A mighty oak has fallen

Out with our granddaughter in the Woodland Trust only to find this might oak had crashed to the ground. Perhaps 350 to 400 years old and from the outside looking in tip top shape, great crown of leaves and sturdy solid bark.

But inside it must have been another story. Most of the heart of the tree was rotten, fungus growing everywhere with the wood crumbling in the fingers. There was evidence of beetle damage too, holes and channels in the fibrous remains of a once mighty tree.

It must have only just come down, the leaves were still green and the edges jagged. I wonder what the Trust will do? Leave it to rot away as an ecosystem for loads of micro bugs?

We had a great time with our granddaughter, baking and making in the morning. Baking the biscuits to go with my coffee and making a magic wand from an apple twig. Then a bit of tootling on the recorder and some playing on the iPad and a walk to Tesco's to buy a pumpkin.

The trip to the Woodland Trust was to find things for the I Spy book on the Countryside. Lots of things were spotted or done. A great experience. Finally it was back home to carve the pumpkin before her dad came to pick her up after work.