Cuckoo Pint

The Cuckoo Pint flower now has now shed its  distinctive green hood seen earlier in the year to reveal the poisonous red berries which can be fatal if eaten by a child.

Rain & Mud

 With a dry start for September we almost forgot about the wet summer but rain is back with a vengeance  causing muddy paths and flooded fields in the Berkeley Vale.

Storms and Rainbows

Now the equinox has passed and nights are longer than days the weather is distinctly cooler and 50mm of rain fell over the last two days.
When the sun does break through we can observe some beautiful rainbows across the vale as it shines through the showers.

Autumn walk through the sheep

 Lovely sunny autumn weather for a walk in the Cotswolds with the cooler temperatures keeping the air clear.
The sheep which were once the source of wealth and industry in the area looking fit and tidy with plenty of grass left to eat.

Straw Jenga

Where the harvest has been gathered piles of straw bales are waiting collection like huge games of Jenga!

Morris Men

There is something very English and eccentric about a group of men prancing about in the summer sunshine with bells round their legs waving handkerchiefs  banging sticks and drinking the odd pint of beer. Here Gloucestershire Morris Men hold their last performance of the season at Gloucester Docks on a lovely sunny September Sunday morning.

Misty Mornings

Despite the weather being warmer than the summer autumn is with us with misty mornings fields cleared of crops and shortening days.

Haws

Now September is here the hedges are red with haws ,the fruit of the hawthorn. This provides an abundance of food for the birds especially the winter  migrant fieldfare and redwing.
The fruits are very dry but can be used to make jelly.

Mint Moth

As its name suggests the larvae of the tiny mint moth or pyrausta aurata feed on mint and marjoram. The moth flies by day from May to September but with only 18mm wingspan is easy to miss.

Waverley Paddle Steamer

 The Cotswold area is not normally thought of as being by the sea but the Severn is tidal up to Glooucester and ships navigate up to Sharpness Docks so it is occasionally possible to embark on a sea voyage down the estuary.
P.S, Waverley is the last sea going paddle steamer in the world and we took advantage of the opportunity of a trip down the Bristol Channel to Ilfracombe.
We were fortunate to have a wonderful sunny day and observed porpoises,gannets, fulmars and an arctic skua on our voyage and enjoyed the different perspective of the estuary from the water.