Flora, Fauna and Fun – Spring Adventures

Do I get out and about with my children enough?

Probably not but when we do, we like to explore and adventure.

Two particular walks earlier this year stick out in my memory due to the flora and fauna that we came across and the fun we had. Both walks were in the same piece of woodland near our village.

On the way to the woods one of the routes takes you though our local church. The early spring flowers were quite beautiful.

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Early Spring flowers

As soon as we entered the woods the kids spotted something.

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Something out there

Needless to say it was not just the kids that were excited.

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Who’s looking at who?

Eventually the deer took off. To see a herd of deer move as one is like watching a wave move through the woods. Quite a stunning sight. I was sorry that we had disturbed their rest but still delighted to see them. I was so glad that the kids were with me.

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Spot the odd man out?

I was particularly delighted when Finlay pointed out some Cramp Balls to me as they are great fire starters when dried out. Enough to make any Bushcrafting father proud 🙂

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Cramp Ball – Daldinia concentrica

We came across a fairly fresh kill site. The kids were straight in there looking at the feathers.

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Fresh Raptor kill site

From looking at the feather tips the single score would indicate a bird of prey kill. If it had been a land animal such as a fox the tips of the feathers would have been jagged due to the tearing action of the animal’s teeth.

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Complete Quills with the characteristic beak mark

The slots from the deer were crystal clear for them to spot.

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Finlay finding deer slots

I did not ask my kids to collect tinder but they just went and collected anyway. Must be in the genes.

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Catherine tinder gathering

As usual the kids needed to be extricated from the trees. Thankfully Alison was on hand as my hands were too busy with the camera 😉

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The usual tree extraction

The next walk was a much more relaxed affair. It was time for the Bluebells to appear.

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Chilling in the bluebells

Some days Catherine wants to explore and some days nails are more important. Must be a Mars – Venus thing.

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Girl time

Thankfully Finlay wanted to do the Mars thing. He was determined to be able to lift this tree higher.

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Boy time

The bluebells were looking beautiful that day.

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Need to work on the cam and concealment

Also the orchids were standing lovely in the woods.

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Lots of orchids

Finlay was more interested in finding bridges to cross and search under for Trolls.

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Finlay’s favourite bridge

I do love spending time in the woods but it is special when you are with your own family.
My kids love to use all the latest gizmos but thankfully they love the outdoors just as much.

Cheers

George.

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