What a surprise, a Peacock.

Hope you like the photo, when I normally take a photo of a butterfly they fly off !

We all felt that the Peacock butterfly had tiger eyes on its wings looking at us. Nature and its colours never cease to amaze me.

Dedicated to Bear Grylls !!

Can you guess what on earth we are upto ? As the title declares, a dedication to Bear Grylls..........

Something to do with water ! Think water ! Have you worked it out yet ?

Cinnabar moth caterpillar

We have all enjoyed the display and colours of the Cinnabar moth caterpillar, what a sight.

Slow Worms

After a prickly walk onto the common we were very lucky to see a slow worm, See if you can identify it in the photo below. (Very black in the photo). Owen our guide who is training with Horsell Preservation Society described the slow worm as “not slow and not a worm”, imagine a lizard without legs. Please note that they are a protected status, alongside all other native British reptile species. These reptiles are carnivorous, their bodies are smooth with scales that do not overlap one another. They can autotomize, which means they have the ability to shed their tail in order to escape predators. The tail regrows, but will be smaller. Slow worms also have eyelids which can blink like a lizard, they can shed their skin in patches unlike snakes who do not have eyelids and can shed the whole skin. Thank you Owen for taking time out to show us this curious reptile living on Horsell Common. Slow worm.

Skin shed from Slow worm.

The group managing gorse prickles.

Rope tricks

I am always pleased to see ingenuity in the woods, and really like the rope extension shown below. A group camp building decided that the rope was not long enough and decided to extend it !

Snails in the woods

Over the last few weeks, intrepid woodland explorers have been working hard. Take a look at the snails below.

Grasshoppers Hop

Grasshoppers never eat other insects. They are called herbivores because they eat only plants. Grasshoppers are not picky about the plants they eat. They usually eat grasses, leaves and cereals. Grasshoppers are insects with jaws which they chew their food with. The grasshopper hop for the olympics would be on average 10 times its body length in the high jump and 20 times it body length in the long jump.

Sunshine is on the way ... Get ready for Woodland Survival

We are about to start woodland survival, over the coming weeks our groups of intrepid explorers will be learning new skills for life, understanding nature and building friendships. The woodland is looking fabulous, lots of wild flowers, butterflies, and birds. I did spot a Roe deer, after about an hour of tracking it, my wellies gave me away ! and off the buck deer ran. Sorry no photo this time. Look out for natural pathways, deer are creatures of habbit and tend to use the same tracks and paths.

I am very excited about the course this year, a few changes to the course will make each day a great experience for newcomers and those more experienced. Remember Leave No trace... Nature is neither for you, nor is it against you... and a final quote from Mors Kochanski - The more you know, the less you carry !

Whittling

Rain, rain, and yet more rain. Never mind the weather why not have a go at whittling. Here a few small projects that are simple to make and a lot of fun. Do look out for the small faces (wood Spirits) which are my first efforts, these are made of Holly and sweet chestnut! I also really enjoyed making the Kuksa (Finnish drinking cup) which is made from silver birch .

Jubilee walk on the common

Grabbed an hour to enjoy the common. I believe that the Orchid to be a "Spotted" variety, perhaps you can verify the species. Also nice to see the Elder flowers out again. Look out for our many uses of ELDER coming soon !

New logo for Primary Forest School

Just created a new logo for Primary Forest School...

KUBB

Spent a really nice evening with friends, and found out all about KUBB. For Bushcrafters and Forest school this game is a lot of fun, and could be purchased or perhaps even more fun have a go at making the game from hard wood such as Ash.

A little bit about the History. Kubb hails from the Baltic Island of Gotland off the southern coast of Sweden where it has been played for over 1000 years. Kubb means 'block of wood' in Swedish, and it is thought that the Vikings originally played it with blocks of firewood. Some believe that the game has far more gruesome origins - the Vikings played it with the bones of their fallen enemies! The game became somewhat lost in the mists of time, until 6 or 7 years ago when it was rediscovered. It is now taking Sweden by storm. In fact, it is so popular that there is even a Kubb World Championship held in Gotland each year.

Late spring on Horsell Common - Forget-me-not

During a great walk on Sunday, I could not resist a photo of these flowers "Forget-me-not", Blue with a yellow eye...

Can you spot the Roe Deer on Horsell Common...

Forest School Snail

Forest School Snail indoors !

Came across these Ceps on Horsell Common last winter.

Welcome to my new website .