WALKING WITH NATURE

I very rarely bring stones home from the seaside as I consider it to be unlawful, but this little heart was an exception, and is now on a chest of drawers.

The September equinox is the moment when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Because of differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox may occur from September 21 to 24. The equinox may be taken to mark the end of astronomical summer and the beginning of astronomical autumn (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere. Meteorological autumn begins on the first day of September. We in the north are now officially in autumn and we have cooler weather, lots of rain and now equinoctial gales. We are away for a few days. Enjoy the weekend and next week.

The September equinox is the moment when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Because of differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox may occur from September 21 to 24. The equinox may be taken to mark the end of astronomical summer and the beginning of astronomical autumn (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere. Meteorological autumn begins on the first day of September. Earth balls have indeed been common in Ruyton XI Towns woodlands this year. Eventually, when fully mature, the top of the earthball cracks open and allows the wind and rain to disperse its precious content, its spores. These are one of the few species in the woods that will make you very ill if eaten. We in the north are now officially in autumn. We are away for a few days. Enjoy the weekend and next week.

Late flowers found along a walk around the village. White campion, small thistle and alfalfa.

We often go walking up this area, The Cliffe. It is a sandstone hill running from our village to Nesscliffe, and affords great views across the Shropshire countryside over to the Welsh foothills. There are quite a few benches along the way, allowing the less fit of us to have a rest during the climb.

SC69 – Seasons The photos of fungi were taken at Attingham Park, and the flower photos were taken in our garden. At one point there were 4 Red Admirals basking in the warm autumn sunshine in the garden. By the time I got the camera only 2 remained on the dahlias. The seasons are getting mixed up because of climate change I think.

We had 3 days of lovely sunny and frosty days, an absolute joy to be alive, Then it snowed - about 2-3 cm, yesterday, followed by fog and rain. Good old British weather. ;-)

Look carefully and you may see adult seals on the beach, and the young pups with their mothers in the dune area. This fence is a temporary structure preventing humans and dogs from disturbing the seals, but sometimes we do silly things. Only last week a seal pup that looked a bit lost was picked up and wrapped in a coat by a well meaning lady, and taken to one of the wardens. The pup died very shortly afterwards, and should have remained near its mother. I used the zoom built in to the camera to achieve closeups.

A decaying tree trunk,

This little robin was sheltering inside the twisted canopy of an old yew tree.

SC79 - Post 21 January - Diptych - triptych - polyptych A Herring Gull (May 2023), a Cormorant (October 2023) and a Robin (January 2024)

The Repton Oak in Attingham Park. While this oak is called The Repton Oak, tree surveys show that the tree is about 650 years old, so was here centuries before Repton arrived at Attingham. You can imagine Repton standing by the oak, surveying the landscape and contemplating how the tree would fit into his design. Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great designer of the classic phase of the English landscape garden, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. His style is thought of as the precursor of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century. Unlike Brown and other famous predecessors, he only worked as a designer, not the contractor for executing his designs, and therefore made much less money. Many of his famous sketches with folding sections survive; these gave "before and after" views for his clients. He appears to be the first person to describe himself (on his business card) as a landscape gardener. Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphry_Repton