A Walk in The Woods

A photographic record of Towerhouse Wood at the end of February.

It’s the first time I have ever seen this pretty fungus here

The snowdrops are fading now, soon to be followed by wood anemones and bluebells

Candle snuff fungus

The promise of things to come

Wonderful dormouse habitat

Very common on dead ash, I always show this to children when I take take them round although it’s surprising how many have never heard the story of King Alfred burning the cakes!

Some of the many ferns of different kinds that thrive on the woodland floor

I thought this fallen branch looked striking but I didn’t see the resemblance to a dragon until I looked back at my photos!

Many of the trees in the wood are covered in ivy. I love the pattern the stems make on the trunks and branches. In my view one of the most underrated of plants.

The wild cherries are so tall you can only see the blossom if you crane your neck, or view them at a distance from the valley below. When the flowers fall they cover the paths like confetti. Sometimes I find the stones cached by wood mice which have nibbled tiny holes to extract the kernels.

I’m fascinated by fungi but I have never put in the hours needed to identify any but the most familiar. I won’t hazard a guess at this one so any suggestions are welcome.

Lesser celandine is so common it is considered to be a weed but I love the cheerful splash of colour it brings, and always look out for the first flowers.

Several old field maple coppices along the boundary have been severely damaged in the storms leaving the south facing slope with a far more open aspect. It will be interesting to see how this area develops.

You need to look carefully to see the tiny green flowers of this Daphne, sadly they don’t have the wonderful smell of their cultivated relatives. Here they are welcome indicators of ancient woodland, in Washington State they are classified as a noxious weed!

A large ash tree has fallen in the storms, this beautiful lichen was growing on one of it’s upper branches.

Another lichen in the top branches of the fallen ash, I don’t think I’ve seen one like this before

My faithful. long suffering, companion. She doesn’t always come with me, as dogs and wildlife don’t really mix, but she gives me a reason to get out every day, sometimes when even the most hardened naturalist would rather stay indoors.

The spring at the boundary of the wood is running fast, it can be dry for months, or years, at a time.

Tell tale fish bones on a log

Home

When I stand at my bedroom window I look across a broad valley to a wooded ridge that runs as far as I can see in both directions.

From the first time I saw the view I knew that this was my home.  When we moved in, on a gloomy day in mid December, the valley was shrouded with mist and for three days we couldn’t see further than the garden hedge.

To my great joy, when I began to explore I discovered that the woods were easily accessible with well used footpaths.  It was the beginning of a love affair.  As winter turned into spring I found snowdrops, then lesser celandine.  In March the first shy wood anemones became a carpet, followed in April by a scented haze of bluebells and patches of pungent wild garlic.

The whole area is rich in wildlife.  There are tawny owls, a pair of buzzards nest every year, and I always have the company of jackdaws.  Sometimes I even hear the cronk of a raven flying overhead.  Warm spring mornings are alive with birdsong.    Unsurprisingly, there are badgers and foxes, and I have come face to face with a roe deer a stone’s throw away.  Very occasionally I even find evidence that an otter has visited the boundary stream.

Perhaps the most elusive inhabitant of the woods is the dormouse.  I had always hoped they were there and, several years ago I was taught how to use survey tubes, and trained for a handling licence.  After 18 months of looking, when I had almost given up hope, I found a shred of evidence in one of the tubes.  On the strength of this I was given funding for nest boxes and two years later I held all the proof I needed in my hand.

As the months go by I will write about the comings and goings in the wood, the valley, my garden, and the other places, slightly further afield, that I have learnt to love since I moved from London to The West Country more than 20 years ago.