Mid week wandering

I've been working late, and when I did get home this evening I had to wait around for someone from the Office of National statistics. He was half an hour late and implied that as a Government employee he had the right to enter my home and ask me all about my life. He didn't get past the front door.

It was getting late and heavy clouds were threatening rain, so I gave up on the idea of a cycle and took Fly out for a good wander through the woods.

A happy dog scenting the air.

Coastkid was up around these woods recently and when I read his post I was impressed with how dry the wood was this year. Normally taking Fly up there ends in a very muddy wee dog. This doesn't bother me, or Fly either, but El often has something to say about it.

The trails were bone dry underfoot and starting to get overgrown with the thick green vegetation of the long awaited summer. The woods here are carefully farmed to encourage native plants and wildlife by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (I'm a member).

In the glades between the felled trees the sun reaches the woodland floor and ground plants abound. The air was full of the smell of wild garlic, or ransoms, and pheasants were picking through the wood piles along the hedges. 

The mix of trees and open spaces is also ideal for birdlife. Throughout the canopy was full of the sound of the  birds singing, the occasional alarm call and the clatter of wood pigeons.

Along the old dam road I could see a buzzard gliding slowly over the dry reservoir before it disappeared into the oak trees on the hillside.

The crumbling dam walls leading down to the burn. There were deer tracks criss-crossing the mud alongside the water where they stop to drink.
No cycling tonight but it was a good walk in a beautiful place.

Sun 24th June Woodland Scramble

On Sunday the weather was changeable with sudden downpours. Still no sailing and no cycling today. I took Fly back to the west side of Pease Dean in an attempt to try to follow the stream down to the main part of the nature reserve. The woods here are natural due to the steepness of  the gullies in the dean. It is too steep to graze or farm and has been left as it would have been for centuries.

The Ramsons have died back since my last visit but everything else has grown up and the going was difficult.

Above is Sessile Oak. The ground was wet and I had a few slips working my way along above the stream.

The soft ground also meant it wasn't too difficult to follow the deer tracks. Further on I found a flattened area in the grass where a deer had spent the night.

I also came across a badger sett. There was recent digging and a pile of cleared bedding nearby. They often do this when reusing an old sett or if there are cubs around.

Badger cubs are born early in the year in January or February. The damp ground will hopefully mean plenty of earthworms for them

This is not a badger,

The spindly trees show this area has been felled recently and has new trees planted.

 A stand of Sycamore.

The Rain starting again on my way back. A good couple of hours, plenty of stings and scratches and Fly is fast asleep now.