Happy Easter! Enjoyment is all the greater when it’s unexpected. I don’t think any of us really expected to enjoy working on a cold wet Sunday in the wood. If I am free on a volunteer day, I feel it’s my duty to volunteer, part of my commitment to the Eternal Forest. It’s always good to see other volunteers but on a day like last Sunday… well, I’ll put it this way: I wouldn’t have chosen to be outside. But I actually enjoyed it! Despite the rain…
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For many people, February is the worst month of the year. Winter seems to go on for ever and whilst we long for the sun’s warmth, summer is far away. But the good thing about the worst time is the knowledge that it’s going to get better. Indeed it is already getting better…
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Autumn arrived suddenly this year. After months of drought and sunshine, we have welcome rain. Bright autumn leaves, red and gold, are falling early from some of the trees; they’ve done their job, generating incredible rates of growth, especially in those parts of the wood which were devastated by Storm Darragh last December.
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Destruction creates opportunity. Joy can grow from sadness. This Easter, the wood still felt sad in places but I was more aware of joy: the joyful singing of at least ten different species of birds, from the high piping of goldcrests to the liquid melody of a blackcap, the chirring of wrens and the shriek of a jay.
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The wood is still, silent, devastated. I walk a little way, climbing over horizontal tree trunks, past the shelter, heading into the chaos. Now there is no way forwards, the paths are blocked in every direction and there are so many fallen trees. I can’t get around them…

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The Autumn Equinox, which marks the official beginning of autumn, falls on 22nd September, just as I’m finishing this newsletter; but as far as Boduan Sanctuary Wood is concerned, the seasons started to change in August. The paths were already gilded with fallen birch leaves seven weeks ago.
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