The Wild Wood …..

Wow! What a place! As I mentioned, I knew about this place called the Wild Wood but had never visited it and now I see what I have missed. There is a definite walk around the perimeter of the area, which seems to have been built by the local riding community. There are various jumps; some look fairly derelict but others show signs of recent refurbishment. There’s clearly been a lot of hard physical labour expended here.

I don’t know whether the riders still use the area but the tracks are clear and don’t show signs of being taken back by the forest. I didn’t notice any signs of horse manure. The recent rains and warm weather have encouraged grass so there are nice patches of lush green

I notice that the local council call it the Myrtle Walk but I thought the predominant tree was the sycamore or maple and there are too many willows as well. The original trees must have been planted so this was probably part of a farm in the early days. There are sycamores elsewhere along the riverbank including in the caravan park.

At one point, there is a nicely formed stone drain so some of the stormwater from the Deloraine township must be diverted through here. A curved section of the river has been cut off by a concrete culvert, forming an artificial billabong, now stagnant and unpleasant. The area is also infested with blackberries and other weeds. It would certainly take a lot of energy to control these invaders but it would be important, I think, to have a go at the willows which choke the river and slow the flow.

If I were a kid again, I can imagine that I’d never be out of this area. I noticed great places for camping, having a campfire, fishing, cubby houses, tree houses, and so on. Do kids do these things today or are we too frightened to let them out of our sight? Maybe they’re more interested in virtual reality on their computers than true reality in the outdoors.

One of the caravans which arrived in the park this morning had two boys in it – 12 or 13 years old and full of energy. When the car stopped, they jumped out and began trying to get rid of the pent-up energy without thought or direction. After they had run around for a bit, they grabbed sticks and started bashing one of the barbecues. One of them also started pulling chunks of bark from an old pine tree. Then they started chucking rocks and sticks in the river and, when they saw the ducks, they became the target. That sort of energy can’t be controlled by sitting in front of a computer monitor.

A mysterious letter …..
About half way around the track, there seems to be a ford across the river. The track widens and forms a sort of sandy beach. There’s a large log fallen there which makes a good place to sit. At that spot today, there was a little piece of paper stuck to the ground by a twig. It’s been there since Saturday but is still readable because there’s been no rain. In case you can’t read the note in the photograph, it says:

To Dear Levi, long memories ago. My love, we made it now it’s our childrens deservant go. Always, Raindrop (Ruthie) 2 April 11.

An interesting note! Sherlock Holmes might notice the correct use of the apostrophe in it’s (pretty rare today!) and the fact that it’s missing from childrens. Also, the word deservant is unusual. It’s probably not a real word but we know what it means. What’s the story behind this poignant note? I suppose the spot held some significance for Raindrop, but where is Levi? Our imagination can fill in the blanks in many different ways but who knows what the truth might be.