I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
(Henry David Thoreau)
I went to the woods because I was starting to suffer from cabin fever, because the dog deserved a good long walk with lots of new smells to explore, and because I wanted to play with the korrigans.
You've never heard of the korrigans?
Perhaps you are a non-believer?
You've obviously never lived in Brittany.
Me, I take no chances, especially when it comes to elves, fairies, goblins and korrigans.
They were waiting and watching when I arrived.
Look closely at this and tell me, how many faces do you see?
These korrigans were with me as I walked down into the gorge.
Past piles of grey granite boulders that I once climbed, twelve years ago.
I'm hoping to so do again next year...
Deep into the woods.
It looks silent, it wasn't.
There was the sound of the stream tumbling over rocks and stones on its way to the chaos.
There were birds singing in the trees. Invisible birds, I think, Maybe korrigan birds?
As it's autumn, these beauties have appeared, almost overnight.
I have no idea if they are edible. Last autumn a friend and I joined a fungi foray in the woods near my home . We were taught what to look for, what to collect, what was delicious, what was deadly. At the end of the afternoon the guide looked in to my basket and declared that I had collected an example of every toxic toadstool in the woods.
If I ever invite you for a mushroom feast, accept with caution.
The gorge it is a mossy, velvety, seeingly soft world.
Do not be fooled, the moss covers hard rocks and jagged tree stumps, sharp branches and the gaping mouths of bottomless pits.
Well, maybe not bottomless, but who knows?
And look what happened to Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole.
Do you think that the korrigans stole this horse from an annoying human and hung it from the higher branches of the tree? I hope it's released before nightfall...
I found some korrigan art.
To this one I added a couple of twigs.
I hope they like it...
This one was too far for me to adorn.
It was on a large granite boulder in the middle of the pile that constitute the chaos. I would have clambered over but I had the dog with me and he would have fretted. And I would probably have slipped among the rocks.
It's rather lovely though, I think...
I wonder if there is a Breton word for shinrin-yoku - forest bathing...
Koeswik koronkat is the closest I can get.
Koeswik koronkat with korrigans.
There is a new movement towards outdoor schooling for children.
Forest schools
A link to Forest Schools in the UK
Here's a BBC film about one in Dorset, UK
and a BBC film about another in Norfolk, UK
When I was a child we spent a lot of time enjoying nature rambles, either with the teacher and my classmates or with my family. When I had children I took them out into the countryside and we walked for miles, explored, played, climbed trees and bloulders, collected random things for the nature table at home that we updated each week, and came home tired, dirty and very grounded.
I am a great believer in being outside.
If you need any more persuading, here are some BBC podcasts from The Essay:
Mirkwood - The great forests of Middle Earth
Brothers Grimm - the dark Germanic forests of the brothers Grimm
The Wood Beyond the World - A meander through the lush, romantic delights of the pre-Raphaelite forest
The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease
(Voltaire)
