Day 3.259: From field to felt

Eight days ago we were walking in woodland which had been, only a century or so ago, sheep farming country. Today we went back to the site of the felt mill which was the economic engine driving the sheep farming industry at the time.

Just like the farmland, the mill has been overtaken by nature and is now a few stones and a handful of old walls in the midst of woodland and this plaque - already forty years old - commemorating the hundredth anniversary of its opening.

At a time when many are rightly worried about climate change and the loss of biodiversity in the world, it is happy to remember that life itself is robust and dominant on this planet, and while humans may fight it back for a while to wrestle an area to our will, if left alone, it will soon take control again - maybe not with its ancient beauty, but strong nevertheless.

Our walk at the Huyck Preserve was great today.  The kids were on great hiking form - as was the weather.  The falls were pretty, the woodland was wonderfully light and airy, the lake was slightly brooding and there were plenty of finds to keep us interested.  In fact, this woodland is some of my favourite in the area - it seems in part to be very young in parts - with lots of narrow-trunked trees (probably 20 years old at most) as well as tiny babies growing in the leaf-litter.  Here are some photos.  The same ones are in this Flickr set.