holly in flower

the woods are full of holly; this is a close up of the male flower so no berries later.

let's have some colour

the blog has been rather dull recently, all greens, greys and black, because of the weather. So we set out to find some colour today. The top picture is of rhododendrons in the woods (another non native invasive species), and below is an old fashioned climbing rose ... the one thing a photograph cannot convey is its beautiful gentle scent.

three cornered garlic

a small patch of this uncommon but invasive stranger. It is native to the mediterranean but is found in the South West, and on the coasts of California and Oregon (I hadn't realised Oregon was on the coast). So here it is in lower Downgate. The unmistakeable smell of garlic pervades the air around it.

our neighbours

our next door neighbours providing some colour contrast on yet another dismal public holiday.

bad hair day 2

meanwhile, there are others who would dispute with Spot his claim of unchallenged supremacy of the blasted heath and moor.

Spot rules the world

very much a spontaneous rock climber Spot surveys his kingdom.