A Leaf in Time 2 - A wee leaf has dropped …

Welcome to the second issue of our newsletter, A Leaf in Time. We hope you enjoyed the first one and thank you for the feedback. If there is anything you would like to see included in subsequent issues, let us know!

Meantime, we’ll share a few leaf notes which you are welcome to share with any curious friends.

Recent wanders

You may think that nature and other beings are being quiet over the winter. In many respects they are, but they are also preparing the way for what’s to come … more light and more sun, and in Scotland, hopefully a little less rain!

There have been a few soggy walks recently, the most curious one being when I noticed some trees with what looked like soap suds. If you follow Woodlands Breathing on social media, you may have seen a wee video. The photo above illustrates bubbles flowing down the tree trunk, a natural phenonomen though it was the first time we had observed it. If you see such bubbles in heavy rain, don’t worry and enjoy the fizz!

On other walks, there has been plenty of opportunity to sploosh through puddles and the mud as well as enjoy a few rainbows. It is also lovely to see some signs of the new season emerging with many catkins on trees such as hazel, birch and alder. However, the annual flash of pink on the hazel, the female flowers, seems to have happened a bit early this year. As we all start to get busier with our lives again, it seems some of nature is hurrying along too.

International Women’s Day, 8th March

In the last newsletter, we mentioned that seeds were germinating for this year’s International Women’s Day events on Tuesday 8th March. We hope some readers will be able to join one of two introductory sessions being offered that day to celebrate and slow down for a wee while.

• If you live locally, join us in the woods at Livingston at 12 noon GMT.

• Connect online virtually at 15:30 GMT. Let’s connect our local woods or green space across the oceans and time zones. Alternatively, you can join from the comfort of your home.

Remember to check the listing on the website for forthcoming walks - dates are always being added. We are planning to add other venues later in the spring. Alternatively, we can organise a bespoke experience by arrangement.

One last thing …

We hope your local tree friends have coped with the many recent storms, particularly in the UK. You might like to acknowledge any that have fallen as they pass on the opportunity to other beings that will now take up residence on the decaying wood. Did you know that many species of fungi and invertebrates live on dead and decaying wood? The deadwood provides valuable habitat to recycle nutrients, all part of the life cycle of a tree, so leave some around your garden to encourage biodiversity.

Thank you for reading and we hope to welcome you to the woods soon …