Alderbed Meadow — a year on six acres

Six and a half acres of woodland and grassland a quarter-mile east of Charing, off Pett Lane. A Local Wildlife Site, once part of Palace Farm, left isolated by development in the 1960s. Chalk springs rise at the foot of the Downs and run through it towards the Charing Stream.

I walked it daily for a year with the dog and photographed it with one camera and one lens. Twenty-five photographs, in sequence. See them all at once.

A path leading off a boardwalk into summer woodland — 1 Alderbed, 21 July. Path off the boardwalk.

Fungus growing on dead wood at the base of a stump — 2 Alderbed, 11 October. Fungus on dead wood.

Tall trees and dense summer canopy above a fallen trunk — 3 Alderbed, 9 August. Wood in high summer.

Bare winter canopy with a single contrail crossing the sky — 4 Alderbed, 24 December. Contrail.

Many thin stems fanning out from a single base on the woodland floor — 5 Alderbed, 20 September. A coppice stool, grown back.

Pale lichen spotting the smooth grey stems of a multi-stemmed tree — 6 Alderbed, 19 September. Lichen on bark.

A thick trunk leaning across a woodland clearing, bright leaves behind — 7 Alderbed, 22 September. A trunk leaning into the light.

A meadow beneath a mackerel sky — 8 Alderbed, 12 November. Mackerel sky.

A fallen trunk lying across low green growth, a standing tree behind — 9 Alderbed, 17 September. A fallen trunk under the canopy.

A dried seedhead held over from the previous year — 10 Alderbed, 25 February. Last year's seedhead.

A post-and-rail fence running along the edge of the meadow under a broken winter sky — 11 Alderbed, 20 December. Along the boundary.

Turkey tail fungus in overlapping tiers, the near edge out of focus — 12 Alderbed, 12 September. Turkey tail, massed.

Wild garlic spread across the woodland floor — 13 Alderbed, 22 April. Wild garlic takes over.

A single ragged flower head on its stalk against a soft dark background — 14 Alderbed, 23 September. A flower head going over.

Tall trees in a closed summer canopy, looking up through the wood — 15 Alderbed, 26 May. Canopy closed.

A single flowering stem against a bright meadow — 16 Alderbed, 16 June. The meadow growing.

A single fern frond, fully open — 17 Alderbed, 19 May. A single frond, fully open.

A clearing in dark woodland where the cut logs of a fallen tree lie in a pool of light — 18 Alderbed, 15 August. After the tree fell.

A flat head of small flowers, some open and some still in bud — 19 Alderbed, 7 July. Half the buds still shut.

A fallen trunk on the woodland floor, grown over with moss and ivy — 20 Alderbed, 23 June. A fallen trunk, taken over.

Two slender stems of seed heads against a soft dark background — 21 Alderbed, 22 September. Gone to seed.

Wind moving through long grass — 22 Alderbed, 16 July. Wind through the grass.

A dark dog walking along a curving wooden boardwalk between tall trunks — 23 Alderbed, 1 September. Milo on the boardwalk.

A dandelion clock, intact — 24 Alderbed, 22 May. Dandelion.

A young tree beside the stake that once supported it — 25 Alderbed, 30 July. Young tree and stake.

Index

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Index