White dead nettle

Pure white in the December gloom.  It doesn't sting but the leaves are so like stinging nettles that people usually steer clear of the White Deadnettle.  

The Wildlife Trusts website says:

"Lots of different species of long-tongued insects visit the flowers of White Dead-nettle, including the Red Mason Bee, White-tailed Bumblebee and Burnished Brass Moth. The caterpillars of the Garden Tiger and Angle Shades moths feed on the leaves, as do Green Tortoise Beetles."

Bees land on the lip of the flower and then probe the long tube to get at the nectar.  While they do this, the stamens in the top petal are bent down to dust the bee with pollen, which she then carries to the next flower.  
Symbiosis:  the bee gets a treat and the plant gets pollinated.  Win-win.

Hogsheads

The seedheads of hogweed have a persistent, architectural beauty, 
even in the face of winter gales.

Christmas Post

Eventually even treated timber rots of in the ground.

When our 20 way-marking posts snap off we re-install them
 but each time they are a little bit shorter.

Here's number 9 in the middle of the Valley Woodland, with the stream in the background.

Number 6, at the top of the steps leading to the viewpoint, was found lying wounded  on the ground  .  .  . 

.  .  .  but a new hole was dug with our post-holer and it was popped back in position.

The 20 numbered posts are linked to the leaflet describing the self-guided trail round Filnore Woods.

Hazel catkins

Anticipating spring sunshine, hazel bushes are growing their catkins. 

These are the male flowers.  They will be twice as long in February and golden with pollen.  But for now they are hard and maggot-like.

Hip, hip hurray

The red fruits of wild roses are called hips and are a good source of vitamin C.  

During the Second World War, children were encouraged to pick the rosehips and deliver them to central collection points to be made into rosehip syrup, a substitute for orange juice, when oranges were no longer available

Here is an extract from The Times of 22nd September 1941:

SYRUP FROM ROSE HIPS.

ORGANIZED COLLECTION OF FRUITS.

A national week for the collection of rose hips to be converted into syrup will open next Sunday. The Ministry of Health and the Department of Health for Scotland state that these fruits, which in the past have been allowed to go to waste, are 20 times as rich in Vitamin C as oranges.

The collecting is being organized chiefly through schools, boy scouts, and girl guides, the women’s institutes, and the Scottish womens’ rural institutions. The hips, which must be ripe, can be gathered from wild or cultivated bushes, but they should be free from bits of stems and leaves. Haws, the red berries of May, are not wanted. The picking season extends until the end of October.

The collecting organizations will supply the hips in bulk to firms who have agreed to pay 2s. for 14 lb. (minimum 28 lb.), carriage forward. It is hoped that some 500 tons will be converted into syrup, which will be marketed at a reasonable price.

Landscape

Looking north from the viewpoint, the variety of tree species is clearer at this time of year than even in summer. 

The silver birch on the left, with its white bark and weeping twigs contrasts with the rounder, dumpier shape of the young oaks, still carrying their orange leaves.

The tall, green and yellow trees in the middle are aspens.  They grow tall and straight with pale bark, not quite as light as the birch.  On the right you can see the stems of those that have lost their leaves already.

Leaflet dispenser

A new leaflet dispenser has been installed near the entrance.

The leaflet has details about the site including our self-guided trail following the 20 numbered posts.  You can see post number one in the background of the above photo. 

The centrefold is a map of the site with the locations of the numbered posts marked.

Forest Schools

On Friday evening Becki Clark and colleagues led a Forest Schools evening for young people from the Baptist Church.  

 The activities culminated  with a campfire on a pre-arranged site.  They made and cooked 'twisters' - dough strips wound round a stick and held over the fire.  You can see this primitive bread making in the pictures below.

They had a great evening, learning safe ways to be outdoors

Photos: Becki Clark

Fallen leaves

You've already seen the oak leaves but you can tell which other trees are overhead or nearby at this time of year by looking on the ground.  

These nearly circular leaves with scalloped edges, in the photo below, fell from aspens.  Some are still green but gradually they turn through yellow to brown.  Can you spot a couple of oak leaves in there too?

And here we have hazel leaves mixed with the narrow leaves of white willow.  Find the aspen leaf in the middle.