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Showing posts from July, 2015

MID SUMMER WILDLIFE

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I've become relatively good at spotting Roe deer out of the corner of my eye, even if the deer is hiding in thick undergrowth. When I saw this buck, I had to adjust my perspective slightly, as a fern was obscuring his face. The buck darted off shortly afterwards. I could hear his bark for several minutes. In a remarkable coincidence, later in the evening I bumped into the parents of two pals from primary school. They have bought an estate adjacent to a forest I regularly visit. I've been kindly given permission to enter their estate, whenever I like. The estate includes an 80 acre bluebell woodland, several large fields and good vantage points. Three herds of Fallow deer live on their estate and they gather every evening in the open. Previously a shooting estate, all such rights have been removed. I am therefore likely to see mature bucks with well developed antlers in a few years time. It was so nice to be reunited (in the middle of nowhere) with such kind people. I look for

ON SERENDIPITY

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There's a fabulously beautiful forest on the High Weald I like to visit throughout the year. Most forests in the area are restricted, but the owners have granted permissive access to the public. Every May, a small part of the forest is transformed by carpets of English bluebells into a fairytale landscape with a stream running through it. I've long wanted to photograph deer among bluebells, but I have yet to benefit. A couple of years ago, I crossed the stream to explore the other side of the bluebell wood, which is adjacent to a large field. Fallow deer graze there in evening.  A fallen mature beech tree blocked the path. Someone had placed a Fallow deer skull on the trunk. I noticed the antlers had been sawn off. I felt sad about the deer and the tree. It made me think about that old philosophical question or some version of it: "If a tree falls down and no-one is around, does it have any meaning?" Most British people no longer belong to any of the three gr

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