Thursday, March 29, 2012

A Woodland Walk




Today was a glorious day!  A perfect Spring morning with clear blue skies, warm sunshine and birdsong.  I walked by the church . . . 

 

. . .and then went across the road and took the path into the woods.  One of the reasons we bought our house is that just across the road is a forest.  I have a 'thing' about trees!!  

My childhood home looked onto a woods and it was my playground growing up.   We used to walk through the woods to school every morning and I always loved how everything changed with the seasons, there was always something new to enjoy.  We made camps out of any old junk, we had an old tyre on a swing and best of all there was a wishing well by a stream that long ago had been a proper drinking well where people collected their water, was now covered in moss and used for wishing.  Just up from the stream there was a very small pond with overhanging trees, quite dark which we called the 'Frogspond' and we collected many empty jam jars of water and frogspawn in the hope of growing our own frogs!  Happy days!  I love those woods, they're very special to me - so much so, that my husband proposed to me there on a warm Spring day underneath my beloved green beech trees surrounded by bluebells.


So when hunting for our current home my with list read thus:
1.  House with view of woods/near woods for walks.
2.  Near beach.

I couldn't believe our luck when this house ticked both those boxes.  So this morning I set off in to the woods for my walk. . .


The trees are just about to come into leaf so still bare but there were lots of pretty wildflowers to enjoy. . .  like these common dog violets . . .



the humble and daisy and dandelion looked so cheery . . .




Poor ole dandelion - it gets such bad press and it really is so pretty.  I'm not up early enough to see much wildlife around, although one day I did see a bank vole!  But I did admire these little homes, I wonder who lives there?  Fox, badger??


So many pretty petals to admire. 

Greater Stitchwort . . .


 Primroses. . .


 Herb Robert . . .


Yellow wort. . .


Ivy Leaved Toadflax - isn't that a great name!  I didn't know a lot of these names so I had a great time looking them up in my book when I got home.  It was hard to see some of the pictures so I went online and found a wonderful website,  Wild Flowers of Ireland Click Here



One of joys of living in the countryside is enjoying the changing of the seasons and harvesting some of Mother Nature's crops.  There are a lot of these tasty berries springing up all over the woods. . .

Wild Strawberry. . .



and this beautiful white bell flower, the three cornered garlic - it's a member of the garlic family and as far as I know you can eat it - I haven't tried it yet but it smells very strongly of garlic as you walk past it in the hedgerows.  If anyone is reading and knows anything about eating this wild garlic, please let me know!!

Three Cornered Garlic


Aren't they beautiful? White bell flowers with a green line down the petals . . .


It's hard to pick a favourite wildflower but I think mine is the bluebell . . .  they are only starting to come out so I'm looking forward to lots of lovely walks among these beauties over the next few weeks.   I love the woods at any time of year but when there is a haze of bluebells carpeting the ground it really is quite breathtaking.  Bluebells en masse have a lovely sweet Spring scent as well.




I hope you enjoyed our walk through the woods.  Sorry most of the photos aren't great - I'm only learning how to use my new camera and to take photos for this blog!! but I wanted to show you  what's out at the moment in the woods - it's so pretty!



15 comments:

A Life Un-Styled said...

Such beautiful photos! We're heading into winter here but I'll be spending two weeks in Fiji, and I'm looking forward to some great weather. Your childhood home sounds dreammmyyy <3

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Thanks Vanisha, Fiji sounds so exotic - have a lovely time!

Sharon

-Lisa said...

Breathtaking photos of the trees! The flowers are gorgeous, what a great walk that must have been.
By the way, I passed along the Liebster Award to a couple of bloggers. Thought you might like to know.
Have a wonderful day Sharon.
-L

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Hi Lisa, delighted you passed on the Liebster - I'm sure they were delighted - I must pop over and send them some love :)

Sharon

Leslie said...

Sharon, what a glorious day! I am envious as it is pouring and mid 40's today. The flowers made me smile ;)

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Leslie, we don't get many glorious days like this very often so it's a major cause for celebration!!

Sharon

Karen said...

Thanks for taking me along on your walk. I can almost smell the fresh air!

Fashion-isha said...

Thanks so much for sharing this. I've heard that Ireland is beautiful and it's so much fun to get a glimpse through your blog. Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment!
xo
Sharon

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Hi Karen, lots more walks to come :)

Sharon

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Hi Sharon, Ireland is beautiful - maybe one day you'll come and see it yourself! I found your story through The Enchanted Home and just had to leave a comment for you. I think what you have done is amazing - a totally selfless action! There is a lot of good karma heading your way! Thank you for stopping by but I hope you're not overdoing it and taking it easy while you recover.

Warmest wishes,

Sharon

French Grey said...

Sharon

Your woods are beautiful, and I loved your photos of all the pretty wildflowers. We have a lot of wildflowers here in MT too, but won't be seeing them for awhile yet! Thank you for sharing the view from your walk (I had the same idea but still grey and brown here)!

Blessings,
Cindy
xo

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Great minds think alike Cindy! when they come out you'll have to show us, I'd love to see some new ones - love wild flowers!

Sharon

Paula said...

To be close to the beach AND woodland - perfection! I ADORE bluebell woods, they are an absolutely stunning sight to stumble across, and that view down the lane towards the church - just breathtaking. x

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Thank you Mrs. Sutton for your lovey comments! It is fab to be living so close to both! We were lucky to find this place!
xxxx

Anonymous said...

You capture such beautiful things in your photos!

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