October has arrived and the season of colour is upon us, I hope to bring you as much of this beautiful colour as I can find just to celebrate Autumn in all it’s glory. I will try to keep the thought of Winter out of it and just bathe ourselves in splendour of my second favourite season.
1st.
An Annual ritual in our house is about this time of the year is to break up the Peace Lily that grows so well indoors at our house. We keep one and the others go to the charity shop and apparently sell very well and quickly.
I was keen to know why it is called a Peace Lily, firstly looked at it’s scientific name Spathiphllum from the Greek word Spath which means spoon (shape of the outer part surrounding the flower) and Phyl meaning leaves. So that was no help. Apparently it has its common name because the white Spath is the same as the white flag shown as a signal for truce and also is a sign of tranquillity and these plants are often given to the bereaved as an expression of sympathy. On top of that NASA in a study on clean air found it had air purifying qualities and is ideal for the home or office space so you can breath in clean air.
2nd.
I have stated before that this is the year of plenty of berries, a sign of a bad winter, who knows? This Pyracanth shows how prolific they are, just a young bush with two branches producing so much berry. All I can hope is that we get a real influx of Fieldfare and Redwings eating them and I can at last get a decent shot of both birds, because normally they fly in eat for five minutes (normally hidden from my camera lens and disappear down South.
3rd.
For the last couple of days we have had a single Red Legged Partridge in the garden, but today it was joined by two of it’s pals and spent the day wondering the garden. Here they are on the front lawn just “chilling out”. That moved on to pick up the spare grain under the bird feeders and eventually just walked off somewhere. They seem fairly plump birds so I think they have been well fed for shooting now that we are into that season, most probably flew off from a local shoot and landed up here.
Tasty birds to eat, but I have been threatened with my life by a certain member of the household if I even get the gun out. Though the pheasants entering the garden and eating her plants , may be a different scenario.
4th.
As I showed you with the Pyracanth, we certainly have an abundance of berries, this is a large Hawthorn we have going out into the field that in summer provides much needed shade for the sheep . Now it will provide much needed food for all sorts of birds. As it is smaller than the Rowan and provides plenty of safe cover for the birds from predators it is eaten by our usual winter visitors and our resident Blackbirds, Thrushes, Robins and even Sparrows . So though it does take up a large area it is well worth having in the garden, though once eaten and when it comes out as droppings we do get a few Hawthorns growing all over the garden. These normally get transferred to our hedgerow in the garden or bare areas out by the road.
5th.
When we first moved to our dream home here in the Park, we removed a collection of pines from the front edge of the garden as it was obstructing what is a great view from the summerhouse. In their place we placed low growing shrubs that when they did grow we could keep under control beneath the eye line so as not to obstruct that view.
One of the things we planted was this lovely shade of blue Hydrangea, this produces its flowers/bracts on last years growth. But what we didn’t think about was the fact that with our severe frosts there would never be a second years growth as it was killed back after producing wonderful leaf structure in it’s first year. We tried fleecing it but it was just not hardy enough for our weathers. So every year we just get a green bush, but once every now and again we manage to produce some bloom. This year was one of those years with just this ONE bloom on the whole of the shrub and even that managed to grow on the opposite side of where is visible in our garden so unless you go down to the narrow strip of land between us and the field in front, you will never see it. Typical.
6th.
Went for a walk in the sunshine today (yes real sun) up to Loch Moraig, two pairs of swans on the water and before I had my camera set up a territorial fight took place and one pair went off leaving these two my side of the loch. You can see the debris from the fight with all the feathers on the water, my skill for taking white “things” is not as good as it should be so not much detail in the feathers, I blame it all on the brightness of the “currant bun”. As an added extra, as I approached the loch on the bank were a few Geese so I thought I would attached them to todays blog as well. Couldn’t use them as the main item as I have already taken a shot of them within this years shots.
Thought these few were all that were there as that was all I could see, I got a bit to close and——-
into flight they went, little did I know but further around the field were a about fifty or so more, they also took off.
It is only when they landed on the water that I realised there was in fact over a hundred there, they are the spotted dots in the middle of the loch.
7th.
It is so good to see some colour still growing in the garden, this Antirrhinum (or Snap Dragon to me) has survived the early cold snap in a sheltered pot up against the house and has been thriving for weeks. So as you come around the back corner of the house you are hit by this little bit of sunshine. Admittedly the dark clouds and rain does not help the mood, but when you see this it has to bring a smile to your face.
8th.
Although again this Fuchsia is pushing it’s luck outside and still alive and flowering again it is another plant that shows the beauty of this time of the year. I also think that the gentle rain that is falling on it adds a good gloss to to shot , even if it meant i got a wet knee kneeling down to take the shot.
But of course there is the other side of Autumn where Summer flowering plants die back at decay, but if that didn’t happen we would not get the wonderful colours in leaves that make this such a special season that it is. The plant below I showed you on the 22nd July in full bright red bloom and this is how it ends up today,
It still has beauty in it’s own way especially with the rain drops like jewels on it but that is it finished until next years growth.
9th.
Down in the village, by the hall every year there are a fine bunch of Teasels , I have been lucky in the past and seen a charm of Goldfinch (who knew that was what a bunch of them are called?) feasting on the seeds, did not see any today, maybe it is to early or to mild (really warm today in the rain) I do not know. One thing is for sure they are a great asset when the birds are hungry as the seeds are meant to be very nutritious for them. Have you ever felt how prickly they are a real art to get those seeds out.
10th.
The Silver Birch wood on our walk today in all it’s Autumn splendour, never really walked through this wood, must have a look for Chanterelle mushrooms in here as it would be an ideal spot for them. Though the number of times we have walked up this road and seen two or three Roe Deer they may well have got at them before I will.
11th.
Monday nights are now the winter table tennis nights in the village hall, attendance is normally good with anything from eight to fourteen villagers attending & it is slightly competitive but much more of a fun time. Depending on how many attend you may have two sets of doubles or a singles and a doubles math, with points added up after each set of playing everyone else and a winner overall receiving the evening prize of a small bar of chocolate.
The sequence above shows the doubles in progress last night (when ten players turned up), the well mannered way the game is played with a sporting hand shake at the end , followed by the presentation of the magnificent prizes, if you get asked to present the prizes you know you have not won one.
After this the evening is finished with a team game where the participants are divided into two teams, one shot per person until twenty one is reached. Oh and I didn’t mention we have tea and cake halfway through the tournaments.
12th.
This group of mushrooms are growing next to a dead and cut down Ash tree and with the sun shining on them they look great Not sure what they are so would never try them, but as you can see with the tops eaten out of them that the slugs just love them, maybe I should sneak out at night and see just what type of slug is eating them and maybe get a good shot of them tom put on here.
13th.
Every year the view from our house this time of the year shows the green of the conifers up, the slight fading of the Larch and this one tree that is way ahead of any others in declaring it is Autumn. It is amongst other trees that are starting to turn up on the road to Blair Walker but this one seems to be the senior tree that says “okay the rest of you it is time to start losing your leaves and follow me. Must check in Spring to se if it is the first to go into leaf.
14th.
Took the wife up to Loch Moraig to walk home to complete her daily 10,000 steps (note I only dropped her). and on the way up we saw a group of happy youngsters all done up in correct gear walking down. Thought if I catch them up before home I will see if they were willing to have a shot taken of them for the blog. Obligingly they said yes and this is them. During school holidays we often see these groups and I was aware they were doing their Duke of Edinburgh Award walk. This particular group had come from Dunkeld over the hills and down to Blair Atholl, obviously staying overnight somewhere on the way and under canvas. So good to allow these youngsters to navigate their way through the hills and glens in an independent way and to have such smiles on their faces for what is a wonderful achievement. It makes you wonder what this has done for their confidence and who knows how many will enjoy this lifestyle for the rest of their lives, I am just full of admiration for them and the people who run these courses. Well done them.
15th.
I know I have shown you this first shot before so it is not breaking my resolution as I have added a new shot as well. Just to say this is the first day we have gone below zero C this Autumn, overnight we went down to minus 1.5C, but now the sun has come out and it is a beautiful Autumnal day, even if it is a sad one. This I have illustrated in my second shot, Kevin the shepherd has come to take his sheep of to warmer climes for the Winter, so we will have empty field from now on. You kind of get used to drawing the curtains back in the morning and seeing a field full of sheep, though with the darker mornings they have all still been laying down when we get up, which is a sure sign of seasonal changes. One consolation sat eating my breakfast with nine Red Legged Partridge eating on the washing green, a great sight, 1/ because they are lovely little birds, and 2/ while they are in my garden they are not being shot at on the local shoots.