The Urban Naturalist

I’ve raced past the wooded railway bank so many times on the way to the platform and half-wondered what the fist-sized round leaves were which swamp the woodland floor. Today on platform 2, I see a number of drooping pink flower heads among the leaves just over the wall at the perfect height for a […]

T, H and I stand on the path over the rail bridge looking up at an ivy-smothered oak.  It’s creaking loudly and rhythmically in the wind which, while more gentle than in our recent storms, still has a degree of power behind it. “Does that mean it’s going to fall down?” T asks.  I admit […]

The gravelly stream bed sparkles in the morning sun.  This temporary stream flows under the gate and down to the old railway track, a trickling reminder of yesterday’s rain. The water has cleaned a channel through the layers of mud and leaf mulch built up over this winter. I stand in its path and watch […]

I’ve begun the habit of walking very slowly through the woods on a Sunday morning. As I hear single chime from St Stephen’s church on the other side of the woods, I reflect that this is my worship. At this ponderous and mindful speed I notice tiny things which I suspect would otherwise be a […]

There is green everywhere in the woods, that’s true, but there’s a point in the year where I crave something fresh and new. Winter would definitely be a darker time without the yew, holly, ivy and the bramble leaves which seem to keep going indefinitely despite pretending to be a deciduous plant. Today that’s not […]

  I walk along the morning dark of the old rail bed to the meadow clearing. Here, unprotected by the canopy, the hoar frost has captured everything green and growing its icy grip.  Under a protective oak, a frothy profusion of cow parsley plants have taken advantage of the mild weather we had last week.  […]

I set off on this mild, gusty morning with a sense of purpose.  I’m confident I’m going to find my quarry in the woods today as there were early signs last week. In the denser areas of woodland, I look upwards and see the tantalising glimpses where the hazel stems have reached patches of sunlight. […]

The evergreen gang are such a relief in the woods at this time of year. I walk early and enjoy the visual pleasure of glossy yellow green ivy, darker yew and cedar and blue green holly.  Other than these and some persistent bramble leaves, it feels like the plant world is holding its breath. Some […]

The sight broke my running pulse. It stopped me in my tracks. I catch my breath. A tiny bird inspects each side of every branch and twig of a hazel sapling on the edge of the path where I’m running. As it’s still for tiny fractions of a second, I struggle at first to tell […]