W-wa Jeziorki: Back to explore deeper

So taken was I by the forest west of Sułkowice (which no map seems to want to name), I returned again today, this time with Moni who had popped over. Learning from my brother that the forest's most prominent feature is an esker, a "long, winding ridge of stratified sand, examples of which occur in formerly glaciated regions of Europe", we decided to check out more of it. Sunlight and clouds added drama.

Below: cross-section through the esker showing the stratification of the sand.

Below: we followed – as far as possible – the top of the ridge, as it snaked around from south to north.

Below: the highest point, Hill 133, marked by a geodesic post. This is over 20 metres higher than the river Czarna which runs between the forest and Sułkowice. This may not seem much to mountain folk, but in Mazowsze – that's a lot!

Below: a thinning of trees, whitish undergrowth – lichens growing among the moss.

Below: close-up of the forest floor. Lichens and mosses. This part of Poland experienced a total of six waves of glaciation; Czechia, where Moni lives, experienced none. Consequently, she says, the soil in forests there smells different.

Below: towards the south-western end of the forest, a hunter's pulpit. Hoofprints in the sandy soil suggest the presence of deer. May the hunters miss.