Webs

As summer gives way to the fall, it is the time of spiders. In Redhills Wood early this morning, sheltered from the strong winds, it was difficult to avoid walking into the silken latticework, or breaking the guy ropes that moor the webs to twigs. As the year goes on, these engineers in silk feed, grow, shed their skins, feed, grow and shed their skins. Were it not for the winter, how big would they grow, would the forest be like Mirkwood, inhabited by giant arachnids?

It was a much better day than we had expected, but despite the sunshine it was distinctly cool. I met someone in the woods this morning who told me we don't have seasons any more.... don't we? I thought we had a winter, spring and summer this year, and now it is feeling very autumnal. There is a bounty of fruit and mast. For weeks now, the treetops have been full of squabbling squirrels, and there is a gentle rain of woody and leafy debris from the canopy as they tackle the abundant hazelnuts, acorns and beechmast. This afternoon we went to Jack Scout to pick blackberries and within an hour our containers were overflowing.

We finished the afternoon off with a drink and a cake at Wolfhouse, where appropriately we bumped into the Webbs.