Oceans of oaks

 

Last year was a mast year, with a bumper crop of acorns, and as a consequence hundreds of thousands of saplings carpet the oak stands of the forest; I mean, it's quite the sight. There are stands where it's near impossible to make footfall without risk of crushing a sapling or two. Imagine if all, or even a good majority, of these tiny oak saplings were to be able to grow to fruition. From tiny acorns, eh.

Tiny acorns

Many of the forest oaks are laden with tiny acorns. It's looking like it's going to be a bumper year, and I'd imagine heralds a long pannage in Autumn.

Acorns

 

Surveying the oaks about our roams, I'd say it's been a pretty poor year for acorns. A significant number of oaks have no visible fruits, whilst most of the others have a mix of low yield fruit or diseased fruit. If what I've seen on our walks is representative of the forests' stands as a whole, it's going to be a thin pannage for the oinkers. I've not noticed the quality and quantity of beech mast this autumn, though I think I'd have noticed if it were good.

Young oaks

A stand of young oaks, one of many mosaic blocks which make up Rhinefield Sandy's enclosure. I do like this particular block. It's not big, though enjoys a very attractive and engaging aesthetic.

Saplings

A nursery of sapling deciduous trees, predominantly Oaks (Quercus) though including Beech (Fagus sylvatica), Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa) and Silver Birch (Betula pendula), tucked away amongst the mosaic of Burley New enclosure. Good to see. A strange environment to wander through and nice space to spend time in too; like being in an art installation.

Knight Wood

The forest is full of magical hidden places, places that are a little off the beaten track, the places in-between, overlooked and rarely trodden. Places where you seldom, if ever, see others, and connection to woods and nature is easy. These are some of my favourite places, as they retain a certain something only felt, impossible to articulate. Above, a restored Warwickslade cutting meanders through the misty stands of Knight Wood; the restoration has resulted in the woodland slowly becoming waterlogged... it's welly country, and will only get wetter as the effects of restoration bed in. Knight Wood is unenclosed deciduous old forest, the oldest tracts being those of majestic veteran beech on the, slightly, higher ground, more recent the mature oaks through which Warwickslade cutting flows (they date somewhere in the 1800's, and drainage). Some of these oaks are not liking the wetter aspects of the restored landscape one bit, their broken limbs litter the woodland floor and several of the trees are looking rather peaky. Full restoration to bog woodland will be a long journey mind, it'll take decades for these oaks to be replaced by returning carr species. You know, I don't remember ever seeing another soul amongst these oaks, I'm sure there must be other visitors, and maybe they're thinking that they've never seen anybody here either.

Seasonal wear

 

The latest autumn fashion on display in the forest this morning; this juvenile Oak is wearing this seasons Ent must have, a very nice (once) lined Animal jacket, perfect for out and about in the colder months. Funny the things you come across whilst out walking. Each has a story to tell.

Knopper

 

Another aspect to the invasive Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris), which I mentioned in a previous post, is the Knopper Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalicis). Although the Turkey Oak  arrived on these shores in the 1700's, the Knopper Gall Wasp who requires the Turkey Oak to complete it's life journey didn't arrive here until the 1960's. On arrival it discovered it also had a fondness for the acorns of our indigenous Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur), and as with the Turkey Oak itself the Gall Wasps are becoming a more and more common sight on the forest's oaks. It's been a thin year for acorns anyway, and a glut of Knoppers hasn't helped any.

Ents

 Ents walk the forest.