Woodland Ecology

After lunch today I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2021/09/23/a-knights-tale-38-girls/

The day remained largely overcast, but reasonably warm, so, after a trip to Ferndene Farm Shop we took a drive among the forest lanes.

I am not sure what these tractors were doing alongside Preston Lane, but they were sending up clouds of dust.

We can never normally stop on the A35 to Lyndhurst, but, as a consequence of extensive bridge widening works near Holmsley, there are long tailbacks enabling me to photograph the adjacent woodlands from my window.

We turned left into the road to Burley where

Jackie parked the Modus in order for me to wander into the woodland

with its green and golden bracken, its live, dead, fallen, and decaying trees, and its magical views.

Later, I scanned three more of Charles Keeping’s illustrations to ‘Our Mutual Friend’, each one bearing recognisable portraits of characters previously depicted.

‘Wegg held the will tight, while Venus searchingly and attentively read it’

‘The darkness gone, and a face bending down’

‘Bella kissed her on the cheek’

This evening we dined on second helpings of our Red Chilli takeaway, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Fleurie.

54 comments

  1. I love the photos of the woodlands, Derrick. The tractor may be pulling a Cultipacker or a Till to turn the soil over after harvest, preparing it for next season. I grew up around farms in Michigan.

  2. After reading your girls post in “A Knights Tale, which I don’t usually read until I read your garden & daily drive post, I think you must be pretty chuffed you finally found a great cook, garden and chauffeur. 😉 Even the choices of take-away sound wonderful.

  3. The tractors are stirring up mighty clouds of dust! But, your woodland photos stir up beautiful clouds of joy! 🙂
    Love seeing the trees in all of their stages/seasons of life…there is beauty in each stage…even in their final stage. Love the texture and character of the trees in your photos! They do appear magical and artistic! 🙂
    Each time I peruse a Mr. Keeping illustration I look at every little detail…today I chose to focus in on the hair on each person’s head. Great hair! Ha. 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

  4. Wonderful images from wandering into the woodland with its green and golden bracken, its live, dead, fallen, and decaying trees, and its magical views. … like some enchanted forest Derrick …

  5. You know I was excited by this title and even more excited that I was able to click on individual photos and slide to the next which I had not been able to do in a while. The old twisted tree trunks are marvelous! I would have wanted to stay and study them for a long time. But I suppose that’s the beneift of photography – you get to take some of the magic home with you and share it for which I am grateful.

  6. The framing in which the road dips and bends away looks beautiful. You have explored the woodland with its characteristic freehand of spawning and recycling. Keeping returns to charm us yet again.

  7. Tractor to Derrick – it’s our annual day out, where we shift dirt from one part to another – and later will have a bevvie at the pub – sorry we didn’t invite you, but put it in your diary for next year – all you need to bring is your tractor…

  8. Woodlands such as this would be an inspiration to authors of children’s books and their illustrators, especially the hole in the dead tree, a great place to shelter a little animal family..

  9. The tractors send up much dust here, too. Large tracts of grass seed, wheat, etc. are harvested, plowed up and pulverized. We see a lot of dust devils in late August.

    The forest looks beautiful, even the old dead trees have an artistic side to them. Have you had a frost yet?

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