December’s Wood

At the wood, this weekend, I took some photographs to give you an idea of the feel of the wood at this time of year. It is a world away from the hectic life of mid-December, somewhere to find the peace and beauty of nature. I hope you enjoy wandering the wood…

In the winter sunlight reaches the forest floor, lifting its colour. Notice the browse line in the yews in the background.
The beauty of an oak gall.
It looks like someone has driven a four-by-four down our woodland footpath – but no! This is the trail left by a badger, or pair of badgers maybe, foraging at the edges of our walked track. There must be something particular happening where trodden path meets woodland floor to explain why they do this; it is a pattern we see often.
Here is our little Scots pine tree, the only evergreen pine in the wood. Though small, it still looks the part ready for Christmas!
The sun returns in front of me. The rain becomes heavy, each illuminated drop tracing its vertical shining path to the floor…
…where water beads on fallen leaf undersides, pools on leaf tops…
…turning to avoid the dazzle the view behind me is more mellow – warm brown and silver, sun-drenched trunks.
Wood stacked ready to keep the fire burning next year!
Bracket fungi on fallen silver birch.
Fungi on our seat stumps.
Winter sunlight in the treetops.

I try to post a photograph each week on Instagram and Twitter, something that captures an essence of our wood at the time. If you fancy a peek at what’s happening each week, pop along to @treesofsanctuary (Instagram) or @peaceinthewoods (Twitter) and I’ll see you there!