Sunday, 7 October 2012

Back to the Woods

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Having had a couple of weeks break, it was nice to get back into the woods. The weather was nice and sunny and there was a real, if not weak, warmth to it. It was certainly warm enough to attract a couple of late flying insects such as this Comma butterfly and a Common darter dragonfly.

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My excursion found me in Poor Park woods. I was surprised to see most of the blackberries now gone already, but there were one or two patches left. The damp but mild early autumn brought with it a smell, which is unique to this time of year.

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All was quiet. It is a calm before the storm - as very soon, the first frosts will descend and there will be a late scramble to  collect fallen fruit and nuts. Of course, there will also be an atmosphere of electricity through the woods when the Fallow deer rut commences and the Tawny owls start calling out defending their territories.

For now, the trees still mostly had a full layer of green leaves with only a few of the maples starting to turn to a beautiful red.

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Next weekend we have our popular Immersion course in Hatfield forest which I’m really looking forward to. This is a great course and participants always come away with a new outlook on nature and a basic toolbox of tracking skills. It will be great to our crew again and of course meet new people and introduce them to the Forest.

Until then… thanks for the visit.

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