The Sunday slow worm!

The slithery slow worm. I am not sure Sam was that impressed!

A sunny Sunday begs to be spent outdoors, and with the very beautiful Ashdown Forest on our doorstep, we headed off for a little wander through the woods. Nearly two thirds of Ashdown Forest's 6500 acres (2500 hectares) are heathland, amounting to 2.5% of the UK's extent of this rare habitat. It also has some really wonderful views over the Sussex countryside.

Even though the height of summer is now over, and most of the wildflowers have long gone, there is another chapter of loveliness in the woods to behold; the fabulous fungi!

Wandering down little meandering paths, we came across many different varieties of fungi fruiting.

Spiders had made incredible webs with droplets of dew which sparkled in the morning sun...

Boy and Zaf in their element!

We were very lucky to spot a slow worm by the side of the path. I haven't seen this legless lizard in a long time. She (I think?) was well camouflaged amongst the leaf litter, and sat there very still, probably hoping to look dead.

BB was a little worried about holding the slow worm, it was cold and so very smooth. He did pick it up and squealed like a girl as it tried to slither off his hands!

As we circled back towards the car park, we continued to see more types of mushrooms, these truly are the autumn flowers of the woodlands.

Zaf did his usual thing of collecting the largest stick to bring home with him, he spent quite a while  dragging it back to the car, whacking us on the back of our knees as he tried to pass on the pathway. Needless to say, I did manage to persuade him to leave it behind...

Homeward bound!

A lovely outing, followed by a bit of gardening in the afternoon sunshine.

Hope your Sunday was sunny too!

FlowerScapes at the Floral Fringe Fair

Last weekend saw the Floral Fringe Fair at Knepp Castle. Our company FlowerScapes advised event-goers how to plant nectar and pollen rich flowers to help our declining insects. The fair was a great success and had a lovely mix of wildlife, vintage, yummy food, plant and craft stalls. Knepp Castle is privately owned by Sir Charles Burrell, and has been in his family for 220 years. Until recently most of the land on the Estate was devoted to traditional arable and dairy farming, but in 2001 they shifted their focus entirely, and embarked on a series of regeneration and restoration projects aimed primarily at nature conservation and a less intensive way of meat production. This method of re-wilding has been successfully introduced in Holland.

Strange and unusual plants being sold

Knepp Castle

Our FlowerScapes stall, before being prettied up with flowers

Not just vintage cars but people too.

Vintage bus

View of the castle and fair

Willow weaving

Lots of plant stalls

Vintage brocante

Steve in action at the FlowerScapes stall

Although there was a constant stream of people, because the stalls were spread out, the atmosphere felt relaxed

I want one!

Wood and willow weaving stall

Restored camper van, yep, want one of these too!

A nice event and the event goers really nice too, all very interested in creating more insect-friendly planting.

A sunny sunday walk

Whilst BB was at tennis practice, and Sam enjoying some quiet time at home with his Dad, my friend Sara and I took the dogs for a romp around the Sussex countryside. It was a lovely sunny day with far-reaching views.

Sara's dog, Meerka, is also a rescue dog, but from slightly further afield, namely Skiathos, Greece. Zaf and Meerka are great buddies, and although Zaf is much more interested in playing than she is, they get on really well. They both are little monkeys at coming back when called, and each time we are out walking them, as we scout round to find them, we both vow to do more training with them!!

We walked for about 2 and half hours, and sat on an upturned cattle trough, to enjoy coffee and cakes.

In the distance we spotted a family of deer watching us, watching them.

I hope you enjoyed the sunny Autumn day too!

Sausages in the forest

Today we played in our friends' wood. It was a lovely sunny autumn day and we were invited to come for a walk and have a bonfire sausage and some melted marshmallows.

 Campfire set up, and coffees all round, whilst the sausages sizzled.

We headed off for a little walk, and although it was quite muddy, we did at least get to see all the deer tracks.

The light filtered very moodily through the trees.

Kids and dog frolicked in the autumn leaf litter.

And boys climbed trees

What a lovely way to spend a few hours on a sunny November afternoon!

Have a good week!