Greetings!

I am snatching a few moments to reacquaint myself with my sadly neglected blog. The first thing I had to do was find my way around Word again – it’s been such a long time since I put fingers to keyboard.

So, what has been happening in my neck of the woods? Actually, not a lot, at least not a lot that has been earth-shattering – just as well, really.

Last August my eldest granddaughter got married. You may know that it is traditional for the bride to be late. Well, Marnie took the tradition to new heights, keeping her nervous groom waiting for forty-five minutes. The enforced wait in the old church gave the guests time to chat to each other and listen to some stirring bagpipe music. In fact it was so rousing that poor Frankie, innocently playing with a car, got the shock of his little life and burst into loud sobs. He still talks about it . . .

It was a lovely wedding and we all enjoyed our day.

 

Four days before the wedding my youngest daughter had her first baby, Charlie. He is, naturally, delightful J

 

Susannah nearly bought a house but the transaction fell through and the search continues. I don’t think any of us thought she and Frankie would still be living with us two years after they first moved in. We enjoy them being here – it’s good to have young life around us.

At the beginning of January Frankie started pre-school. He loves it, particularly Spanish and Mandarin. Now, I can recognise Spanish when I hear it but Mandarin . . . ??

In February Barry had a total knee replacement. For the first time in decades his left leg is straight. He is conscientious about doing his exercises and is making very good progress. Yesterday he and I went for a walk in the woods with the dogs. 

It was good to have company again – human company, that is. He will have his right knee operated on in August. None of us had fully appreciated how much the parlous state of his knees was affecting all our lives.

My son phoned the other day. He told me he had pests in his loft. ‘Moths?’ said I, thinking he would have said if it were mice. ‘No, glis.’

I had never heard of glis so looked them up. Myoxus glis (Glis glis) the edible or fat dormouse, was a delicacy in Roman times and bred by them for their delectation. They look very pretty, like little silver squirrels, but can do much damage in houses and are very difficult to eradicate. As with so much of our wild life they were imported to be part of a private collection but some escaped and made their homes in the wider countryside in Buckinghamshire. You can read more about them here and here.

So, that is what has been happening in my life. One thing I know for sure, if I had ever doubted it, is that I could never be a nurse!

My World Tuesday - Wildmoor Heath

It may sound like something from Wuthering Heights but Wildmoor Heath rarely looks threatening and thunderous. An area of mixed woodland, heath and bog, it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, one of three SSSIs within walking distance of our house. The Nature Reserve covers 99 hectares (just over 244½ acres) We took the dogs there yesterday, the first time we’ve visited for about a year. Between March and September rare birds breed on the lowland heath and dog walkers are asked to keep their dogs on leads or away from possible nesting sites.

We started and finished our walk through areas of tall, old sweet chestnut trees. 

The ground was littered with the prickly husks of chestnuts, some with two to four nuts still inside, others empty. It's a good idea to wear a hat at this time of year as the nuts regularly fall from the trees!

Many areas of the forest are grazed by Highland cattle and ponies and are fenced and accessed by kissing gates, stiles or weighted swinging gates. At the end of this ride there is a padlocked gate to allow access to forest maintenance vehicles. A pedestrian weighted gate is adjacent to it. This worried Gus, so he scrambled through a hole in the fence. By the time we had completed our walk he had become accustomed to following us through these strange devices. 

The next part of the forest was dominated by silver birches. Jenna and Gus didn't mind where they were so long as they could play. Frodo was at my side as usual, but enjoying all the sniffs.

First Jenna had the kong . . .

. . . then Gus carried it.

Shortly afterwards we went through another gate into a boggy area. A notice informed us that livestock were grazing in this part but though we saw signs that they had been there we didn't see any of them. On the right there is evidence of the fire last year that destroyed much of the habitat of Silver-studded Blue butterflies. It was believed that the butterflies would not have survived but a few males and females were observed and thus fears were allayed.

There’s a great deal of water . . .

 . . . which Gus and Jenna thoroughly appreciated. Frodo went in for a cooling paddle too.

The water table is very high – in places it is higher than the board walk but contained within a bog system . . .

. . . and draining into ditches.

Passing through yet another gate we walked alongside a fenced-off body of water, full of interest for botanists and entomologists. It gives way to heath and heather where roe deer are safe from questing dogs, although the deer easily leap the low fences and can be seen anywhere in this part of Berkshire.To the other side were puddles and ponds, all of which had to be splashed in by the dogs.

Simple benches are placed at various places, some overlooking valleys, others positioned to allow people to watch the world go by.

Boards are laid down at strategic points where the ground becomes very soggy. Wires are criss-crossed over the boards to give grip.

Out into more open countryside again we were struck once more by the colours. There are many shades of green and the bracken is mostly brown now. 

The leaves are beginning to change as they lose their chlorophyll and allow the reds and yellows to show.

The heather that was so vibrant just a short while ago has lost most of its colour. With the young Scots pine saplings and the tall bracken it is a wonderful place for Labradors to practise their retrieving skills . . .

 . . . and everywhere the spiders set their larders. 

Thanks go to the My World team for organising and hosting this meme. To see more corners of this wonderful world please click here.
I'm also linking to Watery Wednesday as this is quite a 'wet' post! Thank you to 2sweetnsaxy