A miniature ecosystem

I have started to work my way into the less explored reaches of the garden.  There have been large numbers of trees here over the last 170 years, and many of them have passed on, leaving vast stumps.  I noticed one of these had been colonized and turned into a miniature ecosystem.

There is a little beech tree, two wild strawberries, a violet and a foxglove – all grown up spontaneously.  I hope the beech tree survives as it could be quite splendid if a new large tree grew out of the stump of one long dead.

I also found this next to the stump – a very pretty leaf skeleton.

Both cats joined me in the garden to provide moral assistance, but Amber was soon scared off by a bluebottle.