Path art

 

Created from a mixture of leaves and small stones, I imagine this piece of ephemeral art was a beautifully imagined green flower. Situated in the center of an main forestry track it was never going to last that long.

Preparing for extraction

This bridge over Linford Brook has been temporary strengthened in preparation for timber harvest and extraction from the surrounding Milkham enclosure. There's a lot of forestry activity around the enclosures at the moment, mostly the thinning of mature Douglas stands. Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) timber is of high quality and much sought after and valued by carpenters for a wide range of uses. 

Another bare bottom

Well, the fleeting rains did little to refresh or replenish the forest's brooks and streams. Linford Brook is yet another waterway currently identifying as a gravel track, and has done for a number of weeks now; this photo was taken quite close to the brook's source too in Milkham Enclosure.

A dendronaut's dream

 

Dendronaut, what a great word. When it popped into my head whilst amongst the stands I thought I'd made it up, although a quick look on the internet showed of course I hadn't. Still. Although searching for a definitive definition of 'dendronaut', I discovered there isn't one, no dictionary entry or ought. I suppose simply put it means tree (dendro) traveller (naut), that works well enough for me really. I think it's the perfect word for those who can't keep to the footpath, being drawn off deep into the green to travel the less trodden woodland paths seeking exploration, immersion and connection. Walking was a dendronaut's dream today.

Milkham

Until recently it'd been several years since since I'd walked over Bratley Plain way or the mosaic woodlands below it, and oh how Milkham Enclosure is changed. I remember last time I was this way they'd just begun harvesting some of the coniferous blocks, particularly those bordering the Linford Brook, remodelling and restoring the surrounding landscape as they went. That restoration process is now well on it's way to completion, and it looks great. Whole new vistas have been opened up. The conifers now mostly gone Linford Brook runs through it's cleared collect, winding through thin smears of newly freed deciduous trees hugging the embryonic brook here and there, before disappearing again into the stands.

Milkham

The open coniferous stands of Milkham enclosure.