Tree Following: the Larch 5

Today I thought I'd look at what's growing underneath the larch that I've chosen to study for Tree Following.

Here's what it looks like as you approach it

quite a nice green undergrowth, though as you get closer, you can see there are patches of bare earth, covered only with fallen needles

there are sone celandines growing in the undergrowth, along with ivy, nettles, at least one species of umbellifer and a small leafy plant that remains a mystery to me, but I'm sure I'll recognise it when it comes into flower.

Also in the shade of the larch, there's a young sycamore tree and a couple of other trees too. 

There was no sign of the long tailed tits that I watched building a nest in the tree a couple of weeks ago, but a chaffinch was perched nearby with a mouth full of either nesting material or food for a nestling.

for Tree Following. 

Here's a clearer photo of some celandines, growing in the hollow of another tree in the Dells to give you a better idea of what they look like

Meanwhile it was wonderful to hear and see the first blackcaps, arrived back from their winter in Africa. One of my favourite bird songs. Some blackcaps spend the summer in the UK and winter in Africa, others spend summer in Scandanavia and winter in the UK. Some may even be resident in the UK.....

Lovely also to see blue tits checking out the nest boxes that I helped the Water of Leith Conservation Trust put up in the Dells last year.

and finally from today's walk:

the old dog's grave -
newly scattered ashes
and fresh flowers.

for NaPoWriMo

As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more.