How quickly has this year gone? It seems like only a month or two back I was starting the year, and my first post, with a picture of the yew tree, and now here I am finishing the year with another picture of the same tree.
My first visit of December was a few days into the month, and despite a wet start the day had turned brighter so I set off to see what I could find.
The Jelly fungus were still doing well, and there were lots of others around now too.
The late afternoon light was lovely coming through the trees, and the Pixie Bridge was looking as lovely as ever.
Plenty of leaves covering the ground but they were definitely soggy rather than crunchy now.
Lots of moss and lichen clinging to the lower branches.
But looking up the trees were definitely looking bare.
A few days later saw the first frost of the winter.
And although it wasn't particularly heavy the frozen paths and puddles looked lovely as they caught the morning light.
Even the edges of the stream running under the Pixie Bridge where tinged with ice
But there was plenty of water still flowing under it.
But despite all the frost and ice, unbelievably I still spotted this little buttercup.
And there was plenty of colour provided by the Cotton easter too, both the leaves and the few remaining berries.
As well as the orange glow from the few lovely sunsets we've had over the last few weeks, just visible through the tree branches.
My next visit a few days later saw some brighter weather, and the birds all out taking advantage of the sunshine. Unfortunately most of them stayed firmly hidden, and only the blackbird and a cheeky little robin showed themselves, I had to be content just listening to the others.
It was good to have the paths dry enough to go wandering again.
And to see some blue sky through the branches.
And after a few days without rain the leaves were almost crisp again.
The sunshine also brought with a it a sudden burst of growth in the fungus population.
It was good to see some blue skies again, and despite a few muddy patches the paths were in very good condition.
And the camp site was in good repair.
And now there were more leaves on the floor than on the trees the branches were looking magnificent again, twisting and turning their way upwards.
One of the month's highlights was getting back together for a Woodland Therapy Session with Welcome To Our Woods. After not being able to meet up for so long because of Covid Restrictions it was great to get back together for a Christmas party, even though we had to keep the numbers quite low.
The camp was set up as usual, and we celebrated with Christmas Carols, tea and coffee, mince pies and reindeer making 😀
Let's hope it's not too long before we can all meet up again.
A few days later after some heavy rain and wind the paths were back to muddy and quite difficult to pass in a few places. I was expecting to see a lot of damage after all the high winds but apart from a few ivy covered branches that had come down everything seemed pretty un scathed.
Christmas day saw us back in lockdown, so with a change of plans and unable to visit family I had a few hours to relax and headed over to the woods for a stroll.
A few paths were incredibly muddy so I didn't go very far.
But it was worth the visit, and the ancient woodland was looking beautiful.
My final visit of the month was a quick hour to do a bit of bird spotting. I wasn't really expecting to see much, it was a dull and gloomy day and I didn't get over there until around mid day, so not the best time for birds.
But within a few minutes of being there I'd seen (and heard ) a song thrush, a few coal tits and seen plenty of blue tits on the feeders.
There were a few chaffinches around, and of course as always a few friendly robins,
There were a few dunnocks hopping around, and although I didn't get any photographs of them I also saw a few little wrens.
A couple of magpies were flying around. and I even had a brief glimpse of the greater spotted woodpecker ( I would probably have thought it was another magpie if it wasn't for the flash of red ).
Lots of blackbirds too, and countless little birds that were either too far away or moving too quickly for me to identify them. I also heard a buzzard and a green woodpecker, so far from being disappointed with the birds there it was quite a successful hour.
I had been hoping for some snow to finish the month but sadly it wasn't to be, never mind, hopefully we'll have some soon.
Well, that's the last of my monthly blogs covering a year in Cwmsaerbren woods. It's definitely been a strange year. I've learned so much about the plants there, learned the names and how to identify many of the wild flowers and trees, and re discovered a love of fungus.
Covid definitely came with mixed blessings, not being able to travel has meant I've spent much more time in the woods exploring the paths and getting to know the little nooks and crannies.
Although I won't keep a monthly record of my visits to the woods from now on, I'll definitely make a few periodic updates. There are exciting times ahead with the Rhondda Skyline Project starting to take off, so I for one am looking forward to seeing what changes 2021 will bring.
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