Tree Following Update - Horse Chestnut

For Tree Following this year I've selected a beautiful horse chestnut tree in one of the cemeteries on our #DailyExercise route.You can see my earlier blogposts about this tree here, here , here and here.

My chosen tree is close to the perimeter wall of the cemetery and has clearly grown up since the graves were made

It has two numbers on it, which are used by Edinburgh Council to record the tree and details about it (for example if it becomes ill or damaged and needs remedial work) though I don't know why it has two numbers rather than just one...

Looking up into the tree, it still looks lovely and green

but many of the leaves are starting to turn or are damaged by insects nibbling at them

 

 

 another sign of the changing seasons is that the conkers are already very large and spiky

and some have already fallen from the tree

I have tried to pay attention to insects and animals living on or near the tree, but there hasn't been a huge amount of activity, or at least not many creatures stopping to allow themselves to be photographed! In the middle of July, this male blackbird was busily gathering food under the shade of the tree

The rest of the cemetery is full of beatiful trees and areas of open grassland. Nesting birds include sparrowhawks and great spotted woodpeckers and I've seen a stoat here once! it's also a great place for insects!