Friday 31 May 2013

Campion and forget-me-not

A lovely summer day in the half term holiday means it is a great excuse to get out of town with boys and lurchers. We came for the bluebells, but who csn resist the charms of forget-me-nots, seen here with equally delightful red campion and some sort of umbillifer.

Monday 20 May 2013

Where are the ents when you need them?

I was shocked to see the tree in the picture. Not because it is a fallen tree, as there are any number of them in the Dene, but because this tree has been systematically pulled down for no good reason. Denton Dene is well managed in that trees that fall are allowed to lie and to rot down, which is advantageous to wildlife.
This tree was in the prime of life and could have filled a gap in the canopy if an older tree had died. In an ideal world the little orcs that did this would be trampled into the ground by an avenging guardian. Sadly, ents are only a literary wish fulfillment of a writer who loved trees and who really felt that Birnam Wood should have really risen to attack Dunsinane.

Tuesday 7 May 2013

Oh what a beautiful day

Well the hot weather has finally reached the north east. It was nice yesterday, but today is the real thing. Vest, shorts and sandals for me and splashing through muddy ponds for the lurchers. Said ponds are beginning to dwindle as the summer finally gets under way, but there are still four separate identifiable ponds in the dene.