99/365

Time Forgotten

I spend most of my time rushing, there never seem to be enough hours in the day. Work is spent juggling all the different demands, deadlines and timetables that a college can throw at you; home time is spent prioritising all the tasks that I should've been done but haven't.

Today was different.

I spent seven hours weaving. Little else - no distractions, no noise, just sitting in a North Wales woodland on a beautiful spring day learning how to ply green willow. It's my first basket, so not a work of art, but already ideas are forming...but best of all, the chance to sit and concentrate, undisturbed, hard work but so relaxing!

98/365

Seemed appropriate as we have a weekend of basket making coming up!

53/365

Willow Carr

A (thankfully) forgotten lowland Willow and Alder Carr on the edge of Rhyl. With mechanisation and modern drainage methods, wet woodlands such as this are becoming increasingly rare.

Willow trees, as well as having medicinal uses, can support a staggering number of invertebrates (over 450 species) and lichens (over 160 species) and are second only to old growth Oak Woodland (in the UK). With such an insect profusion, they support large numbers of birds, and the humid atmosphere supports ferns, mosses, sedges and rushes.