That's crispy leaves, crunchy beechmast underfoot and spiky sweet chestnuts and conkers. As you walk around The Lodge at the moment, you can't fail to experience some of those. There are lots of grey squirrels doing the same - I've seen a lot of them carrying sweet chestnuts around in their mouths - ouch! - and collecting moss for their winter dreys.Jays can be seen flying to and fro looking for acorns to stash away for a rainy day. They can be hard to spot as they're quite shy birds, but you stand a much better chance of getting a look at this beautiful bird if you know their call. Unfortunately it's not very easy on the ear: a harsh, loud squawk (have a listen on our jay page).If you visit in the next few days, you stand an excellent chance of seeing some ravens. A pair has been seen over The Lodge several times this week. Once again, if you learn their call, often described as 'cronk!' you may be in luck. When you look up, look for a big, buzzard-sized crow with a diamond-shaped tail.A young hobby and some sparrowhawks have been seen in the skies too.
Though many of the flowers in the garden have gone over now, the Michaelmas daisies, verbena and ivy flowers are still going strong. See how many butterflies, bees and hoverflies you can spot on one plant. Peacocks, commas, red admirals and small coppers have all been seen this week, plus a single brown argus, a little brown butterfly with beautiful underwings.
A young grass snake was seen in the gardens this week, not far from the swimming pool. You'll need to be very quiet to get a good view of one of these beasties, but good luck!