Spring is in full swing and the landscape changes quickly; the fields change from muted green and brown into juicy green pastures. The grass blades glistening in the sunshine, with cheery yellow spots where Dandelions are eagerly greeting the warm sunshine, opening their fleshy heads wide to invite all the buzzes and crawls.
Although most pleasantly warm, there is a breeze in the air which makes it tricky to photograph out in the open and I will have more shelter in the nearby woodland. It covers only a small area but I can spend hours in there as it has so many different micro-climates. The only visibly maintained parts are some of the foodpaths. The trees, shrubs and bushes are left to do as they please. A fair amount of trees have fallen in the storms. While upright, home to birds, now on the ground they will be home to many insects and spiders. Nothing is wasted.
(Photos of the landscape are taken with mobile phone and therefore of lesser quality)
Right at the entrance of the woodland are several burred trees. This 'lumps' are caused by grain growing in a deformed manner and it is apparently caused by the tree experimenting some form of stress, either environmental or through human influence. From a woodworking point of view though, bur wood is highly appreciated for its beauty.
As one wanders deeper into the woodland, the grounds is covered with the first spring wildflowers. The yellow patches make a joyous contrast with the green background.
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| (lesser) Celandine |
New 'worlds' await around each corner and the air is filled with the sweet scent of wood anemones and the burbling sound from the stream. The stream is 'decorated' with stones and rocks of all sizes, many of which are covered in mosses and other forms of vegetation. Large fallen branches and sometimes entire trees make for a perfect bridge for wildlife to cross the stream.
One of my favourite spots is an section of the stream that is filled with stones and 'dead' branches. The stones are overgrown with 'Euphorbia' and the wood ants are very keen on these plants. They use debris in the water to cross the stream to move from stone to stone.
Each year I seem to have a favourite subject: in 2016 it was the soldier beetles, this year so far it seems to be the wood ants. And I am quite grateful that I have not yet been bitten as I have mostly kneel and crouch on the ground to take some of these photos. I'd like to add that I am ever so careful where I place my feet as the floor is covered with these little fellows; which can take a while ...
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All the nearby trees are covered with streams of ants going up and down. While standing there watching them climb I have noticed that many of them just fall off ... not entirely sure if that is because they are bad climbers or because they want to save time ... having observed the ants one thing I have noticed: no time or matter is wasted. All is very organised and purposeful.
Ants meet up to exchange information about food availability via their antenna and it also give them information about the other ant's ID. Sometimes they do also exchange food.
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| Shadow dance ... |
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| What's up doc? |
With spring progressing, the wood anemones will be disappearing soon to make room for the bluebells which have not yet quite opened up.
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| Tiny Hoverfly enjoying the pollen of a wood anemone. |
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| Photobombed ... this little beetle decided it wanted to be on the picture ;) |
A very young 'Stretch Spider' sunbathing on the petal of a wood anemone. I spent some time watching it; so delicate, yet the petal can support the weight of this little spider. Just how clumsy are we humans!!
And the first 'Greater Stitchwort' flowers have made an appearance, it cannot be long now before the bluebells are out.
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