FOREST WALK THAT TURNED INTO A FUNGI FORAGE

We decided to skip Church online this morning and go for a walk in Savernake Forest in Marlborough, so we were up and out just after 9 o’clock.  

By the time we had reached Grand Avenue in Savernake Forest and got our boots, anoraks, scarves, gloves and hats on, it was about 9.45 so off we went.  We had no set route, but were a little disappointed, as we were a couple of weeks ago, that the trees were still not yet wearing their autumn garb, but the sun was shining and it was fairly warm for the time of year, so we weren’t too upset.

We met several lovely couples so stopped to chat, and Anne, one of the ladies made a comment about the wool I had used to make my fingerless gloves, and how pretty the pattern was.  I told her about Blip - as I do - and said that it was great to have fingerless gloves so that I didn’t have to keep taking them off to use my selfie stick, which of course, was attached to my iPhone.  Anne said that she was just starting to knit but wasn’t that proficient yet, but I told her that they were very easy to do, as was the Dickie I sometimes wore to keep my neck warm and would be happy to send her the pattern.  I gave her my email address and said that if she emailed me, I would send her the pattern for the gloves and also the Dickie and let her know the name and make of the wool I used.  I’ve just looked at my Inbox and there is a message from Anne, so I must make sure I do that after I have uploaded my Blip.  She did say that one of her friends took a photograph every day, so I asked if it was uploaded to Blip, but she wasn’t sure.

Anyway, back to our walk - we wandered from 9.45 until about 12.30 and it’s fair to say that by the end of our walk, I was “cream-crackered” but it was very satisfying to have walked about 8,000 steps and my knees held up very well.  It was only when we got home and I sat down and then got up again that they felt a bit creaky, but that has worn off now.

Partway through our walk, we realised that on many of the trees and branches that had fallen and around the base of many of the beech trees, there were lots of mushrooms or fungi, so our walk then became a Fungi Forage - not that we picked any, but whenever we found a different one, we were delighted.  

We have been especially interested in the roots and what goes on underneath the trees since watching the Judi Dench programme that I mentioned a few days ago, "My Passion For Trees", and also after reading about oak trees in the book written rather appropriately by Isabella Tree entitled “Wilding”, so were very careful not to disturb the fungi.  We just looked at them all and of course, I photographed them - see my extra shot for a sample of the different ones.  

Mr. HCB would wander on ahead and when he came across a different one, would shout to me and I would go over and take photographs.  We had such a lovely time together in God’s wonderful creation and were so glad we had decided to go earlier rather than later because when were driving back home just after 1 o’clock, the world and his wife were out!

It was a joy to be out in the forest, to walk through the rustling leaves that had already fallen on the ground, to enjoy the autumnal smells and to watch the leaves gently falling;  Autumn is such a lovely season.  I took my main shot as we were driving out of the forest - I asked Mr. HCB to stop so that I could walk back and take a shot of the pillars at the entrance to Grand Avenue, which he kindly did. 

“Autumn is a second spring
     when every leaf is a flower.”
Arthur Camus