Leap Loop & Dark Water

January, February, what’s a family meant to do?

Cold winds bluster, wet rain tumbles from the doom laden skies, reedy sunshine fails to warm the sodden ground. We decided a day at the seaside would be perfect.

Leap beach is always a favourite and so we headed off down through the New Forest to see if the Isle of Wight had blown away yet.

Fortunately, the Island was still visible through the mist and thin sun; talk  camping there in the Summer helped to warm our chilled hearts. As the tide was high, we wandered Westward along the beach, spotting boats, sea birds, shells and various interesting stones.

Behind Leap beach there is a tidal, saltwater marsh ominously named Dark Water. Despite its unpromising name Dark Water is actually a beautiful nature reserve, many interesting birds and wildlife can be seen here. Children can also be entertained by catching crabs near the entrance.

A quick visit to the shop/café by the car park will furnish you with a guided walk around the 5 mile Leap Loop. Of course, the more adventurous among might want to wander off piste, just be sure to wear your wellies.

Alternatively, you can walk along the beach in an Easterly direction, where you eventually end up on Calshot Spit. This strip along the edge of the Solent can be a bracing walk, all of its own, if you are feeling energetic.

There is also a suitably challenging children’s adventure playground on top of the bluffs by the café – just in case anyone has any residual energy left, before heading for home.

Snowballs and Sledges

Needless to say, as soon as I mention that snow never settles in Southampton, it snows all night and all day, lays thickly and the city is brought to a standstill by the relentless blizzard!

All the schools were closed and the gleeful yelps and screams of cheerful snow covered children, ambushing each other up and down the streets, could be heard constantly throughout the morning.

By lunchtime all was all quiet on the Western front, the children were all frozen to their bones with soggy socks and frostbitten fingers. It was still snowing hard outside, as the coats and gloves dried out on the radiators and the frigid digits wrapped around cups of hot chocolate gradually thawed.

After some grub and warming of the extremities, everyone was back at it again. Epic snowball fights evolved all along the road. Boys Vs Girls, Kids Vs Adults, Family Vs Family, it didn’t seem to matter much.

Frozen Ducks Dodging Pack Ice

There were occasional tears, when someone got a facefull of snow or a soggy shot straight down the neck, but they were soon revived with a quick towelling and sent back out into the fray until the battle gradually petered out as the light faded.

The forecast said that it would continue all day and probably not abate over the weekend. Obviously, it was time to break out the thick socks and sledges!

The following day a gang of us headed out to Shawford Down, the main roads were thankfully clear, and the journey was safe. The massive hill had been well used by local children the day before and was looking a bit worse for wear but it was still frozen so the sledges were soon flying along.

Spontaneous snowball fights broke out all over the place and zooming sledges made textbook targets. The sledgers could neither stop nor dodge the chilly-fingered assassins, as they slid toward their snow-spattered destiny.

A Direct Hit (Tee Hee)!

Amid the chaos on the slopes I spotted a tiny shrew darting about in the snow, doing the best he could to dodge the pandemonium that had descended on his home. I scooped him up in my gloves and deposited him somewhere more peaceful, amongst some grass.

Eventually it was time to get back home to thaw out and have some warm tea. Today it remains cold, there is still snow and ice everywhere and my snowball arm is aching from overuse!

Spitting into the Wind at Hurst

Brent Geese Flying South, Possibly to Avoid Becoming Xmas Lunch

Well folks, for me personally 2013 has, so far, proved a long way off satisfactory. Hopefully things will begin to improve, as time goes by. But enough of my woes, I have a popular blog to maintain. Winter/Spring is always a lean period for foraging but we still love to get out amongst nature, and hope to inspire you to get outdoors, for a walk with your family.

Hurst Spit and Keyhaven Salt Water Lagoon

Much to the children's disappointment, it has not yet snowed where we are. Mind you, we rarely get snow settling in Southampton, even when it is forecast for the area. I always blame this deficit on the hot rocks that lie beneath the city; they are used as a source of geothermal energy to heat part of the city. People never believe me when I say that Southampton used to be a Spa town, but it was.

The Needles, off the West of the Isle of Wight

We have managed to get out and about a bit though, and we had a very exciting and stormy walk on Hurst Spit. Hurst Spit is a massive shingle bank that has been thrown up by the constant action of the elements. It is the closest part of the mainland to the Isle of Wight and has long been a strategic military point for the defence of the Solent seaways to Southampton and Portsmouth. The castle at the end of the spit was built by King Henry the 8th in 1544 and King Charles 1 was imprisoned there in 1648 before being executed. 

Hmmmm!

More important these days are the large tidal lagoons of Keyhaven, behind the spit, a refuge and harbour for  many small boats and also an important nature reserve and bird sanctuary.

In the Shade (and Lee) of the Spit

When we arrived the Spring Tide and wind had caused the road to flood but we chugged through and found somewhere dry to park. The fist thing that was apparent was the force of the wind, the car was being buffeted all the time.

Some Would Say We Are Crazy - We Would Disagree!

We donned our wet weather gear to shield us from the storm and set off to test ourselves against its power, it was incredible. The waves were smashing into the shore and several times spray and spume breached the vast barrier to soak the few brave walkers. 

Milford, Battered by the Storm

We decided that it would be too exposed to trek to the fort and lighthouse, and chose instead to go the other direction toward Milford. We saw many flocking birds including Fieldfares (I think) in the corn fields where we parked. I could watch birds doing this all day, it is just fascinating how they all change direction at the same time. 

The Brilliant Brent Geese Treat us to Another Honking Fly Past

The highlight for me though was when a vast flock of Brent Geese, that had been grazing on a field, took off as one and wheeled around honking, doing a few laps of  the lagoons, before settling in a different part.

Merry Xmas & Prosperous New Year

Enjoy the break!

Have a Cool Yule!

xxx

Apocasolstice

Dear Readers, I know that you are all waiting until the threat of the Mayan Apocalypse has passed before you shower me with Xmas comments, home-made gifts and cards…

Fortunately, one person took the precaution of sending my gifts beforehand, just in case…

Eleanor Woodcock (even named after a bird), aged 11, is a keen watcher of wildlife and birds. She has a wonderful blog (Birding in the Garden) - I suggest you go and look at it.

Eleanor has written bags of brilliant bird poems on her blog; she knew that I was interested in trees and wrote some terrific tree poetry for me.

Eleanor also sent me a lovely jar of her Epic Plum, Blackberry & Spiced Apple Jam, which we will be testing shortly.

In the meantime, enjoy the Winter Solstice, light a Yule fire tonight and keep it burning till Christmas, enjoy Eleanor’s charming poems and drawings and pray that tomorrow does actually arrive, so that you can finally deliver my presents…

If I don’t have time to post again or cannot struggle out from under the mound of cards and gifts, have a lovely, super Cool Yule!

the Urbane Forager

XXX

Winter Fayre

Silver Pine Cone Decorations

Last year at the school Winter Fayre, we sold Christmas decorations and little bunches of mistletoe, it proved a very popular idea and amongst the tsunami of children and parents. We completely sold out of mistletoe in a very short time. Obviously, we thought it would be a good idea to do it again this year.

Mistletoe

The loss of traditional orchards has led to a shortage of easily harvestable mistletoe and a consequential price hike but with a little improvisation and determination it can still be obtained for free.

A Big Ball of Mistletoe at Dusk

I had spotted some large balls, fairly low down in a tree at a local park and like a good boy scout, I have a pen knife. Among the many blades and tools contained within my Swiss Army special is a small but effective saw…

See Saw

With the enthusiastic help of my son and a couple of his school friends, we selected and coppiced ourselves a suitably lengthy hazel stick (about 3m long). Then using gaffer tape, I attached the tiny saw to the end of our pole and hoisted it up into undergrowth.

Weapon of Choice

It was impossible to get any downward pressure on the small saw, but by shoving it quickly up and down, I eventually managed get a couple of large bunches (as big as my boy) down, before my arms finally gave out. Last year, I used my woodworking pull saw, a far smarter solution that exploits the weight of the pole; this time I didn’t have my weapon of choice with me, but at least the vigorous exercise kept me warm.

Tied into Bunches with Ribbons

Later on, back at the ranch, the branches were broken down into nice sized bunches; they were then tied up with pretty red and silver ribbons to complete the Christmas effect.

Good to Go

Soon the bundles were all boxed up and ready to sell at the Winter Fayre. From there they will be taken into people’s houses and dangled above sweethearts in an attempt to cultivate the love kisses and hugs that we all require, no matter what the season.

Misty Eyed Mistletoe

As December rears its frost encrusted head, we realise that just because we have had a windy spring and wet summer, it doesn’t follow that the winter will be mild. I didn’t feel at all cozy this morning as I cycled to work with sub-zero fingers and frozen tears streaking my cheeks.

I Could Easily Climb That!

On a brighter note, the children are anticipating Christmas; lights and inflatable Santas have started crawling over houses. I like to entertain myself by asking people, Have you got all your presents sorted out yet? I have a friend who always leaves present buying until Xmas eve, he swears that it is the quietest time for shopping and he can be seen stalking the streets of Southampton late into the evening, loaded down with bags, wearing a large red coat.

Big Balls of Mistletoe

As the season of goodwill draws near, Mistletoe starts to appear in greengrocers; normally accompanied by media reports that there is a national shortage of this parasitic passion arouser. Mistletoe can cost a fortune (£3.50) for a tiny sprig but it is also available for free on a deciduous tree near you. I always begin spotting the romantic freeloader around this time, and we are going to gather some again for the children to sell at the school Winter Fayre, it went down a storm last year.

A Mistletoe Seed Growing Legs

Last year I decided to attempt to grow my own but you do need the patience of a saint to achieve this. You initially need to smear a sticky mistletoe berry onto a deciduous tree, the berry contains the seed. After a long wait (provided the seed is not gobbled up by a Mistle Thrush), it sends out a couple of small tentacle like roots, which latch into the tree and tap into its nutrient supply.

Tapping Into a Young Oak

Once the seed becomes established it continues to leach the tree’s sappy goodness and gradually grows into the familiar plant. While on the subject of parasitic, freeloading passion arousers, Justin Bieber’s hair apparently went through several similar developmental stages; a fact that he allegedly attempted to celebrate with his ingeniously titled stocking filler, Mistletoe.

Stand Here With Me For a Moment x