In my last post, I talked about how much I love the coast, but a very close second place has to go to woodland and if it happens to be woodland with a river running through it – all the better!
There are plenty of areas of woodland to choose from near our home, but so far, our favourite spot is an area of woodland by the River North Esk, called The Blue Door Walk.
It is such a breathtaking place that we always seem to have bright, shining faces as we follow the river – crossing little bridges here, climbing over and under fallen trees there and always accompanied by a chorus of birds, high up in the tree tops.
Last years beech leaves are thick on the ground, a crisp, rustling, copper coloured carpet beneath our feet. This is mixed woodland, with a plentiful variety of coniferous and deciduous trees and we are still learning its secrets, as spring takes hold and leaves and buds are starting to make an appearance.
It really is a place to delight the senses, with the wonderful sounds from the river – sometimes raging as the water crashes over falls, sometimes gentle as it glides through wide open stretches: and the dancing light that filters through the trees and plays on the water; and then of course, the textures! The tree bark alone is a sensory wonderland. Some smooth and papery, others like scaled armour. Burrs, mosses and lichens all adding to the visual and tactile feast.
We find ourselves imagining a Tolkein-like quest or sure that we can see the twinkling lights of Brambly hedge between the tree roots.
A place to let our imaginations run wild. No wonder then, that I also find it a place of inspiration for my baskets.
Tree cones are plentiful on all of our walks in Angus and Aberdeenshire (we live right near the border, so we spend plenty of time in both). We even find cones on the beach!
A few weeks ago, I found hundreds of Scots Pine cone scales on the woodland floor. The red squirrels had clearly been having a big feast on their seeds over winter and had expertly removed the scales to get to their tea-time treat.
I gathered a small handful, being without both pockets and a bag that day, but as soon as I saw their gorgeous red-brown colour, catching the dappled sunlight, I knew they would be perfect for a basket. It’s strange how you can be aware of something all your life, but not really see it – the amazing nature designed engineering, the rich colours, the variety, the textures!
I used them to create a petal-like collar for my basket Little Flower and a new obsession with tree cones began.
My eye fell upon Norway Spruce cones next. They are very different from the Scots Pine. Longer, thinner and with scales which appear to be much more delicate, until you try to take one apart and realise that they were designed to survive high up in the trees, in all kinds of weather and are incredibly strong!
The scales, which are paper thin, are made of tough stuff and are joined to the core by a long woody pin. It took some experimentation and patience to remove a whole cones worth of scales, without damaging them and then I reshaped each one, so that I could remove those vicious looking pins.
It was well worth the effort though, because these beautiful scales were a joy to work with and looked so like the beech leaves on those amazing woodland walks, beyond the Blue Door in Edzell.
