Inspired by Purplecoo'er Cait I wanted to share my own woodlands in our own little corner of the Scottish Highlands. Although I grew up in a new town in Sussex we were never far from the countryside and spent many a happy time cycling down through Turners Hill and when feeling very fit the Bluebell Railway, an old preserved steam line running through some of Sussex's best countryside and to this day the smell of a coal fire brings back happy memories. Anyway, getting back to todays topic the woodlands in Sussex were to us youngsters magical places, full of great places to explore and although didn't realise at the time, connect with nature. As kids we then ventured to explore North Wales, a very different land with its mountains, sheep, dry stone walls, more sheep, much coarser vegetation, even more sheep, old stone ruins..and did I mention the sheep ?
So, we have now come to rest in Highland Perthshire, a very similar land to Wales with its Celtic history, rugged landscape...and ..yup... lots of sheep (maybe they are following me ?)
What is left of the old Caledonian Forests are stunning with their Scots pine and larch but sadly many were turned into Habitat furniture in the 70's and replaed with Norwegian varieties of Spruce for Ikea Furnature today. We live in the midst of one such managed forest which from a distance look uniform and somewhat uninviting but that depends on how you view the forest from within. This is how I see the wood amongst the trees..
13 comments:
What lovely photos again. I'm so glad you were inspired by my woodland ramblings; your Scottish forests do look magical and I love the 'upwards' view. Life would be 'bare' without trees wouldn't it? There is such a variety of shapes and sizes.
I especially love winter trees, do you have many photos of those?
And look at all that moss,Larch are one of my favourite trees, for a start they grow quick and have a floatiness about them [ i know what i mean]. lovely shots.
"I especially love winter trees, do you have many photos of those?"... do I ? certainly do - thinking of publishing a whole book on the forest in all seasons.
I have only just realised you have done 'proper blogs'!
Loved the bird one and that photo-I love the birds and would never have another cat for that reason.
Beautiful words and photos. You are clever HS
warm wishes
Just seen your comment-you MUST do that book...stunning..
Yes I know what you mean Bodran - they are such graceful trees. Lovely photos HS . . . there are many places in amongst the wood that are Fairy Dells . . . magical places and yes you just have to know how to look.
That helps me to see the managed woodlands in a different light - I especially like the third photo down which looks 'other wordly' - you're right, of course, it is a question of looking closely. Thank you. (Know what you mean about the sheep!)
They look so eerie, imagine the memories they must hold. Beautiful photo's. I'm going to Dunkeld in October, is it near?
Crystal xx
Beautiful photos. You really must do that book. It's many years since I've been anywhere near a forest, but I have fond memories of them from my childhood. They are such magical places.
" I'm going to Dunkeld in October, is it near?" - not too far, about 40 miles away but the scenery in that area is equally stunning - especially if you venture a a little way more north, long before Bear country !
Brilliant photos, you should definitely do the book!
.....Ahem....wot's the matter with sheep then?
Absolutely nothing wrong with our wee wooly friends, WW has 4 as pets..!!. its just that there are an awfull lot of them !! Mind you, NZ has about 3 million people and 5 million sheep - apparently
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