Nature Notes October 2011

by Ken - 16:23 on 04 October 2011

                                       Ken’s Nature notes.

Well we are now well into the glorious season of Autumn, which brings us the fantastic colours of the season. Rich reds and yellows of the leaves as they finally drop to earth ready to be re-cycled in Natures natural way. The “sticky buds” on the Horse chestnuts are already showing where next years leaves will be bursting from.
I enjoy nothing better than a brisk walk on a cold winters morning, and around our village there are quite a few routes you can enjoy peace and quite away from traffic. One route in particular is the bridleway from Wapping bridge down past Biddick Hall it has a reasonable surface to walk on and the best part is you can hear only pigeons and pheasants fluttering up as they have been disturbed, as I mentioned last month the pigeons have now found the beech nuts to forage on.
If you walk this area you will notice the effect of the young seedling Maples growing in abundance under the parent trees, it gives the effect of a wood within a wood, quite magical.
They say you are never too old to learn, well I discovered a fact that the Horse chestnut seed, conkers to you and me, have a quality to deter spiders. Well once this news was passed to my wife I was sent out on the hunt for conkers! These have now been threaded onto string as if I were entering the world conker championships and have been strategically placed in sensitive places. The real test will be my shed and I have a dozen on a string for experimental purposes.
I will let you know how they work.
One of my favourite climbers is the Virginia Creeper and I was fortunate enough to have been given a plant from my dad who passed away a few years ago, it is a joy to see the colour change just before the leaves drop and best of all it is a nice reminder of my father who taught me more things about grafting roses and gardening  and nature than any books that I have ever read.
Another of my walks took in Brecon Hill wood opposite the Floaters Pub, this is undergoing  major improvements to both the path and the quality of the Lumley Burn which flows into the river Wear at Chester-le-Street. As I climbed up the path  from the ”Hair pin Bend” I was impressed to see a Crab apple tree growing happily in the hedge, I resisted the temptation to taste an apple as memories tell me they are bitter, however I was drawn to taste a Sloe berry which grows from the Blackthorn, and I wished I had not, wow was it bitter.
Like the old saying goes, you are never too old to learn.    Ken.

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