Where have all the holly berries gone?
Last year we went over to Turners Puddle to collect some sprigs of holly with berries for Christmas decorations. So we decided to go back this year… it was a lovely day for a walk. Sunshine, blue sky and puddles – just perfect!
Sunday Puddles
All the fields looked lovely and the trees were all bare.
Kite Hill
This is looking up to the wood at the top of Kite Hill. There was no noise from Bovington camp because it was the weekend, but the scramble bikes were out and sounded like a bunch of buzzy bees in the distance.
The motocross track
When we got up to Black Hill Dairy we spotted that the tree men had been out doing some tree work again.. they’d left their long yellow rope attached to a tree.
Lovely bit of yellow rope
They had also been chopping down lots of other trees… and some had just been pruned. This next one looked like it had been the victim of some extreme pruning!
Extreme Pruning
All the ferns have gone brown and crispy so the heath looks really pretty.
Not a pheasant in sight
Well, we were over half way round our walk and not a single holly bush with berries to be seen. There were definitely berries a few weeks ago.. perhaps they were so early they wore themselves out and all dropped off.
Still no pheasants...
Not only were there still no pheasants, there were still no holly berries!! Then mum’s eagle eye spotted a big holly bush absolutely covered in huge bunches of berries.. a little way off the regular footpath.
At last!!!
So we put down our stuff and got out the secateurs and snipped off a few nice sprigs to take home for us and Aunty Helen next door. We weren’t too far away from the car so didn’t have to carry them for a long way.
Baaa baaaa baaaa
We stopped to say hello to the sheep, I had a quick paddle in the ford and then we were back in the car ready to go home!
Time to go home
By the way, do you remember the last time we were here I said they were building a fence to keep cars out? Well they’ve finished now and they’ve made it smaller and put two big rocks.. to stop people driving up the track.
No access for unauthorised vehicles
Teagan Times 
You went for a lovely walk Teagan.
I wish we could be there too. I wonder where the hollys went? But that one you found is very pretty. We don’t have a holly tree at our house. And we don’t know where we can find one. Because holly doesn’t grow here. Except there’s other plants that have berries on.
And you have a red car like me!
Can you still go for your walks in that place even though they put the gates in?
Love from Sammy
We enjoyed our virtual walk with you- I had no idea they were using that area for motocross.
I expect the pheasants have gone back to their keeper pens where their food is plentiful— I wonder?
Ha ha , the sheep pic is glorious, two feet in the bucket- what ever next.
Holly is plentiful around here too, it is so pretty, as is Teagan in her red jacket!
Love from True_Belle and Jack