Bel's Wood

This first plan will change and evolve. I will have made mistakes. I will learn more from future visits to woodlands and from experts visiting Bel’s Wood.   The first draft is however done and has left me to be turned into a proposal for the Woodland Creation Grant. The Forestry Commission will no doubt challenge and test the plan and in time, I hope, they will get behind it so it can go forward for funding. Balance One of my struggles has been the balance of planting saplings ,which I believe is highly desirable and is the point of the project, while leaving open spaces to enjoy the view, sit with friends and enjoy fires at night. This is real head and heart stuff. There are places I have never been able to access due to thick gorse (which will be removed) and others areas I lost access to when the bracken engulfed the site. Studying my aerial map again (thanks to Andy Brown https://www.shepherdaerial.com) has re-assured me that the lovely open spaces I enjoy need not be crowded out a

The first sign was the shortening days experienced by the return of dark skies as the constellations became more visible in August. The dryness underfoot has returned with no need to avoid the boggy areas to stop your boots being sucked off your feet. There is no water in the beck for the second time this year - last time back in April when there was no rain for a whole month.                                       The newly born deer are maturing into teenagers and are becoming more adventurous. They can be seen on their own or with siblings rather than close to their attentive mum.  It has taken until this last warm spell of summer, experienced in early September, for the butterflies to become prolific this year. The Speckled Woods have dominated this last week - small bright coloured ones playing in the sun. I understand they are gambling on laying eggs now which will have time to hatch into lavae as they can only pupate as lavae or pupae.  The squirrels are busy and noisy - I only h