Well there was a brief thaw and the weather is definately a little bit warmer than it has been but winter is still with us though there is no doubt about it, I feel changes around me. The Alder's Cones and catkins are out in profusion (though admitedly they have been all of winter), the lime tree outside my caravan seems redder than ever and when I wander the meadows and the lanes there is a definate scent of greenery in the air, it is subtle but it most definately is there.
There are new bird songs in the garden now and last night I was fortunate to hear a beautifull nightingale outside. A little secret, when I was a girl about 10 years old I used to wake up, surrounded by the silence of a slumbering house I would open my bedroom window and listen to the sweet sound of a nightingale, I felt the nightingale was there just for me. It was nice to have its return. I had also noticed a few new species of songbird in the garden including a Fieldfare which my mum was very curious about.
Today was spent out in a local forest collecting dead birch (I am planning on making a lot of pitch soon) and a few horses hoof fungus (for amadu tinder). It was a beautifull day, if a bit cold, and the forest showed sign of deer, I could see where the dirt was exposed in the snow and they had layen up. There was also feeding sign of Woodpecker and squirrel, we are fortunate around here to have red squirrel and I saw a beautifull healthy one just the other day.
Really I am truly blessed with this bountifull territory of mine, I just wish the logging would not penetrate so ferociously my sanctuary. I keep racking my brains to try and find a way to protect it, no matter what endangered species there are in the area or how they are brought to light the forestry commision just waves it all aside. I will endeavour however to do my best regarding the matter.
Tracking in the Eerie Enchanted Forest
Where the Wild Boar Roam
...and the Deer Dance
Otter Tracks in my friends garden
Some Fox tracks on the way to the frozen Loch
There were quite a few and it looks like more than one
I followed them through the field
And arrived at the mysterious frozen loch
