It’s Spring time! It really is Spring at last! The nights are getting ever shorter and the sun rises higher in the sky each day, illuminating places that have been shaded for the last six months, bringing light and life and joy. March is not going out like a lamb but the wind gusting through… Read more »
Happy Christmas – Newsletter 134 – December 2022
It’s time to celebrate! Welcome the returning sun! From Wednesday the days get longer! The birds have started singing again, perky little wrens – King of the Winter, according to folklore – can be seen hopping in and out of log-piles and the robins are as plentiful, cheerful and friendly as ever. We love them… Read more »
Autumn in the wood – Newsletter 133 – October 2022
I aways feel a little sad at the Autumn Equinox; sad that the nights will be long for six whole months; sad that what sunshine we see doesn’t bring the warmth we had enjoyed. But there are compensations, especially this autumn, which is a very exciting time for the Eternal Forest Trust.
Summertime in the Wood – Newsletter 132 – August 2022
It’s been so dry in the wood this summer, the ground is like concrete under the rich dark topsoil. I’ve never seen the stream so low. But at least we have a stream and it is still running, so we have water. And there must be water in the ground, because the treees, ferns and… Read more »
Springtime in the Wood – Newsletter 131 – March 2022
March was a golden month. Golden sunshine – record breaking, according to the Met Office – golden daffodils, celandine, dandelions, primroses – well, more lemon than gold but surely you’ll allow a bit of poetic licence?
Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2022 – Newsletter 130 – January 2022
Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2022! January is almost over and I’m so happy to see signs of Spring at last! It builds up gradually from here: the fresh young leaves on honeysuckle will be joined by baby leaves on hawthorn and rose, then willow and cherry, and on it will go, the wood… Read more »
News From the Wood – Newsletter 128 – November / December 2021
What a difference a week makes! I started writing this newletter in the last week of November, when the long gentle autumn felt endless. Then came Storm Arwen and the onset of winter.
Hallowe’en in the wood – Newsletter 128 – October 2021
It seems appropriate that I should devote this newsletter to ghoulies and ghosties. Hallowe’en is next Sunday and the mosses are dripping in anticipation. Everything is damp. Yellow slime mould is running riot. Under the brambles, the red and white Amanitas are out in force, capturing the imagination.
Autumn Equinox in the Wood – Newsletter 127 – September 2021
It’s beautiful! Clouds of butterflies dancing in the sunshine. On warm September days, the wood smells delicious. I struggle to describe the rich and complex aroma in a way that would be meaningful to those who are unable to visit; it’s a mixture of fruit and fungi, trees and damp earth; it reminds me of… Read more »
Summertime in the Wood – Newsletter 125 – June 2021
Frogs are jumping and the brambles are high. The wood is totally lush: the trees in full sail, the ferns at their most magnificent. In sunny spots, flowers are blooming as never before and the air is scented with honey suckle.