The Silver Birch Woods
Many of you will know that woodland is one of my favourite places to walk and relax, in all seasons and in all weathers. You may even have guessed that Silver Birch is one of my favourite trees. All though they are in tree terms, short lived, they provide immense pleasure with the silver bark, thin trunks that sway with the wind and small delicate leaves that rustle in the slightest breeze.
But they also have an aroma. In the spring the aroma is light and citrusy which fades away over the summer….the come autumn a deeper more musky but sweet smell is created. When that happens I know that autumn is not too far behind….. and I can detect that perfume now as it mingles with the harsher aroma of the bracken.
But that woodland canopy of leaves still holds strong, casting dark shadows with bright shafts of sunlight for contrast and to remind us the sun is still in the sky.
Acorns are forming on the Oak, this year they seem plentiful. So just so long as we get no strong winds we should have a bumper crop.
But a wind is what the Rosebay Willowherb is hoping for to distribute its seeds far and wide, the seed heads now sprouting white whiskers that may just get caught in a birds feathers and taken on a more substantial journey.
Down by the Lake it is a different world…all calm and summer like
Not bad for mid – August
19th August
(C) David Oakes 2017
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 