Gavin Johnson's photos

Another evening shot of Gloucester Docks, with still water and clear reflections. Sadly, the water in the basin is now only a few cm deep - instead of 5 metres - as the water flow from the river Severn has deposited thousands of tonnes of silt into the dock area. A dredging operation costing around £4M has just started, so hopefully the dock will return to use next year.

The weather this year has been most unusual, and the natural world isn't sure what to make of it. This industrious bumblebee is feeding on a profusion of Aster flowers - normally a late blooming flower, but not usually quite this late.

HFF! A combination of fence and wildlife - I spotted this Sparrowhawk perching on a barbed wire fence, looking for potential meals in the grass and bushes.

Little Egrets used to be occasional summer visitors to the UK, but established a steadily growing population here in the mid-1990s. They are mostly associated with estuaries and marshes, but I spotted this one on the beach at Port Isaac in Cornwall - the location of the UK TV show "Doc Martin". This one was fishing for shrimp as the tide receded, completely unbothered by the children, dogs and lone photographer playing on the beach just metres away.

HWW - we've been down in the wilds of Cornwall for a while. I spotted this strange doorway in a stone building in the village of Blisland, near Bodmin Moor. The door is a little short of full height, and the steps to it don't look comfortable for regular use. I wonder what it was for? Perhaps loading goods directly into a cart or wagon...

I spotted these while walking in the local woods. I'm no expert (and I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to forage for edible mushrooms) but I think these are Mica Cap (Coprinellus micaceus).

HWW - I spotted the remains of an old sign in Gloucester. I believe it is advertising Talbot & Co. Founded in 1845 by Thomas Talbot, this firm operated out of premises on Ladybellegate Street and Commercial Road (partially occupying the former Blackfriars Monastery site). While they started with mineral waters and ginger beer, they expanded by the turn of the 20th century to wholesale beer and cider bottling—notably for major names like Bass and Worthington. Antique embossed "Talbot Gloucester" bottles are frequent finds for bottle collectors today

HFF! We found an unusual sign as we were out walking a section of the Cotswold Way. Sadly, no cats crossed our path on the walk.

I've been wondering why I've been getting through €2 or more of bird food every day recently, and today I figured it out. I count 27 House Sparrows roosting in this bush, and there were at least another dozen in a nearby tree. I suppose at least I'm doing my part to keep their population up!

This plant caught my eye on a canal-side walk. Growing out of a crack in the brickwork of a bridge, the tendril had grown, putting out regularly spaced leaves, until it touched the water.

HFF - a shot from last month where we spent an enjoyable day watching Gloucestershire play (badly) against neighbouring county Worcestershire at the Cheltenham Cricket Festival. The festival is held in the grounds of Cheltenham College, and is the oldest continuously held cricket festival in the world, running annually since 1872.

A lot of people can see shapes in clouds (I think it's called pareidolia). These made me think of ocean waves breaking in a storm. I've cheated a bit by altering the contrast - the sky was really a much lighter shade of blue.

HWW. We're a county over from the Oxfordshire countryside that inspired Professor Tolkien, but a lot of the walks along the Cotswold Way make me think of his writing. Fortunately, we made it home without meeting any Ringwraiths.

Even after some nice late summer rain, the fields are brown and very dry. Flattening them for next planting is slow and heavy going.

HBM! The bench (it's there, just below the white house) is at the bottom of Coopers Hill in Gloucestershire. The image doesn't do the steepness of the slope justice, but this is the hill that brave and foolhardy folk throw themselves down in pursuit of a wheel of cheese at the end of every May. The PiP is a view of this year's event, from a very safe distance!

HFF - a very local shot today, from my garden. We tried growing a new vegetable this year, the Armenian Cucumber (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_cucumber) It's actually a type of melon, but tastes like cucumber, and, after a slow start, has started producing a lot of fruit that grow incredibly fast. We have so many already, I think the ones in the photo are destined for a pickle jar!

It was another sunny day yesterday, and we were looking forward to seeing the partial eclipse (around 93% where we live). As the big moment approached, so did this cloud, which lurked around until well past the fullest coverage. I would have been slightly less annoyed if it had dropped some rain, but no, it just spoiled the party and drifted off :-)

Some young Long-Tailed Tits occasionally pop in to eat some of the blackfly on our beans (which is nice of them). They're always on the move, but I managed to catch this one making his contact call to keep in touch with the rest of the clan.