Autumn woodland

Washed out sunshine filtering
Through bare branches fingering the sky,
Touching a carpet of yellows and browns,
Gradually decaying into a rich black loam.
Gnawed acorns scattered around,
Accompanied by the occasional clatter
Of falling twigs as a pigeon alights
On a piece too rotten,
The ivy encrusted trunk seemingly held up
By the parasitical plant rather than itself.
But look more closely -
The season might be dying, but not the wood.
Note the budding hazel,
Whose catkins will brighten up the spring.
Or the hinting willow,
Whose furry pussies complement the catkins.
Or the shooting plantlings,
Who take advantage of the extra light.
The wood in autumn is a metaphor for us all.
Something great might be passing,
But look closer - the seeds of the
New are there to see.
It will be great again.

Savages Wood

A flash of pink lets me think,
That I know what I can see.
A jay has flown up onto a branch,
And is staring down at me.

A cackle, almost a laugh,
As it cocks its head aside,
Its jet black eye staring down
On what nature can provide.

It's autumn, and the ground is covered
In a leafy carpet, brown,
But turn them over, look below,
And see what can be found.

Millipedes and juicy worms
Teeming all around
Mixed with buried nuts and seeds
As a squirrel whirls around.

Because the bounty isn't infinite,
The plenty will not last.
As already the weathers' turning,
And the winds' an icy blast.

There are toadstools in the grasses,
And fungi all around,
Bracketing the ends of logs,
Helping them return back to the ground.

Although things are shutting down,
This isn't the woodlands' end.
As rotting leaves and logs provide
A start so that it can send

A helping hand to the spring to come,
When the flowers will bloom again.
For the woodland cycles through the years
Far longer than the lives of men.

Three Brooks Reserve (before the gales)

On the 1st November, before the gales arrived and dumped most of the leaves on the ground, Disgruntled took a walk around Savages Wood and the Three Brooks Nature reserve. There was lots to see, as the more open canopy made it far easier to see what is going on up above. First though, three photos showing parts of the wood.









This is an ash tree with a particularly knobbly section for some reason. It is probably caused by some kind of infection in the past.




This tree has formed an interesting base and a small cavity inside it.



The death of one thing is an opportunity for something else. Here, a fern is taking root in the hollow created by a felled tree.



There were five different squirrels at least in the woods. There are a family of three which seem to stay around the entrance to the reserve by the leisure centre, just over the foot bridge from the path which runs alongside the wood and the playing field. This squirrel is down nearer the swing gate into the wood at the bottom of the hill and path.



Many of the trees are fruiting, and the loss of chlorophyl is allowing the natural colours of the leaves to show through, in this case a particularly nice shade of red.



The man-made ponds are well established now, and this one is full of reeds and bullrushes. This one is seeding.




This lesser-spotted woodpecker was observered in the "newly" planted woodland behind the school and south of Savages Wood. It stayed high in the canopy, which made getting a clear photo rather awkward.... (see below).





Also making life more difficult was the low sun and the amount of cloud, which made for very low ambient light levels.




This dead tree is an interesting shape, and also provides perching points for larger birds to observe the area.



Down at the lake there are still plenty of birds waiting to be fed. Here we have a young black-headed gull and a mallard.



A young black-headed gull (left), and an adult in winter plumage. Note that once the bird matures, the beak and leg colour turn red, and that the wing markings also change.

Cats and squirrels - sights in Bradley Stoke

This cat seems to have learnt that cars don't actually use part of the roundabout in Champs-sur-Marne, and quite happily rolls about on the tiled section while cars drive past. I don't know how many of its nine lives were used up learning this.....


A little further on, along the footpath to the reserve, then in over the footbridge into Savages Wood, was this squirrel. It was foraging on the ground, before shooting up into the branches to eat what it had found. Also seen in the area was a jay and two magpies. There were plenty of small birds such as tits in the bushes and small trees around the woodland edge.