April woods

[puddleshark]

Sunshine and blustery wind. Took a walk through the woods at N. The oaks not yet in leaf, but everywhere a distant fuzz of bright April green, as the hazel and birch understorey bursts into leaf. Ferns unfurling. Robins, chiffchaffs & wrens singing, and loudest of all (ear defenders required) the song thrushes.







The woods are very, very, very wet. And it's even wetter on the path alongside the marshes. But at no point did the mud come up over the top of my wellies. Because they are very tall wellies.


Tiny bright orange Bog Beacon fungus (Mitrula paludosa) in the bog pools.




After the wettest spring I have ever known, the Tea Brown Lake has expanded its territories to include part of the woods.


No spaniel-generated abstracts these days, but luckily the blustery wind was willing to play.

Comments

[heleninwales]

My wellies are not comfortable to walk in, unfortunately. They're fine for gardening and walking up and down behind the mower, but not for heading off on a proper walk. We did once carry wellies with us on a walk down in Mid-Wales where there was some very wet ground and the best route involved wading across a river. We might have to start doing that if this incessant rain doesn't finally come to an end.

[puddleshark]

I can't walk any distance in wellies, but they are alright for a leisurely stroll round the woods. I definitely wouldn't have got very far wearing walking boots yesterday - the depth of mud was impressive!

[lamentables]

The abstract is gorgeous!

We are getting levels of water not seen in the village before in at least 68 years, probably ever. But we didn't get the recent giant hail that smashed conservatory roofs a couple of villages away.

[puddleshark]

Thanks!

Dorset is always wet in winter, and the fields by the rivers flood most winters. But I have never seen the water levels so high here, and there has been flooding in places where I have never seen flooding before.

The giant conservatory-smashing hailstones sound terrifying. I really, really hope that is not going to become a regular thing with the British weather.

[bunn]

I am delighted to meet the Bog Beacon, I don't think i've encountered that before.

I applaud the tallness of your wellies. A good pair of wellies you can walk in is gold

[puddleshark]

This is the first time I've ever seen Bog Beacon growing in this place, but then this year has been exceptionally boggy!

There were one or two moments where the path by the marshes actually became the marshes, but the wellies coped admirably.