The Friends were pleased to announce the winners of the photography competition at the Apple Day on October 6th.
The winner was Steve Goddard, with a photo of the patterns of wood in a harvested tree, second prize went to Martin Barnatt, for a view from the woods over a stile, and third prize to Jason Richardson, for his photo of dog roses.
1st Place: “Patterns of Wood in a Harvested Tree” by Steve Goddard.
We had around 40 entries which provided a good display on the day, with photos ranging from flowers of the wood, to fauna of the wood, and views of trees, the ponds and frosty scenes.
2nd Place: “View from the Woods over a Stile” by Martin Barnatt.3rd Place: “Dog Roses” by Jason Richardson.
Thank you to all those who entered and to Sarah Lambert, a local botanist and photographer for judging the competition.
One of my neighbours has a large Virginia Creeper covering the side of his fence which looks absolutely splendid this time of year. It presents a wall of colour progressing from the deepest purple to the brightest of crimson. It is a joy to behold but the woods have their own equivalent display in the form of the American Oak. It too has a spectrum of reds, yellows and coppers which contrast so well with the surrounding trees. Elsewhere in the woods the most dominating colour is green although the bracken is beginning to turn and some of the larch is adopting a brownish hue- in preparation for their golden cascades. We have enjoyed some glorious weather in September but the drier conditions may precipitate an early leaf fall. Currently the autumnal sunbeams have to look for a space in the canopy to penetrate and then reward us with contrasting light and shadows. The rays occasionally highlight those delicate threads of the spiders as they are caught by the gentle breeze. Almost impossible to see as you walk along unless you look towards the light- the gossamer strings are then revealed.
Groups of tiny birds are still moving through the branches, keeping contact with their friends and relatives as they feed. I particularly like the long-tailed tits which look so elegant as they swoop between the twigs. They may be joined by chiff-chaffs who are feeding up, ready for their long journey south (for most) as well as the other members of the tit family including the blue tits, great tits, coal tits and marsh tits. All together they present such a busy happy sound which I really ought to bring to the attention of my dog. Alas she is not listening very attentively to them, preferring the distant howl of some other canine friend!
Our Apple Day was thoroughly enjoyed by those who came, and despite the weather forecast we had very little rain during the event – even if it was very wet underfoot! We borrowed the apple press from Stamford Community Orchard Group and made our own apple juice. Great fun was had by all crushing the apples and then pressing them into a delicious healthy juice – which people could take home.
Great fun was had by all crushing the apples and then pressing them into a delicious healthy juice.
There were plenty of delicious cakes from the homemade cake stall, with teas and coffees to wash them down.
Children had craft activities to try, and a quiz around the orchard, answering apple related questions. Children and adults could make applejacks out of apples to hang in the trees to ward off evil spirits, and we finally had a winner for our guess the name of the scarecrow – who was called Buck. There was also a craft stall, a second hand book-stall, and a plant stall. The Bourne Wood booklet was also available.
We had the results of our photographic competition with the entries and winners on display. The first and second prizes were handed out to Steve Goddard and Martin Barnatt (received on his behalf by his wife), and the third prize winner, Jason Richardson was not there.
The Friends had picked some fruit from the orchard, both to show people the different types of apples and pears, but also so people could take some away with them for a small donation.
The Friends had picked some fruit from the orchard, both to show people the different types of apples and pears, but also so people could take some away with them for a small donation. There will be more punnets available for the next few weeks during opening hours in the orchard, on a Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
A huge ‘Thank You’ goes to all our volunteers who helped set up and look after the stalls on the day.
