Murky

Overnight the weather changed, this morning gone was the icy crispness and dry cold which defined the last week or so, and today could best be described as damp, dank and dull. That said, we still enjoyed a good walk in an empty forest. 

Hail the Holly

One tree that's certainly doing well this year is the Holly (Ilex aquifolium), many are brimming with bight red berries, clearly visible across the landscape as beacons of colour in a fading forest. In a year that's seen failed, or at least feeble, wild harvests, the Holly's berries will be an invaluable source of food for the forest's birds and smaller mammals; whilst it's tenderer leaves are always sought by the deer and pony communities through the lean months. All hail the Holly King.