I enjoy my morning strolls just as much as the next Canadian does. One of my favourite components that the Eden Valley has to offer me is its ancient and diverse collection of nature and wildlife.
On this particularly foggy morning, before the sun had broken the horizon, I decided to throw on my boots and head out for a walk across the estate. The large and healthy variety of trees, some of which I had never seen before, grow tall and line the dirt track, with canopies that hide the sky. My personal favourite is the monkey puzzle tree as it is covered in needles and resembles a Canadian Pine, which never ceases to give me a rush of nostalgia.
Sessile Oak trees grow so thick my arms can’t reach halfway around if I tried, with branches that spindle and twist as they search for the scarce daylight that somehow makes it through the already crowded canopies. Cedar trees add an addition to the ambiance of the dark, morning woods; a pleasant aroma that wonders in a similar manner to myself. The great cedar of Lebanon that towers highest in the Nation looms out beyond the border of the forest. A constant reminder of the everlasting history that lies beyond the stone walls of Eden Hall in the ancient trees of its vast and bountiful woodland.
As I continue to stroll along a track, the morning dawn begins to creep up across the ground. The golden light is broken into stripes as I walk past a row of mile-high lime trees, illuminating the withering bluebell flowers, their colour begins to fade as time passes. The dark demeanour of the woods begins to lift as light highlights the bursts of purple and white; I begin to notice the rhododendrons as they grow in big bushes dotted along the sparse and drab forest floor, now in full bloom.
Finally, as I break the thicket back into the open grass fields I pause and turn to admire the wall of green that marks the thick and impenetrable divide between me and the unknown. I admire the hundreds of shades of green and how a single colour can still make such a beautiful, picturesque scene in the morning glow.
