Oh how I love to just wander with my dog through woodland.

Watching how she scurries in and out of the undergrowth, continually smelling the ground and air.

Lifting her head, ears perked, eyes bright and nose up testing the breeze,

As she lifts her head she catches a scent, her head swivels to try to locate its source.

A sound from another direction makes her switch her attention to and from the scent and sound.

A movement catches her eye, again she swivels around and around, not sure which to focus on.

The path undulates to follow the terrain as nature intended.

Senses are constantly being bombarded, the mind processing the different sensations breaking the shackles of urban life.

Unrestrained by daily thoughts the senses now work together giving an impression of the slowing down of time as all the new sensory imagery is absorbed.

Spring shows itself as the buds on the trees swell increasingly as the day’s progress.

The sun pierces through the canopy breaking up into beams of light and warmth as it awakens nature from its winter slumber.

The different sound of bird’s increase with each passing day as the winter dies away and the migrating birds flock back to their summer roosts.

Flying in-between the branches they look for nesting sites, mates, food or predators.

The canopy offers little protection as yet, but in a few short days the trees will burst forth and surround the area with their greenery making it safer for them from predators and a breeding ground for their larder in the coming months.

The previous autumn’s mulch stagnates and rots into the ground feeding another world of creatures. Disturbed by the grubbing of my dog within the mulch, small insects’ scurry away to look for alternative sites.

Birds seize their opportunity and dive down to feed upon them making my dog jump and skulk away. Grey squirrels bounce about on the lower branches teasing my dog as she leaps up, although classed as vermin they make a woodland scene somehow look more complete.

Fungii sprout within the mulch and deadwood, the colours, shapes and textures changes between contrasting against the surroundings to melting within them.

Small Spring woodland flowers begin to emerge next to the path, the dog scoots over them without touching them, seemingly as if she has an eye or another sense within, lifting the paw that bit higher.

Sounds abound, creaking, cracking, squeaking and squawking. Rustling created by the breeze as it meanders its way through the woodland shaking away the final remnants of the Autumn back down to the ground to feed the oncoming season.

A scent in the breeze, peculiar to woodland, contrasts with the harshness tang of wild garlic.

The ground has the aroma of mulch as it rots down to feed the ground.

Occasionally something else is caught on the breeze, something that is not clear yet is different almost alien to the natural woodland, a musty but almost warm smell.

My dog comes to a stop, alert, all senses now in overdrive trying to assess this new development.

A rustle in the undergrowth and down she goes into stalking mode, a bark in the distance and a young fawn bursts out and runs towards the sound, my dog jumps up, looks at the fawn, then looks at me, and sulks as she walks back.

Emerging from the woodland into a bright sunlit day the grass and hedges look greener than before, the senses being heightened from the overload given to them within the woodland.

Crossing over a style and onto a Bridleway which circles the woodland back to the start point your eyes accustom themselves to more light, everything looks to have more depth and colour.

Looking back into the wood from the Bridleway it seems dark and mysterious, sounds come out but the woodland camouflages its originator and location within.

Two seemingly separate worlds in such a small area, with so many different things to see and hear.

Another sound works itself through the fields, that of a flowing river, another world to see, hear and smell. But that’s another day!