Acres Down,New Forest These flies are seldom seen, but they leave their mark on every holly leaf they attackI climb the slope to the down in quick-witted sunshine. The wispy tops of leafless birches sway against broken white clouds and I pause to photograph them, or with splashes of buttery gorse adding closer interest. The sun is snatched away as I near the crest. As I gape down over the forest,a ferocious blast rattles the knee-tall birches just breaking leaf beside me. The view has not changed much for months. A brownish patchwork, much of it now flattened bracken, or leads to the mixed hues of the conifers that edge the tree line. Here and there,so-subtle shades of spring signal silver birches, whose sheltered position has given their leafing a head start, and with the more yellowish tones and rounder tops revealing a few oaks determined,this year, to defeat the ashes in greening the canopy.
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Source: theguardian.com