Dogwood

Dogwood still in flower at Filnore Woods.

A recognition feature is the veins on the leaves.  

Instead of reaching out towards the edge of the leaf they curve in towards the tip.

Prickly Sow Thistle

Currently flowering at Filnore Woods - the Prickly Sow Thistle (Sonchus asper)

Sow thistle, so called because the white juice or latex in the stem 

was thought to increase the milk yield of sows;

and 'prickly' for obvious reasons.  

There is also a smooth sow thistle.

Current Clearance

Some people have been asking why so much vegetation has been cleared.

The electricity distribution company has sent in utility arborists to clear vegetation below the overhead cables at Filnore Woods.

This has resulted in a sudden change in the look of the place from the paddock through the old tree nursery and all up the side of the hedge between Filnore Woods and the neighbouring field.

It looks a bit drastic but nature recovers quickly.

Poles and logs

Still some firewood for sale from last winter's coppicing.  

We're just about to start coppicing again.

And the thinner poles we hadn't used had been built into dens.

But last week our regular contingent from the Sheiling School dismantled the shelters so that another Forest Schools group can use them next month - to build shelters!

All very educational - in the broadest sense.

Late flowers

This Dogwood bush has coloured purple for autumn but the warm October weather has convinced it to flower again, which it usually does in May.

And skulking in the undergrowth I found this Rosebay Willowherb, a July flower normally.

Last nectar of summer

Ivy flowers provide a last autumn feast for bees, wasps, hoverflies and other six-leggedy folks, before Jack Frost comes with his fingers of icy death. 

If you pass by an ivy-clad tree or wall at this season on a sunny day 

you may hear the whole thing humming.

The flowers will be followed by small black berries, not for humans, but for birds 

and small rodents when other food is running low in late winter and early spring.