June in Treherbert Woods

June has been another month of changeable weather. Warm days with lots of sunshine. Cold days with wind and rain. And pretty much everything in between.

My first visit of the month was early evening as the sun was going down, with beautiful light shining through the trees as I crossed the railway line to enter the woods.

There were lots of new stones in place on the Path Of Hope.

       My walk took me in a circle with views over Treherbert, and down in to the woods                                                                            and valley below

I stopped for a quick look at the little pond near the bottom of the path. I was hoping maybe I'd see a few frogs or a dragonfly, but sadly nothing.
                                                There was however plenty of watercress.

Back down on the valley floor and there was lots of Vetch in amongst the buttercups (I think this one is Bush Vetch ). It's been very prolific this year, I've seen a lot more than usual.

Lots of brambles starting to flower now so I think it's going to be a good year for blackberries.

I spotted this teeny beetle, I think it's a Willow  Leaf Beetle. He was catching the light beautifully.

                         Still lots of Herb Robert around, I think it'll be here for a while yet.

                                        And the trefoil is really abundant in places now.

 One plant I've never seen in the woods here before is the Monkey flower. Although there's lots of it in the rivers in the area I've never seen it here. I always think it looks too exotic to be growing in the Rhondda!

                                          Lots of Ragwort beginning to flower now too

And as some are just starting to flower some are starting to die back, like this Gorse which is going to seed.

Another common plant which is flowering at this time of year is the Valerian. Lots of it around lining the paths.

                          And there's plenty of Self Heal too, the most I've ever seen here.

Lots of bind weed too, wrapping itself around anything it can find to grow on, and looking lovely when it catches the light.

                   The sycamore sapling is growing biger and stronger every time I pass.

And the Wood Avens are still in abundance and seem to be thriving which is good news as they're a great source of nectar.

 Two plants that I haven't mentioned before are the Nettles and Dock Leaves, there are certainly plenty of these everywhere.

 One plant that seems to have sprung up overnight is the beautifully sticky Cleavers, a type of     bedstraw.

But my favourite find of the month is definitely this incredibly beautiful and very delicate Entchanter's Nightshade. It's so tiny I don't think I've ever noticed it before, although it's probably                                                      been growing there for years.

After all the rain we had in the middle of the month everything was looking beautifully green

 And the Yew tree that was really standing out at the beginning of the year is now blending in to the   background of all the other trees as they're bursting into their summer foliage

                 The Himalayan balsam is as prolific as ever and beginning to flower now.

                               And lots of Common Marsh Bedstraw also beginning to flower.

                                 Lots of both red and white Clover covering the ground now.

And the Buddleia bush by the Pixie Bridge is flowering now too, so hopefully it will                  attract lots of butterflies soon.

                              Lots of beautiful Rose-Bay Willow Herb lining the paths

                                         As well as plenty of Pimpernel Willow Herb

And the grasses, Rushes, Sedges and  Ferns are really coming into their own now

                                        A few lovely Dog Roses are just coming out.

                                                  And the Elder-flower is in full bloom.

             Quite a bit of white Lichen around,   and I saw a few patches of turkey tail fungus too.

The month ended with quite a wet spell, which meant the stream, which had been little more than trickle a few days before, suddenly burst into life.

And the paths which had been quite dry and dusty became quite muddy in places.But still a beautiful walk.

Click  HERE for a video of some of the birdsong I recorded on one of my morning visits,

I really wasn't expecting to see so many changes in just a few weeks. The number of new plants springing up really took me by surprise. The only downside has been that although the bird song has been beautiful I haven't seen many birds as they're all hidden by the  foliage.
Now let's see what July has to bring 😀