A lot can happen in a month

When Nature moves faster than blogging…

After a frosty, cold and snowy winter, everything was well on cue to sprout, shoot, blossom and bloom as soon as night ground frosts lifted and days lengthened. With that extraordinary long hot spell in the middle of April, the roses in local gardens already in full bloom at Easter are starting to look past their best, some decidedly fanées, and it’s still the first week of May.  

Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa)

At the end of March, the Sénart forest floor was carpeted with white starry wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa) and sunny bright celandines (Ranunculus ficaria). The Forêt Domaniale de Sénart is an ancient forest where the kings and court of France would once hunt. Now managed by Office National des Forêts, the forest just less than 3000 hectares, is a very popular weekend destination. As we arrive in Soisy-sur-Seine, one of several entry points into the forest, after passing over the Seine behind the Ris-Orangis rail station, husband P unfortunately still gets the ‘not done my homework’ feeling, a reminder of the compulsory Sunday afternoon family walks of his childhood.  

Map of the criss-crossing pathways through the Sénart forest

However when we visited in March, many people were enjoying walking, horse-riding, cycling and scooting. One group of women and children had optimistically attempted rollerblading but had soon come to the conclusion that the surface was not really ideal for skates as they struggled back to the car park. The forest is geometrically divided by long pathways that join at nodes, allées and carrefours. Be sure to make a note of the number or name of allées, painted on or nailed to tree trunks, as it’s easy to get confused.  Once we had to rely on following the setting sun to find our way out.

Cute but invasive species

It’s not too difficult to spot the cute but invasive species, the Siberian chipmunk or Korean squirrel (Tamias sibiricus). The animals were imported from Asia and sold as pets, but some escaped and have formed several colonies in France’s forests. The effect on the native ecology is being studied by researchers at National Natural History Museum in Paris. Forest fires often occur in the summer when cones of smoke and attendant helicopters can be seen from our vantage point in Juvisy.

I’m not sure if climbing trees is allowed but there are some prize specimens that are hard for children and teenagers to resist. Meanwhile the merisiers, wild cherry trees, looked beautiful with their white blossom making confetti in the wind.

Cherry blossom (Prunus avium)