Exmoor red deer

The stag, a young one

The hinds, suspecting something is not quite right

The amazing row of beech - these are positioned along the traditional bank and wall field boundaries.

October took me to Exmoor for the red deer rut. The weather had been incredibly mild over the past few weeks which didn't give high hopes of seeing any red deer fighting action - the colder weather brings the hinds down from the moor peaks and thus the horny males follow.

We pulled up at a good site at about 6am when it was just gettin glight and as soon as the car engine stopped running we could hear the bellow of the males echoing over the valley.

We came close on numerous occasions to groups of deer, but alas no actual scrapping. In the distance we could hear the clash of antlers and the continuous roars but could not get close enough. Still, it was an excellent experience of which I am keen to experience again next year.

Exmoor red deer

The Giant Chestnut

Back in June 2007 a small group of us visited Dinton park near Salisbury, Wiltshire. The grounds were owned by National Trust and we were kindly shown around by the warden.

One of the highlights was this fantastic Sweet Chestnut tree in the grounds of a private dwelling on the site. The girth of the monster was a massive 9.70 metres and as you can see from the photos all of us stood next to it look dwarfed! The tree is in healthy condition and new growth can be seen reaching for the sky on the upper limbs. It is interesting that the tree does so well as just out of shot is another equally impressive beech tree which does not seem to pose a threat to the chesnut at all....remarkable. I entered this baby on the Woodland Trust's Ancient Tree Hunt website.

Check it out http://www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk/

The Giant Chestnut

Bring on the tears

The spuds are out...the onions are in. Lets hope they fair better...not too many things like to devour onions. By spring the first crop should be ready for an early years salad. The fleece is for added protection if the frosts ever return here. Already (after 2 weeks) the onions have sprouted and have put on about 4 inches in growth.

Bring on the tears