In many ways it’s been a wonderful time of year to be isolated at Ivywood! We moved here 1 and a half years ago so are still very much only getting to know this magical woodland and the beings that share it with us.
We have been delighted to find large badger sets and fox dens in areas and regularly get visits from the foxes in early morning. The heron comes to our little lake every day to feed, sometimes with a companion. On my ramble today with the doggies and our youngest cat we followed a deer path through an unexplored area and came across a doe and her fawn resting under some trees.
The deer have been coming quite close to the house lately despite the dogs and our noisy selves. The hares also seem content to come close. Our resident giant hare passes the front door from the woods on his daily route. And when the sun goes down, we have a family of pine martens and bats living in our attic that entertain us!! Not to mention numerous birds, including birds of prey, that seem to nest here each year. We feel it must be a haven to all the wildlife here, just as much as Ivywood is to us <3
I still manage to get lost out there! Out of the 40 acres of woodland there are 6 acres or so that we haven’t yet ventured into… mostly because of giant brambles! I look forward to meeting the trees in there when the time is right. It seems near impossible to capture the beauty of the woodland and its many aspects with photographs. We look forward to this time next year when we will resume our herbal medicine teaching and clinical practice in the newly built earth house and be able to have others here to share the magic of this land.