Stunning walk in the sunshine this morning. The cold breeze nipped at my cheeks as I walked between woods and heaths but the landscape was a joy to be embraced by.
The sunlight bounced between the trees in the perfectly silent woodland. The ground cover was perfectly soft but still damp meant I could navigate the trees just as silently as they were and it allowed me to passby a foraging roe deer without being noticed. Crossbills were chattering in the canopy and a circling buzzard was calling above the woodland.
I stopped by to visit the Knowles Beech and she is as grand and majestic as ever amongst the recently cleared conifers giving this old girl all the space she needs to spread her boughs and her roots with enough sunlight to keep her standing possibly another century?
Rising out of the woodland towards Acres Down the wind whipped my face once more, but I didn't mind. The 360° views more than makes up for it. Today the heath was quiet, with just a peppering of yellow gorse flower but it won't be long before it's a host to ground nesting birds and rare species butterflies. You can feel it almost preparing!
I took a wander down the hill to Pilmore heath to check the pond for frogspawn. Not to be seen, but I did disturb a buzzard on the ground who flew up to a nearby tree. I think he may be the reason for the lack of spawn??
The track back into Emery Down and towards home is lined with ancient beech and I often wander what they may have witnessed making their way up this farm track and out onto the forest over the centuries? But I was quickly bought back to modern life as I negotiated fast traffic through this little ancient forest village and arriving home safely to put the kettle on and light the fire 🔥 ☕️
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