Today is dull and damp, the distance fades into mist and the light level is very low. But yesterday the sun shone briefly and we took a short walk along the top of the wood to make the most of it. Too muddy to struggle through the tracks lower down and the fields are also sodden so it was wellingtons on.
Sunlight transforms everything, it glinted through the trees turning the path to a brilliant green and the dried grasses on the woodland floor shimmered in the light.
Once out of the wood the undergrowth along the footpath is kept clear by the farrier's goats.
Our neighbour fitted an owl box in the horse chestnut tree and a mirror to see what might be happening inside. Now that the leaves have fallen we can see if anyone has taken up occupancy.
Yes, they have! Oh, what a cheek - it's a squirrel!
Always good to take advantage of what precious little sunlight we can catch during this season. Beautiful pictures!
ReplyDeleteWhat type of squirrel is it? Do you have the red ones like ours, or the grey ones? A red one has recently taken up recidency in my house - there is a hole in the wall near the roof, hidden behind the drain pipe. We don't know whether the squirrel found the hole, made by a bird, or made it from scratch (literally!).
We are over-run with grey squirrels, they strip our large walnut tree of nuts, dig up and eat my tulip bulbs and make a thorough pest of themselves. Sadly there are no native red squirrels anywhere in our region.
ReplyDeleteBeware the chewing of electrical wires in your house, Librarian. The squirrel make look cute but it can do damage!
I do miss English woods.
ReplyDeleteWoodland is somewhere special, it changes so much throughout the season. Our woods are a delight at bluebell time when, for a short time only, the ground is carpeted in blue - heavenly!
DeleteHey, they say that the lawn grass in the garden does not require much maintenance. After all, on forest lawns no one mows the grass or watering the flowers - and they grow beautifully. The grass mixture for the artificial home lawn is collected from crops that require attention. Therefore, it is imperative to properly care for the lawn grass. Every day on this site trimthatweed.com I learn something new, how and how to take care of the garden and grass.
ReplyDeleteHello Maks, nice to hear from you, but no advertising on my site, please.
DeleteI just assumed in a wooded area there would be a lot of critters... and of course SQUIRRELS ! I read many blog with the trouble of the bulbs being eaten. We had to net the Fig Tree because of the Birds.
ReplyDeleteYou need a Gud watch Dug ! Both my Square Ones would like to apply for the job.
There are, indeed, many critters, Parsnip, some we only know about because they have left their marks imprinted on the soft ground. I did have a gud dog in Maisie but I'm afraid the squirrels rang rings around her as they could travel along the tree canopy quite safe from her energetic attention!
DeleteI love walking in the wood when it’s damp, it smells so fresh clean.
ReplyDeleteWell it's certainly damp here at the moment, Doc!
DeleteThree Billy Goats Gruff!
ReplyDeleteTrip trap. No trolls about and the goats certainly keep the vegetation down. There are no plans for them to be eaten - I think they would be extremely tough meat!
DeleteThe Rugs! I love that! And how nice to see a photo of you. It's pretty dull here too, but your photos are really nice!
ReplyDeleteThere hasn't been a sighting of the sun since this walk, Rain!
DeletePresented with a referendum which way would a goat vote?
ReplyDeleteGoat vote! Hey, a two-word encouragement to write a Shakespearean sonnet. You'd need more to start out on a Miltonian sonnet - I tried it but got discouraged. I much prefer ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
Here's a Shakespearean one I left unfinished:
Sonnet: The Sixtieth
One thing we’ll lack is your engagement ring,
So Thursday will, alas, be incomplete
For furtive burglars came a fossicking,
They snatched the ring and left us in defeat.
A silver ring to garb a silver day,
Lost to a finger on another’s hand...
Whoops! I seem to have been distratcted. What I wanted to say is goats can't be blamed for our Brexit agonies. Faced with an election goats tend to spoil their vote - by eating the ballot paper. So goats are off the hook. QED
A silver ring to garb a silver day,
DeleteLost to a finger on another's hand.
II fits an innocent's , I pray
And not a member of the robber's band!
Hey, pretty good. Just another quatrain and the rhyming couplet and we're home and dry. Time to edit your profile, adding: Verse finisher to those who only dabble in poetry. Reasonable rates.
DeleteAs it was I started again. Managed to finish this one:
Diamond – said to be hard
We tied the Golden knot ten years ago,
And now it's Diamond on October One.
As to Salt, Tin and Copper, who’s to know?
At ninety Granite's not a lot of fun.
We're staying in and trying to avoid,
The faults that turned the wedding into farce,
The groom an oaf and sadly adenoid,
The only blessing was his speech was sparse.
There's chablis, vintage fizz, and Hermitage,
We'll argue, since it's old-folk's exercise,
Drop off and snore as well becomes our age,
Skirt round the truth and decorate the lies.
And when the heating's off it's duvet time,
To dream up sonnets and their final rhyme
More of a parody than the real thing. But what's sixty? Just a number. Must say I much appreciate you catching the spirit of the thing. Look forward to a sonnet which manages to incorporate (scannably) Fattorini.
With Fattorini, gosh, the waltz was slow,
But I had eyes for Georgie Murgatroyd...
I love that friendly goats keep the trail trimmed!
ReplyDeleteThey are doing a good job, it used to be very overgrown.
DeleteNice to get out and breath, now I’m missing the lovely woods back home in Yorkshire. It’s hunting season here in Italy, far to dangerous to be out walking amongst the trees with all those gunmen about everyday.
ReplyDeleteAre they shooting good things to eat or just popping off at little birds? In spite of gunmen I am envious of your home in Italy! Very soggy in our woods at the moment.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete