Forest walk

On one of the first beautiful, sunny and warm days this year I made a walk at Lough Hyne and the forest that overlooks this salt water lake. At the lake it was very busy with swimmers and kayakers enjoying their Sunday morning. Folks have been soo browned off with all the rain we have been getting, so there was a pretty happy atmosphere all round.

I met by chance a friend of mine walking her little dog, and it was lovely catching up with her. After a while I started on my walk up the hill as I wanted to check the wild plants and the trees. It was an ideal day for it, the sun showed the bright yellow green of the emerging sycamore leaves beautifully, while underground there was a multitude of interesting wild plants and flowers.

It is of great interesting to me lately of what is growing underneath trees as my garden is slowly becoming a forest garden due to our tree canopies growing larger and lager.

I’m quite interested in what is happening to the trees at the moment seeing it’s spring time. I finally enroled in an online course on woodland trees id. Trees in the different seasons are discussed and given all the information to identify them in order to look up a whole lot more information about them. Encouraging nature connectedness and awareness of forest ecology. Looks like it’s going to be very interesting, especially coupled with enjoyable forest walks for practical identification.

Even the bumblebees were delighted with such a sunny beautiful day, and ofcourse they were hungry too!

The light at the forested area around Loch Ine was subdued and the sun was missing from this lovely scene but that did not take away from the beauty of our walk. Across the lake we saw the early morning swimmers, a group of women who swim there right through the winter. I did not touch up my photos, the colour of the water here in this photo is really how we saw it, how it was. And it was beautiful and special, I think that it was a trick of the light.

My daughter Tjorven had invited me to go on one of her morning walks and I am so glad that I accepted, we had some great mother – daughter chats, lightly as we are both wanting to use time in nature cheerfully during this frustrating time of covid.

Bare gnarled branches, looking like some rheumatic old creatures, line the lovely country lane.

The lake, which by the way is a salt water lake, narrows into a creek just along here and the water was like a mirror just then.

We saw catkins growing on the hazel tree, some different species of ferns, many of them, fungi and one lone snowberry.

Ebony the collie came with us and was off the lead for a little while, a very obedient young dog she is.

Our surroundings are so beautiful, it is good to enjoy them as much as we can.

“Take a quiet walk with mother nature. It will nurture your mind, body, and soul.” A.D.Williams

agoyvaerts

To observe, to be enchanted, and to enjoy the simple stuff in life, is truly a delight.

AN UPLIFTING WALK

MORNING WALK AT LOCH INE