Footpaths

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Phonebox and postbox

This morning I walked around the perimeter of the field by the disused phonebox and in service postbox, through Honeylake Wood,

Footpath 3

and back across the slender ribbon footpath that will soon be obscured by the farmer’s crops.

Landscape

Oak trees are among the latest to bear leaves, but those beyond the field are beginning to burgeon.

The occasional light aircraft droned overhead; my feet rustled the driest surface that I have experienced through the wood; and harsh squawks of pheasants lent dissonance to the sweeter notes of smaller birds. Otherwise, all was quiet.

Moss-covered trunk

Water in the downward sloping ditch often reaches this moss-covered trunk.

CelandinesDitch

Celandines carpet its somewhat dehydrated banks,

Footpath 2

and the normally sodden undulating footpath leading up to the bridge over the stream had no inclination to inhale my shoes.

Fallen birch

Smaller trees, like this birch, have been left straddling the path

Footpath 1Private Keep Out

from which ramblers are not encouraged to stray.

Tree bent by wind

As readers will know, we are not far from the sea. Many unsheltered trees are bent into shape by the force of the prevailing winds.

This evening we dined at Lymington’s Lal Quilla where, although it was very busy, we received the usual warm welcome and excellent food. My choice was lamb Taba Shashlik Jalfrezi with pilau rice and a share of onion bhaji and egg paratha. We both drank Kingfisher.

High Street night sky

The sun was just thinking about setting as we emerged into the High Street.

 

59 comments

  2. Our oaks are just finished dropping the last of their acorns on my head as I wander around beneath them and yours are newly leafing – I love to see this rhythm of the earth! That telephone box is crying out to be turned into a ‘Little Free Library’ – maybe someone will spot its potential ………

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  15. All beautiful pictures, but I have a favorite one: the bent tree is amazing. Thank you Derrick for letting me take this walk with you.

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  16. It’s beautiful. The wind-bent tree reminds me of our trees in windy Oklahoma. I took some photos of trees in the Oklahoma Panhandle that look like that tree’s brothers.
    Thanks for a satisfying and lovely post, Derrick.

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  18. Lovely post, Derrick–your prose was poetic and the photos beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the paragraph about your feet rustling in the woods with the pheasants squawkig and the photo under it.

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  19. That’s a gorgeous sculptured tree. I would love to see its root patterns to understand how they adapt to hold up such a lopsided top.

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      1. In practice, I expect the root-pattern isn’t much different to an upright tree. Although the winds prevail from one direction, the tree has to withstand strong blasts from any direction, so its roots would spread fairly evenly. Also, it’s only the finer branches/twigs which are ‘sculpted’ and they can’t weigh much (relative to the trunk), so there’s unlikely to be much strain on the tree from its lop-sided ‘coiffure’. Further, the root-system probably develops quite thoroughly before the plant is tall enough to acquire a ‘lean’.

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  21. Derrick, these are great images! I really like that simple foot path and of course, the tree that is bending to the left.

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  25. I always loved trees with that shape. So, this is because of the prevailing winds. I thought that this is their shape :))

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