New Year Larch Walk

I went for a walk in the woods up the hill. This is the view from just before I climbed over the fence with the help of my trusty sheepskin sit-and-kneel-upon-ery.

I follow deer trods because the undergrowth and general forest floor clutter can be difficult to negotiate.                                    →
I decided to head towards a group of larches that were in sunlight.

sunlit larches

                                                             And here we are.

From the larches it was possible to see the Sentinel from a different angle.

Sentinel from the larches
and looking to the head of the loch

On the way up I enjoyed some mosses and fungi.

In the mossy ground by the larches bilberry plants were growing. They seem to have been well-browsed by deer.










A few minutes after 11:30GMT, I took the photo below as I was setting off downhill again. See how low the sun is to the horizon even so close to noon.

Bye bye larches and sun

Level with Sentinel on my way down. I don't think the tree in the pic below is the same as Sentinel but I'm calling it Sentinel's friend or relation (as in Rabbit's friends and relations in Winnie-the-Pooh stories) until I find out what species it is.

Sentinel's friend or relation

I came across a small reddish pond behind the root ball of a fallen tree. There was the sound of a trickle into it but nothing obvious to tell me why it was so red. Something in the rock and the soil, I guess.

wee red pond

Further down there was another wee puddle-pond with something growing in it that I first took for young watercress. It does look refreshingly edible, doesn't it? I hope I can get an ID for it.

little plant in water

I found some Erica tetralix actually in flower! Woohoo! Finding flowers here in January is a Big Deal!

Down by the burn that runs along the 'back' of the forest fence, that is, on the forest side of the fence rather than the field side, I found a tiny beach to stand on while I listened to trickling water and watched bubbles forming under a tiny waterfall.

Then over the fence at a low bit among gorse bushes that I scrambled into to get a closer view of a lovely bright fungus on one of the branches. Thick old gorse branches are fine to grasp but the small prickles don't half snag your hat!

gorsey hat

By this time my hand-warmers had cooled down completely so I made my way across the field to the Boggy Brae's south corner. You can probably make out the numerous sheep trods heading in the same direction as I was.

animal trods leading to behind my garden

The south garden 'gate'. Just swing your leg over.
On my way down the garden I checked out one of my baby beech trees and some sedum shoots.

baby beech in the west corner

 Shoots of the sedum I protected from deer last year.

At this point a slight smirr started so I was home with perfect timing.