Bel's Wood

I find myself willing time to slow down as we move into spring. I love to look at the skeletal trees on the skyline opposite the wood. While responding with excitement to the new leaves emerging I feel a pang of loss of winter. As the days have lengthened I have heard the bird song increase and become more insistent. And then the first queen bumblebees emerged looking for their nests. The willow is always first with its catkins and bumble and honeybees flock there.        The camera was triggered by nothing that appeared on screen  but I have included as the bird song is caught nicely so sound on for this one The gorse does fabulous work at this time of year being abundant and the yew trees are flowering now too which is leading to a buzz in the air.                                   Gorse                  ...

The plan had been to plant the 4,200 trees in November 2023 but the warm wet weather meant that the trees did no go dormant as anticipated and nurseries did not lift them from the ground. The climate appears to be changing and compressing the season for planting. I received a message on 1st December, the first day of winter, that the trees are now being lifted but ironically the ground was now too hard for planting to go ahead! I took this photograph on 3rd December in Kendal when the roads were impassable and I was happy to stay at home. Thankfully the sun appeared and the roads were gritted (mostly) and with care I made it to the wood with friends to work on those final wood piles that needed clearing.  It was wonderful seeing the wood with fresh, deep, powder snow and noticing the changes in such a short time. Not a leaf remained on the branches. The hawthorn berries had all dropped from the branches Some of the paths were blocked as the weight of the snow had made the gors...