Trees From Tip To Toe

Walking around Milton Country Park inevitably involves walking along tree lined paths.  I wanted to capture the trees in the park while the green of their leaves had the freshness of spring, before  turning the tired dusty bluish hue of later in the summer.

Path at Western Edge of Todd's Pit 17 June 2015

The path along the western side of Todd's Pit is typical of many paths in the park.  The path is turned  almost into a tunnel by the interlocking branches above, from which the bluey green foliage of the willow rises like a plume of smoke.  Below there are extremes of light and shade where the sunlight breaks through between the trees. 

In the Canopy

The first image in this post emphasises how much vegetation there is above head height along the paths.  Yet, very seldom does anybody look up at the canopy where the foliage looks very different from that at lower levels.  

Canopy by Hall's Pond 12 June 2015

One aspect of this that I had not fully appreciated until recently, is that each tree has it own bit of sky that is not invaded by the leaves and branches of the surrounding trees. This image, which clearly shows the rivers of sky between the trees, is an image of the personal space of a tree!

Middle Path 6 June 2015

In this photograph the silvery green of willow leaves catching the sunlight contrasts in both colour and shape with the oak and maple leaves of nearer trees that are in the shade.

Going Down

Scroll down this image to follow these trees from the canopy to ground level.

Path at Eastern Edge of Dickerson's Pit 17 June 2015

I think the most impressive, and probably the tallest, trees in the park line the path alongside the eastern edge of Dickerson's Pit.  This photograph of that path just north of the 13th Public Drain at least begins to give some sense of the height of these trees and how they dwarf everything and everybody below.   The only way I could get the full length of these trees into a single image was by taking a series of images at different heights and stitching them together.

At Ground Level

By Dickerson's Pit 30 June 2015

Much, much, shorter are these old, ivy encrusted, willow trees bent over an earth bank on the western edge of Dickerson's Pit.

In the Woods

North of Todd's Pit 30 June 2015

 

Finally, in the woods, the ivy clad tree trunks, some leaning slightly to the right, are like an army trampling over the undergrowth.  Totally dominant.  It is images like this that remind me why I find  something sinister in so many woods.

Next Post

When I started this blog, my major concern was whether or not I could find enough images to populate a post twice a month with at least four images.  So far, my fears have been proved totally groundless.  Groundless, to the point that at the end of July I still have not finished with spring.  Just so that this blog is not so far behind what is happening on the ground, I am going put an extra post of more spring flowers next Saturday.  The post after that will then deal with the late June blossoming of elderflower and wild roses, and bring spring to a close.

NEXT: AFTER THE MAY FLOWER

Using New Eyes

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes

Marcel Proust

Proust's thought lies at the very heart of my project.  It runs through my work like 'Blackpool' in a stick of rock.  For whatever else, I am on a journey of discovery taking fresh eyes to a very familiar landscape.  It is a journey filled with pleasure, as there is always a great sense of satisfaction in finding something new in ones own backyard.

But what does it actually mean to 'have new eyes'? What practical steps should I take to see the world, or at least Milton Country Park, in a way I have never seen it before?

South Side of Dickerson's Pit 23 April 2015

One school of thought proposes that I need that I need to shed all preconceptions about the world and look at it as a child.  I find this advice impossible to follow.  I cannot by conscious effort forget everything I remember, or unlearn everything I have learnt.  However hard I try, when I see a tree like the one shown above, I see a tree complete with a lifetimes worth of associations.  I will name that tree and with the name will come ideas on the shape of the tree and its leaves, the insect life that may live on it, and the birds that may nest in it.  Involuntarily, my view of the tree will be affected by great paintings or photographs I have seen of trees.  Can I ever look at a conifer and not think of Vincent Van Gogh?  Or more up to date, having seen Hockney's masterpieces, can I ever look at a tree the same again?

But I do not think that preconceptions are the problem in making images of our own neighbourhood.  I think of far more relevance is that unless something changes, any familiar environment simply does not register on the brain.  How many times have you walked around your local streets to find some building has been demolished, and realise that for the life of you, you cannot remember what was there before?  It is the proverbial 'part of the furniture'.

Path West of Todd's Pit 15 May 2015

In my case, it means I have got to see Milton Country Park beyond tree lined paths around water filled gravel pits.  It is symptomatic of my inattention to my surroundings that before I started  I wanted to reassure myself that I had enough material to maintain this blog.  To that end, I listed all the things I thought worth photographing in the park.  This initial list had just twelve items.  What is perhaps even more pertinent, that the twelve items on the list were things I had photographed in the past.  If I hadn't photographed it, either I hadn't noticed it, or had forgotten it.  

Hawthorn by Fen Road Entrance 15 May 2015

I remembered the yellow irises but not the ground ivy; the purple loosestrife (now gone) but not the comfrey; the hawthorn but not the horse chestnut. I have never before noticed the green alkanet, yet the amount of this plant in the park suggests it has been there for some years. I took interest in the bridges, but not the tree lined paths, which all look just the same, and are devoid of any interest!
 

Green Alkanet By Childrens' Play Area 30 April 2015

    

So far as this project is concerned, first and foremost, I simply need to really look at what is there.  I need to use my camera as Dorothea Lange implied when she said: ' a camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera'.

Path North of Todd's Pit 5 April 2015

It is precisely this that I have been doing very productively for the last five months. The bush shown above is a good illustration: not only have I not seen the bush before, I had never walked that particular path before.  I am finding that the more I look the more I find.  I have a 'shooting list'  a lot longer than 12 items, with   whole areas, like the wetlands, or Tomkins Mead still to explore in any detail.

It is one of my fundamental aims to show that the 'ordinary' English countryside, as typified by Milton Country Park, contains a great  deal of interest and beauty for those prepared to look.

In the next part of this short series, I will look at how our mental library of archetypal good photographs can restrict our imagination.

NEXT: TREES FROM TIP TO TOE

 

May

It is May, and, once again, Milton Country Park turns white.  This time with hawthorn blossom.

By Hall's Pond 20 May 2015

In the centre of the country park, between Hall's Pond and Todd's Pit, the lower branches of this hawthorn bush are almost silhouetted against the sun drenched blossom behind.

By Hall's Pond 20 May 2015

Just a few yards from the previous image, is a typical country park scene in hawthorn blossom time.  The path is overhung with branches weighed down by the blossom.

Although these two pictures were taken just a few yards apart,  similar scenes could have been found almost anywhere in the park.

Todd's Pit 15 May 2015

For instance, this close up of the blossom was taken of a bush growing through the fence that lines the western side of Todd's Pit.

The Weather Changes Everything

By Hall's Pond 19 May 2015

As impressive as the previous images are, the blossom had been even more dazzling just a couple of days before.  This scene was shot in the same central area, but this time nearer Dickerson's Pit.  Heavy rain showers the previous day had damaged the flowers, whose petals now covered the ground in this clearing like confetti.

Cow Parsley Too

By Fen Road Entrance 19 May 2015

Hawthorn blossom is not the only blossom turning the park white. A field besides the path leading to Fen Road is a sea of cow parsley, which out shines the hawthorn in the background.

In The Woods

North End of Park 20 May 2015

Neither is the cow parsley confined to the open spaces.  There is plenty growing beneath the trees in the woody area at the north end of the park.

Additional Posts

Up until now I have updated this blog twice a month.  From now on, I intend to publish occasional extra posts.  These extra posts will be notes on issues I have come up against in making this blog.  Initially, I plan to write a series of posts on the difficulties of photographing in a familiar environment and the need for 'using new eyes'.

So the next  post, on 18 July 2015, will be the first of the above mentioned series on using new eyes.  Then, on 25 July 2015, I will publish a post continuing the story of the park through the year.  This latter post will look at trees in the park in summer. 

Correction

 In my previous post, I identified the flower in this picture as borage.  It is, in fact, green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens).




NEXT: USING NEW EYES

Apple Blossom Time

Late April, early May is apple blossom time in Milton Country Park.

Apple Blossom 28 April 2015

I think young apple blossom, with its pink buds and light pink petals, is one of the prettiest tree blossoms.

Missing Images

 

Writing this blog in retrospect gives me the time to select and organise my photographs to tell a story.  Of course, to do this I have to have taken the right pictures in the first place; which, in turn, means I have to know the story I want to illustrate at the time of taking the photograph.  Unfortunately, I do not have enough knowledge of how changes in the park unfold to ensure I have got all the pictures I need.

In the case of apple blossom, looking through my photographs, I found one unsatisfactory image from 17th April.  This showed one insignificant tree coming into bloom.  In retrospect, I would like to have chronicled the build up of the blossom over the following three weeks. But I  just do not have the pictures.

Fen Road Entrance 28 April 2015

What I can show is that by end of the month, the blossom was anything but insignificant as this huge tree by the Fen Road entrance shows.

Main Entrance 4 May 2015

One thing that is quite noticeable with the fruit blossom is that it is not all at its best at the same time.  The first tree that I saw in mid April had already lost all its blossom by the time I took this photograph.  One factor in this may be the fragility of the blossom: one heavy shower of rain almost completely stripped one tree of all its flowers.

The trees on the drive from the main entrance are amongst the most eye catching and also the latest to come to flower.  This one was captured in early May.

In the Woods

 

Jack-by-the-Hedge in Woods by A14 30 April 2015

The woods and the path at the southern boundary of the park by the A14 are also painted white.  Here jack-by-the-hedge covers the floor of these woods.  Having walked through the woods (without a camera) I thought there was one long vista of jack-by-the-hedge.  When I came to photograph it, my memory was false as thickets of shrubs interrupted the view.

Comfrey in Woods by A14 28 April 2015

Equally prominent in the woods, and on the path alongside, is comfrey.  

There is an interesting contrast in the longevity of the blossoms of these two plants.  Jack-by-the-hedge quickly lost its impact as the flower heads turned to seed.  On the other hand, there was still a significant number of flowers  left on the comfrey well into June.

Long Lasting Blue

 

Borage by Children's Play Area 20 May 2015

 By the time I took this photograph, the apple blossom was finished.  However, I have included a picture of borage as this particular clump was already flowering before the end of April - ie when the apple blossom was out.  Unlike the apple blossom, the borage blooms seemed to get more and more prominent as the month went on.

Horse Chestnut

 

Old School Lane Entrance 8 May 2015

 As far as I am aware, there are only two horse chestnut trees in the park.  This magnificent specimen guards the path from Old School Lane.

Bluebell Surprise

 

Hall's Pond 30 April 2015

Another plant I did not know grew in the park - bluebells. I found a few small clumps of them growing by the seat on the western edge of Hall's pond.  From the clumps, I guess this was not the first year they have grown here.  Shows what you see when you really look.

A Longer Post Than Normal

 

This is a longer post then usual.  I have aimed at four to six images per post.  This is an arbitrary limit and I am keen that the blog is reactive as possible to what is happening in the park.  In this case,   I felt I needed to extra images to give a full portrait of the park at the beginning of May.

I have also added an about page to the blog to give the background to the project. 

NEXT: MAY

Going Green

In a period of about six weeks, the dominant colours in Milton Country Park change from drab browns and greys to the vibrant greens of fresh foliage.

Visitor Centre 8 May 2015

By the May 8, the park is completely green.  Here the foliage surrounding the visitor centre is bathed in the golden light of dawn.

Hard to Picture  

I have found this post the most difficult so far in terms of creating good images which do justice to the change that took place in the park. 

The speed of the change alone has meant I have had little opportunity to go back and retake unsatisfactory shots.  Although the overall process took about six weeks, the actual time taken for any one particular species to go from tight bud to full leaf was a lot less.

Path to East of Dickerson's Pit 17 April 2015

I set out to capture the 'tipping' point for hawthorn - the point at which the buds are open but the leaves are not yet fully grown. (For hawthorn, this metamorphosis took less than a fortnight.)  I could have tried to do this with a close-up of an individual branch, but I very much wanted to show the subject in the context of the park.  Unfortunately, the greening branches which seem so visible to the eye, simply merge into the background when photographed.  However, this bush is nicely distinct from the background, which is of trees with only minimal signs of leaves - nicely illustrating the different rates at which the trees and bushes gained their summer clothing.

In the Woods

Woods Dickerson's Pit  13 April 2015

Some of the changes are less dramatic.  In this wood, the undergrowth is mainly bramble.  Bramble does not lose all its leaves over winter, so the alteration of appearence with the new growth is less dramatic.  Nevertheless, the bright green of this year's growth contrasts strongly with the tired coloration of the older leaves.

Woods Dickerson's Pit 4 May 2015

In the canopy above, by early May, the willow trees have gained their leaves and the birch is beginning to show green.  Here the birch leaves, framed by two willow trees, glitter in the spring sunshine .

The Reedbed

Todd's Pit 13 May 2015

I first showed a picture of this reedbed in my post   Goodbye Autumn.  At that time, there was no sign of new growth at all.  Here in mid May, the old seed heads are still clearly visible; but, the main reed bed is now green.

All Green

Path to East of Dickerson's Pit 8 May 2015

This image was taken just a few yards from the picture show under 'Hard to Picture' and just three weeks later.  The path is now bordered by confluent green vegetation, giving a good indication of the speed of change.  This image disappoints me as it does not begin to reflect the beautiful spring morning that I experience.  But since a camera cannot record birds singing, the feel of a light breeze on my face, nor the coolness of the dawn air; it is hardly surprising that I find the picture lacking.

NEXT: APPLE BLOSSOM TIME 

April Flowers

As the blackthorn blossom fades away, Milton Country Park comes into flower.

By Fen Road Entrance 13 April 2015

Some of the  most conspicuous of this new crop of flowers are the catkins on the pussy willow (Salix caprea).  This bank of willow in full flower greets the visitor entering the park from the Fen Road entrance.

Western Edge of Todd's Pit 20 April 2015

Slightly less conspicuous, though probably as common are the catkins on the white willow.  This specimen shines like a candle above the path which runs along the western edge of Todd's Pit.

In the Woods

Woods at Northern End of Park 28 April 2015

During the early part of the year, cuckoo pint plants stand out as the only substantial green plants beneath the trees.  However, by the time they come into flower, they have been overtaken by other plants, notably cow parsley and nettles.  With inconspicuous green flowers they are easily overlooked.  The ground around this particular specimen remains clear, but heavy growth of cow parsley is clearly to be seen in the background.

Woods East Side of Dickerson's Pit 24 April 2015

There is a lot of ground ivy in the country park, with substantial masses of it growing in the grassland at the northern end of the park.  There is an equally large area of ground ivy growing in the woods at the east side of Dickerson Pit in amongst the leaf litter and moss covered logs.  The image above was taken in the latter area,  which I find not only visually more interesting,  but also a habitat less common outside the park.

Cowslip Surprise

Southern End of Wetlands 17 April 2015

This  patch of cowslips growing at the southern end of the Wetlands is probably the biggest surprise I have had to date in this project.  It shows how much we all miss when walking around familiar territory.

All Change

Tomkins Mead 20 April 2015

I have always been aware that things happen very rapidly in spring - blossom comes and goes in rapid succession and plants spring up almost overnight.  However, until I started this project, I had not realised just how quickly things change; and, despite visiting the country park three or four times a week, I know I am missing things I would have liked to have photographed.  Equally, I work on the basis that all blossom is ephemeral, and must be photographed as soon as possible, otherwise it will be lost.  I took these forget-me-knots the first time I saw them one misty April morning. In the event, I need not have worried as they were still making a fine show a fortnight later.

I am learning lots about the natural world, and appreciating it all the more. 

NEXT: GOING GREEN 

Goodbye Autumn

April is the time when Milton Country Park finally loses its autumn colours, and the first signs of spring appear.

10 April 2015

I am not sufficient of a botanist to identify these leaves with any confidence, but I think they may be Hazel.

Goodbye Autumn

Since autumn has ended, winter has come and gone; but in terms of the appearance of the park, it has made very little difference.  The trees, that were essentially bare at the end of November, are still bare, having lost at most an odd leaf or two.  The reeds that were brown at that time, are still brown, just maybe a little dashed down.

Todd's Pit 9 April 2015

This was taken early on a misty April morning. The grey mist, the brown reeds and the bare branches give an essentially autumn scene.  However, in the foreground, the first green shoots of the nettles show that spring is on its way.


Something Stirring in the Woods

Near Hall's Pond  16 April 2015

One of the habitats in the park that interests me most is ground under the woods.  This is covered in forest litter of dead leaves interspersed with moss covered rotten logs.  A lot of plants grow either directly on these logs or in close proximity to them.  This is a habitat I hope to explore further in the coming year.

Here young shoots of cow parsley are growing alongside the moss.  Also, visible in the image are a couple of other seedlings poking through the dead leaves. 


Not Everything is Green

Todd's Pit 16 April 2015

There is one thing about reed beds that fascinates me: in November they are brown, in July they are green, but I have never noticed a reed bed that is half green and half brown.  Perhaps in the course of this project I will.

The woods behind these reeds are nicely green, but there is precious little sign of any new shoots in the reeds themselves.  Two of the white blobs in the image are not carrier bags but nesting swans.


The Dawn of Spring

I end this post with two images of the dawn of spring which appropiately enough were taken at the dawn of the day.

View across Todd's Pit  18 April 2015

Mist rises over the water with brown reeds glinting in the early morning sun.  A lot of vegetation has no leaves at all.  But this is not autumn; the golden leaves on the trees are not last year's growth, but new leaves on the willow trees.

By Fen Road Exit  13 April 2015

In this image, a fully leaved hawthorn bush catches the early morning sun.  The trees behind the bush are still totally bare.  This is spring set in an autumn setting.  Hello spring!

NEXT: APRIL FLOWERS

Blossom

Late March sees the first transformation of the year in the appearence of Milton Country Park.  The blackthorn comes into flower, producing large patches of brilliant white flowers throughout the park.

Blackthorn Blossom 23 March 2015

Elusive Blooms

On the edge of the Wetlands 23 March 2015

Despite its prominence, blackthorn is surprisingly elusive to photograph. The delicate white flowers, which appear before the leaves, create a light snowlike smattering across the surrounding vegetation.  To the eye, the blossom is obvious; in a photograph, the flowers are easily lost in the complexity of the surrounding bushes, or against the light grey of a typical spring sky.  In this image, the central spiral-like structure is evident, but outlying blossom is somewhat lost.

Flowering Bushes

Exit to Fen Road 23 March 2015

A lot of the blackthorn bushes in the country park are growing alongside the paths.  Intermingled with these are trees whose trunks are encased in dark green ivy. This tends to produce images with a very harsh and unpleasant contrast. An effect amplified by the narrow paths which often have one side in bright sunlight and the other side in deep shadow.  This view of the exit path to Fen Road does not have these very strong contrasts.  The building visible at the end of the path adds to a rustic feel.

 

Towards Fen Road Exit 23 March 2015

It is quite unusual to make an image of a natural environment that has any strong graphic qualities - trees do not grow in straight lines, bushes do not grow as perfect spheres, and plants and bushes freely intermingle.  However, here the white dome of the blackthorn, echoed in the background trees, provides a strong graphic contrast to the single white line of the birch trunk to the right.

Lonely Daffodils
 

North End of Todd's Pit 5 April 2015

Besides blackthorn, there are odd isolated clumps of daffodils like this scattered throughout the park.  Daffodils inevitably invoke thoughts of Wordsworth.  But a single isolated clump like this seems to epitomise the very opposite of the poet's sentiment: it is the daffodils that are as lonely as a cloud, and the onlookers (park visitors) who are the host.

In Summary

Todd's Pit 5 April 2015

 
This image is in someways a coda for this post: delicate blossom lost against the surrounding bushes and the grey sky.  Yet, the appearance of blackthorn leaves and the bright green of young shoots on other vegetation point to the greening of the park to come.

A Note on the Schedule


From now on, I shall be publishing a new post on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.  When I started this blog, I expected that each new post would reflect the changes in Milton Country Park in the previous fortnight or so.  It has come very forcibly to my attention that nature does not work like this: sometimes a lot alters in a very short time (like now in spring time); at other times, nothing much happens for weeks.  The contents of each post are therefore going to be dictated by nature.  When change is rife, I will playback the changes in slow motion and use more posts for a given time period.  When nature is dormant, I will fast forward and use a single post for a more extended time period.

NEXT: GOODBYE AUTUMN