Notes from the Forest

little noticing as the season changes

The first signs of autumn have begun to appear, and they have sent me into the forest with a mushroom basket. At the very least, I always need to have a spare bag with me for any possible mushroom finds — it’s almost awful to find chanterelles when you have nothing to collect them in.

I want to share some small observations from the forest with you. Make yourself something warm to drink, and sit down with a blanket. Take a moment with each image and notice the little details.

the feathers my 4yo found, which I reluctantly agreed to let them bring home, and only later realised were eurasian jay feathers. I’m glad I said yes.

the haircap mosses form miniature forests with their spore capsules. I could have lain here for the rest of the day under those ferns.

the heathers are in bloom. just as many other plants are clearly beginning to go dormant, the heathers are at their best.

bumblebees. they rest on the flowers. you may see a new queen burrowing into the ground, while the workers die. this is how it should be — the natural rhythm of things.

mushrooms pushing their way out of a fallen tree trunk, as if to check what’s going on outside.

the leaves of the nordic starflower have taken on a beautiful colour, forming little stars all across the forest floor.

this felled tree holds tightly onto the rock it has lived with for decades. I can almost see the rock holding onto the stump too, growing moss over its roots.

this feather find brought me joy on my morning forest walk. I slipped it into my hair, behind my ear, as I always do, and forgot it there for the rest of the day.

under the cap. imagine our earth pushing this kind of eye candy in front of us. incredible.