Loch Morlich is a relatively small but scenic freshwater lake in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland. I’ve visited this area many times and always enjoy a walk around the loch. In this edition of Wild Wanderings, I’d like to share some of the nature and significance of Loch Morlich with you…
The Dandenong Ranges or simply, the Dandenongs, are a range of hills near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. I’ve been to the Dandenongs before but I wanted to return because the forests there are simply magnificent. The slopes and in the gullies of this area are characterised by towering mountain ash, a.k.a. stringy gum, Eucalyptus regnans, and rough tree ferns, Cyathea australis but within this canopy there is much more to explore, a lot of it strange in one way or another….
Two weeks on Windermere. It could be a lot worse! Spending two weeks based in the same spot outdoors is always interesting, though, wherever it is. Well it is for me. It is if you are interested in nature. In two weeks you really spot the changes which occur. Plants coming into flower. Flowers going to seed. Berries ripening. So on and so forth. And there was a lot to see here…
Late winter and early spring is a lean time. As soon as shoots start to appear, however, there are some tender, young spring greens to gather. They grow quickly too – the early spring plants race to grow before the trees produce leaves and cut out much of the light to the forest floor. You must be careful though – early spring plants often have defence mechanisms by way of toxins…