rise, and around the world change bubbling up. Well, they do say history repeats itself don't they. They also say if we don't learn from history we're condemned to repeat it, looks like we weren't paying attention, eh. Is that proof of the Strauss-Howe hypothesis?

Endurance

 

Trees can teach us a thing or two about endurance. Twisted, buckled, torn and split, this beech has been bent and battered by time and the elements, though even with it's crown forced to the ground it dug in and kept on keeping on. You see a lot of trees about the forest that have been slighted by the elements and have fought on and thrived.

Old ladies of the forest

When you see huge Beech in the forest with multiple smaller (though still substantial) trunks emerging from the main trunk a couple of meters from the ground you can be pretty sure you're looking at an ancient tree, one which easily pre-dates the end of the 17th century. You can know that as in 1698 it was forbidden by government act, the  ‘Act for the Increase and Preservation of Timber in the New Forest’ to coppice or pollard the forests' Oak or Beech, so a pollarded tree would've already been mature and pollarded by then. Making these trees, what, 400 or more years old. Those who've survived thus far are reaching the limits of their lifespans; interestingly a pollarded Beech will live considerably longer than one left untouched, this is common of various managed trees. The usual course of decline is for them to lose trunk after trunk over a number of years, although even then with all the crown trunks fallen I've seen them endure by throwing out growth from what remains. This old lady's lost three crown trunks so far, though still stands firm. Remember when you're with them you're stood with a life which broke earth long before even the dawn of the industrial revolution, let alone the modern age.

Oak King, Beech Queen

 

You'll see this pairing all over the forest, an Oak and Beech planted together. What the purpose if any is, or what the significance is I don't know. Though it's frequency suggests it's not accidental. Whatever it is to me they represent the pairing of the king and the queen of the forest.  

Vinney Ridge

 

Vinney Ridge

Mast

 

Where tall mature beeches grow the woodland floor is covered in mast; it's been a bumper year, and although the beechnuts are small and fiddly to process, they're a reasonably good size. The small nut/seed is edible and have been traditionally used by human communities either by the people themselves or to feed animals; beware though too many can cause stomach upsets. They can also be used to produce oil still frequently used in parts of Europe; I crushed a couple between my fingers, they were good and oily and left my thumb and forefinger feeling glassy smooth. A tasty treat for the pigs at pannage if they sweep this way.

The bladed scribe

 

Some trees more than others attract the attentions of the bladed scribe. This once smooth Beech (hence it's attraction) at Standing Hat has drawn the attention of so many graffiti 'artists' that in many cases their individual works are lost in the creative melee. What you can make out though, is that the 80's appears to have been a popular period.

Oysters

Nice find.  An extensive spread of fresh young button Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) clumps on a fallen beech in Mark Ash Wood. The rains have really brought the forests' fungi to life. I've now seen Oyster, Summer Cep, Chanterelle, a variety of Russula and Puffball, and plenty of others whose identities are unknown to me. The forest continues to riff on that autumn vibe. 

Chase Avenue

What a difference. All the way through our outward journey the mists endured, though as we reached Berwick Down and the beginning of our return leg the mists slowly evaporated to the point that our walk along the Chase Avenue was bathed in radiant sunlight. What a day.

The unfurling

As the buds on every bough begin to unfurl their verdance, it wont be long now before we lose those long views through the stands and the forest closes itself up. The great unfurling has begun.

Avebury beeches

Avebury beeches

Holmhill

 

Holmhill woods

Here comes the rain again

The rain ran down the forest's trees in streams this morning, a testament to it's intensity. The video's on it's side (I couldn't work out how to reorientate it), but you can see the persistent flow.