"O, I love to stop and hearken to the music of the trees
As the wind is soughing through them or a playing with the leaves
There's a harmony that holds you in the noises of the wood
Where I never tire of listening for it does a fellow good."
The Music Of The Trees By Charles A. Heath
In the summer 2024 we became custodians of a patch of woodland not far from our home. Lyre Wood is approx 6 acres of mixed woodland located in the central belt of Scotland. We were attracted to its diverse habitats including a pond and couldn't wait to see what inhabited our wild wood.
Black darter (Sympetrum danae) seen by the pond in Lyre Wood
We have spent our first 6 months exploring its hidden corners and finding what calls our wood their home. Going back to revisit a place on such a regular basis really shows you what you can miss on a casual look around. A lot of the wildlife comes out after dark so we have deployed trail cameras to catch their antics. We hope to follow their adventures through this method and see the changes in the seasons through their eyes. We can see the animal runs, no haphazard marauding over land but regular planned routes like a road map across the area. We have had the pleasure of watching as a family of deer play with abandon in the meadow and then mature and the two youngsters head out on their own. We have also seen evidence of how the wildlife survive, a pigeon picked clean, quite likely by a sparrowhawk, and an owl pellet showing that the mice we have seen on trail cams make their way to be a tasty snack.
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter Nisus ) in Lyre Wood
You can visit our Instagram page to see a round up of what we have seen in our first 6 months.
We are regularly told that spending time in nature is good for us, both physically and mentally and in the short time of having Lyre Wood we have really seen that to be true. Going back to the same spot to top up feeders, change cards in trail cams or set up up feeding stations is wonderfully therapeutic. However the best moments have been when we have been able to sit, watch and listen. Please join us on our journey as we learn to truly hear what the wood has to tell us through the music of the trees.
