I took a trip to Sherwood Forest with Carol-Ann. I was really taken with the Autumn colours that we found there, and the way each living thing seemed to be in harmony with it. Carol-Ann's love of mushrooms had us searching through the foliage, and I really enjoyed the way this necessitated us to walk slowly and appreciate the small details that we found.
There were many beautiful old oak trees there, and a staff member said that there was a shortage of medium aged oaks (due to deforestation during the war) and so they are currently working to artificially age the oaks by ringing them and introducing different diseases into them, which matures the wood. They are also working to enrich the soil using natural mulching methods, and I think this explains why we were able to find so many different and extraordinary mushrooms.
It was lovely to spend a day just playing and being immersed in nature, and I feel that it has refilled my cup in terms of artistic inspiration and just general wellbeing.
