After two days of the almost continuous roar of the wind in the woods behind the cottage, today is relatively quiet as the wind has veered round to the West and dropped to a strong breeze, so I ventured out for a brief walk.
Signs of the heavy breathing of Nature in the recent past in the form of Arwen and Barra litter the lane.
In the wood itself lay scattered the larger debris, yet to be cleared by the Foresters.
In fact I dragged the above two clear, as now that the weather has abated little children and the elderly will visit the woods again. Hang on! That's the elderly clearing the path for the elderly...
We've had mild frost free weather here so far this Winter, and as always the woodland floor grows great patches of Winter Heliotrope which makes the woods seem quite green and unseasonal in places.
It's shaded in the wood and a stiff breeze clatters the tree branches, but the surrounding open countryside glows in the Winter Sun.
Deep within the wood are the signs and remains from a time when this area was a great Country Estate, beginning in the Norman 1100's and lasting until the 1970's.
This old wall shows on Medieval maps and was possibly here at the time of the Spanish Armada's round Britain cruise.
I've always understood that Ivy growing on a tree does not cause harm as a Parasite might, but realise of course the added weight and wind resistance of the evergreen leaves, particularly in Gales such as recently, will bring the tree down. I noticed on a tree which suffered that fate a couple of days ago and had since been cleared from a track, that where the Ivy had grown on that particular tree, the inner wood looked damp and was definitely softer to my touch.
Most noticeable at the top under the Ivy stem but also a larger paler area lower down. Perhaps just coincidence or where the Ivy kept the wood damp under it's clinging stem?
Stumbled across amongst some old decayed fallen stone work, a Lead Tile or Shingle. Today's scrap Lead price is about £1150 a Ton ( slightly variable on area of UK sale) which might explain the lack of modern Lead roof Tiles..
Nearly home and I cut through what as once an extensive formal garden, parts of which are still maintained and preserved.
A December Rose. Sheltered by nearby Evergreens it grows on the old arched walkway by the Garden entrance
Signs of the heavy breathing of Nature in the recent past in the form of Arwen and Barra litter the lane.
In the wood itself lay scattered the larger debris, yet to be cleared by the Foresters.
In fact I dragged the above two clear, as now that the weather has abated little children and the elderly will visit the woods again. Hang on! That's the elderly clearing the path for the elderly...
We've had mild frost free weather here so far this Winter, and as always the woodland floor grows great patches of Winter Heliotrope which makes the woods seem quite green and unseasonal in places.
It's shaded in the wood and a stiff breeze clatters the tree branches, but the surrounding open countryside glows in the Winter Sun.
Deep within the wood are the signs and remains from a time when this area was a great Country Estate, beginning in the Norman 1100's and lasting until the 1970's.
This old wall shows on Medieval maps and was possibly here at the time of the Spanish Armada's round Britain cruise.
I've always understood that Ivy growing on a tree does not cause harm as a Parasite might, but realise of course the added weight and wind resistance of the evergreen leaves, particularly in Gales such as recently, will bring the tree down. I noticed on a tree which suffered that fate a couple of days ago and had since been cleared from a track, that where the Ivy had grown on that particular tree, the inner wood looked damp and was definitely softer to my touch.
Most noticeable at the top under the Ivy stem but also a larger paler area lower down. Perhaps just coincidence or where the Ivy kept the wood damp under it's clinging stem?
Stumbled across amongst some old decayed fallen stone work, a Lead Tile or Shingle. Today's scrap Lead price is about £1150 a Ton ( slightly variable on area of UK sale) which might explain the lack of modern Lead roof Tiles..
Nearly home and I cut through what as once an extensive formal garden, parts of which are still maintained and preserved.
A December Rose. Sheltered by nearby Evergreens it grows on the old arched walkway by the Garden entrance
