Beech

It some ways  it is sad to see the leaves fall in autumn but now we can appreciate the shapes of the trunks and branches like these lovely old coppiced beech in  Coaley Wood.

Autumn drilling.

The farmers were busy catching up after the wet weather where we were walking near Andoversford today.  The sunshine and cool wind was helping to dry up the fields.  This farmer was using some fairly new technology - a direct drilling machine whereby in one pass the ground is worked and seeds are drilled straight into the ground.  This avoids the need to plough, wait and then work the ground before planting seeds. Expensive to buy but there are considerable savings on time as well as the cost of diesel.

Ploughing

Not much rain in the past few days and a little wind today have dried out the ground enough for some farmers to get on with ploughing the fields for next years crops. As usual there  were plenty of gulls following to feed on worms and insects exposed by the ploughs.

Woodland in Autumn

Leaves have nearly all turned brown now and many have already fallen in a very rapid onset of autumn.

Mist and Sunshine

Lovely Autumn weather yesterday with a misty morning slowly clearing until autumn colours were enhanced by a beautiful sunset.

Autumn Colours

Autumn foliage is making the woodlands look spectacular.We made a visit to Westonbirt Arboretum today where the acers are looking at their best but the native Beech trees  near our home have yet to turn and are still green.

First frost of Autumn

Fog fills the Vale as the first frost of the season whitens the fields this morning.

Autumn Sun

Autumn colours were accentuated by a lovely sunset
and stormy clouds yesterday.

Spider's web in the mist

Foggy October mornings make spider's webs stand out dramatically as the mist condenses on the normally near invisible silken strands.
This cannot be good for catching insects but makes a beautiful sight.

Thistle

 Thistles are looking rather sad at this time of year but the heads will be useful to seed eating birds like the Goldfinch during the next few months.
The plants have survived here on Coaley Peak's unimproved Limestone grassland as the prickles have protected them from being eaten by the cows.
Thistles were apparently thought by the Romans to have properties which could return hair to bald heads we don't know if this involved rubbing them on and certainly aren't going to try it.

Harvest home

Deer and birds glean the remains of this year's harvest from the stubble making the most of the glut of food before the winter sets in.