Winterwood

After a morning catching up with some report writing, I went off to Old Sulehay Forest after lunch, for a bit of fresh air and exercise. My photographic aspirations were limited, as a heavily overcast sky meant that light levels were abysmal, and they gradually declined during the course of my wanderings until I could scarcely spot anything at all.

Despite the gloom I enjoyed my meander - still plenty of fungi to spot, but also an overwhelming feeling that the wood is slowing down, preparing to sit out whatever winter throws at it. At times it was eerily silent, with very few birds, though I was pleased to see a pair of Marsh Tits foraging among the Hazel.

One of the things I love about woods is their complexity, and the fact that even when it seems that little is happening, fungi are gradually digesting fallen trees and returning them to the earth, slime moulds are quietly creating fruiting bodies (see extra), and all manner of small invertebrates are gently grazing on mosses, algae and woodland plants. You are never alone in a wood...