100D 挑戰 D84 Into the woods

今天終於去了傳說中的Wytham woods. 我們經Wolvercote繞來繞去，看到好幾條河還有一大片開滿黃花的草地，就進入了森林。

樹林裏很少人來。我們先走了一條小星星徒步路線，誰知走偏了，裏麵草木茂盛，一個路標都沒有，繞來繞去又繞到馬路上了。回到carpark再仔細看看地圖，還是沒看懂。犇犇上次來過，讓他帶路。我們推開一扇門，穿過一大片草地，經過好多隻正在吃草的綿羊，又進入了一片樹林。樹林出來之後，是一大片油菜花田，然後又是樹林。我們邊走邊吃，小犇兒和小安累了，需要一些糖果，薯片和餅幹的鼓勵才能接著走。

後來有碰到跑步的幾個人，還有兩個和我們一樣迷路的徒步者。爬Log的時候，遠遠瞥見一輛拖拉機突突突的開遠了，後來又碰到，原來司機是個女人，她風一樣的疾馳而去，一會兒又風一樣的回來。問了問她，原來她是搞population study的，她先把鐵絲籠子散放在林中各處，過些時候再一個個撿回來。原來是這樣，之前看到的籠子原來是她們抓badger獾用的。

我們在這片綠色的森林中走走停停，跑著跳著，嘻嘻笑著。我們給看到的花花草草起名字，有叫毛毛蟲的草，有叫Squirral tail的草，還有叫小兔子尾巴的花園嘟嘟的一朵，還有叫seven stars的小白花。路上經常可遇到供人休息的長椅，坐下來美麗的田園風景盡收眼底。小羊們成群結隊的，嚐嚐這個山頭的草，又跑去嚐嚐那個山頭的草。它們也和我們一樣幸福啊。

走了兩三個小時，等快到終點時小安看到我們的車，高興的說：I am so happy! 

Wytham Woods are an area of ancient semi-natural woodland to the west of Oxford, UK, owned by the University of Oxford and used for environmental research.

The woods were bequeathed to Oxford University in 1942 by the ffennel family, after the death of their only daughter, Hazel. The University agreed to maintain the natural beauty of the Woods, to allow their continued use for education and research, and that the woods be enjoyed by the inhabitants of Oxford.

Wytham Woods (390ha) contain a variety of habitats including ancient semi-natural woodland, secondary woodland and plantations as well as calcareous grasslands, a valley side mire, an arable weed plot and a variety of ponds. The SSSI citation states that the site has an exceptionally rich flora and fauna, with over 500 species of vascular plants and 800 species of butterflies and moths.

Wytham Woods are one of the most researched areas of woodland in the world. Wytham has a wealth of long term biological data, with bird data dating back for over sixty years, badger data for over thirty years and climate change data for the last eighteen years. Although the majority of the research activity is Oxford based, any organisation can utilise the site.