New angles on woodland life
by Graham Long from on (#Y5V7)
Stockley Inclosure, New Forest I make my way back following pony tracks on a path around toppled trees
It's not long before midwinter's day when I step out into Stockley Inclosure. It's brightish, with a chill wind that rustles in the treetops and makes interlacing branches creek eerily as they rub together. Yet, within a dozen or so paces, my touching shadow pops a peacock butterfly into the air. It rapidly vanishes over a bank of still-flowering gorse. In a sheltered spot, close by a log shorn of all bark, gathers some filtered warmth. A large hoverfly Eristralis pertinax, basks at one end, while a clutch of bluebottles huddle together at the other.
Related: Country diary: New Forest
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