Forest Fauna and Flora

Sometimes you are lucky enough to find somewhere magical. Where you feel transported to a time and place of tranquility. In those moments, all else can, surely must be, forgotten to fully embrace the experience.

Black Spout waterfall and wood at Pitlochry is, for me, one such place. It left me filled with wonder and an amazing sense of peace. Perhaps it’s the lushness of the greenery this year. So much rain followed by days of sunshine.

To walk in the forest was to feel the softness of the paths underfoot. To listen to the birdsong: chaffinch, coal tit, grey and white wagtails was to smile at those wagging tails. To feel the soft, velvet of a hazel leaf and to admire tiny newly forming hazelnuts.

To my delight, there were oak trees of every size and shape. I thought of how their burls may be labelled as an ‘imperfection’, and yet their many layered beauty was undeniable. Useful too, they are often sought after by those who work with wood. No two burls are ever the same, with their layers and patterns. How wonderful that, in nature, we celebrate individuality.

There was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to hug a tree. To feel the smoothness of the moss on one side as opposed to the rivulet-like bark on the other. How amazing to consider its lifetime as I stand in silent awe.

It made me think of ‘birch tapping’ where the sap of the birch trees is collected to drink. I thought of all the water running through the tree. Of course, it could have been the water running over the Black Spout waterfall that made me think of this! An excellent viewing platform has been built and, if you carry on further up the path, you come to a beautiful section where there are large flat rocks above the waterfall.

When not hugging trees, I was using my phone to identify birdsong and plants. Wood avens, speedwell as well as cow parsley to name a few. What a complete distraction from everyday life. My visit to Black Spout wood, in such good company too, was a joy.