The Changing Season

It's only early September, but there is a distinct autumnal feel to the natural world. The fellside has quickly turned a russet brown as the green bracken dies back for the winter. There is a great bounty in the hedgerows this year with lots of berries and nuts on all the trees and shrubs. This morning we were feeling distracted by our impending trip back to The Languedoc and couldn't really motivate ourselves beyond a walk around Yewdale, around an hours walk.

We walked up to the fell gate near Hollywath and followed the fell wall past Far End and through to Yewdale Woods. I still refer to it as the fell gate, even though strictly speaking it has moved a 100 yards up the track and been converted into a cattle grid, or a porte Canadien as the French call them.

After heavy rain last night the becks were quite full once again. It feels like we are heading towards the autumn stormy season with an already high water table....

Growing in the shelter of Low Yewdale Bridge, this Welsh Poppy doesn't seem to know that the summer is fast disappearing.

Yewdale Beck, Yewdale Woods and Yewdale Crags. This is Yewdale!

Blackberries a plenty, though in truth, there would be a lot more in this condition with a little more sunshine.

Hazel nuts. As one season comes to an end another makes a start. Notice that towards the bottom left of the photo, there are new catkins appearing ready for next spring.

Sloes on a Blackthorn branch. Interesting to note that the Blackthorns that had been cut by the hedge cutters earlier in the year had no fruit on them at all, but the branches that were out of reach of the henchmen looked like this. The fruit must grow on new growth, but if the new growth gets cut back there is no fruit. We had to search deeper into the hedge to these beauties. They might look a bit like grapes, but the taste is nothing like!