It’s feeling beautifully Autumnal here today. The air is crisp and the sun is out. I went for a short walk along Meadow and Fen trail this afternoon. Meadow trail is my favourite place to be, with the sun trickling through the leaves which are starting to turn and the reeds rustling in the wind.
On my travels I saw many things, here are the a few bits and bobs I managed to snap:
Although the air is feeling chillier, our dragonflies don’t seem to mind. There are lots of dragonflies out today, including this common darter. The British Dragonfly Society tells me these common darters can be found well into November!
Over the summer we’ve had to keep a careful eye on where we tread as these bloody-nosed beetles like to wonder along the paths. These beetles have an unusual way of putting off predators. When under threat, they will release a red fluid from their mouths which is a visual deterrent and tastes disgusting (I hear!).
I’ve just learnt that water mint has many uses including flavouring desserts and apparently you can make tea with it! If crushed, the leaves have a fresh minty smell (not that surprising I guess!). We have quite a lot of it in the shady damp scruby woodland around the Meadow and Fen trails.
Pretty common but I still think creeping thistle is lovely with its pink flowers.
I also saw a little vole which was far too quick for me to take a picture of! There were birds chirping away in the undergrowth (one day I will be able to identify them by call) and there was a lovely feeling of things slowing down for the Autumn but with a few summery reminders.