vivid mushrooms

this looks like black purple russula, who knows, but it is very vivid and looks very poisonous (it isn't but it isnt edible).

the flow

water is about all there is to photograph at present. These woodland streams run down to the Tamar at Luckett and are usually very quiet little glades but have become very lively following the torrential downpours we have experienced recently.

log fishing

Cassie braving the rapids to look for salmon.

nuts

the intricacy of nature on a small scale is fascinating, even in something seemingly as simple as a nut, almost as if the design is for the joy of it.

wrinkled club

clavulina rugosa, a wrinkled club, apparently both solitary and gregarious.

a good walk

all four of us, steaming along in the bright light after a good walk.

spate

the river is close to flooding. These eddies in midstream under Horsebridge are an image of chaos in turbulent flow. The vortices weave into one another; it is wonderful and exhilarating.

Crisis strikes

we have been having very severe problems ever since we tried to install Internet explorer 7 on a nice quiet functioning PC system. Crash bang goodbye followed by major rescue etc etc (I'm sure you have all been there) followed by total inability to access web pages, blog sites (ever since we moved to blogger beta) etc etc. And it started raining. It may well be that we are still blocked from logging onto our own blog, time will tell. Moral of the story : never let a giftware in the house.

milk caps

with a couple of small drops of the'milk' that gives the group its name, probably lactarius subdulcis

autumn, stone walls

 

Autumn light: the view from Crockett

plus rooks returning to the roost 

autumn scenes : the road from Kelly Bray

 

autumn scenes, in the woods

 

scenes from Autumn

these pretty scenes reflect the end of a brief but brilliant Autumn.

skipping off

well, that's one year in my blog. I have really enjoyed sharing my experiences with you (2001 visitors, including me!) and the dog's eye view of my amazing home, and some of my concerns about what you are doing, inadvertently perhaps, to the planet. I am not going to keep a daily diary now, but if there are any notable images I will ask Dad to post them from time to time. The blog will stay up for the time being.

Smile and the whole world smiles with you, weep and you weep alone.

Love Spot, Harriet, Cassie and Max and the admin staff at Orchard House.

Admin note: Spot is wonderful. An interactive DVD of thousands of images of local flora, fauna, and views including some from this blog is available for a small fee if you email me using his email address above.

jelly antler fungus

.... or yellow stagshorn fungus depending on which book you read, common but pretty (like Harriet I suppose) 

another set of wary eyes

the rich colours of this pheasant have been pleasantly enhanced by the warm glow of this evening's autumnal sunset. 

green wood cup

chlorociboria aeruginascens (sounds like a very grand aunty) growing on our paddock fence. This little fungus stains wood green and was much prized for marquetry when it grew on oak. The outer surface is described as scurfy, like my coat. 

lanes

although most of the wild flowers have gone except for a few pale limp campion, the colours are very rich at this time of year as the bracken dies off and the leaves on the trees begin to turn.

It is getting very exciting for me. Who will claim the prize? Me, again ??

celestial fireworks

.... a suitably fiery end to November 5 followed by mass canine hysteria, mum hiding behind the sofa, Uncle Max hiding under the dining room table with his paws over his ears and Harriet, shaking uncontrollably sitting on Dad, meanwhile I made sure the fireworks came nowhere near us by barking very loudly all night. 

Lunch

looking like several bars of music, some reckless starlings confront the local vulture. 

morning light

sometimes it is hard to convey the astonishing beauty and peace of the space we walk through; with tall trees and autumnal tones it feels like the inner space of an enormous joyful cathedral

who's watching who

... you may see that we were being watched as well. Usually, it is very difficult to see deer through the thickets and trees

fly agaric

...the archetypal toadstool, at least in my mind, mind you it could be something else entirely. In canine lore there is usually a small homunculus sitting on the cap smoking a hookah 

Stoke Climsland

another year goes by. Very little has changed in the view of the village from Kit Hill, caught in the lovely soft low light of evening in late autumn, although for us many things have changed. I sometimes wonder where these changes reside because often they lack any materiality. When you look at these images, imagine the millions upon millions of invisible connections and relations of all the people before you, their memories, thoughts and emotions; in what space do they lie?

win something

.... yes a prize for the 2000th visitor to this blog, this photograph, pawgraphed by me and with a CD of this year's photos to the lucky winner if they leave an address. I was the 1000th visitor myself so I reckon I might win again.

lots of love Spot

the last view

... It seems very sad that it is almost a year ago that I first showed you these fields in late November covered in snow. A lot has happened to us all in a year, moving and growing and having babies, but in every other respect the natural world goes on, silent and uncomplaining and quite oblivious to our travails.

daguerrotypes

rather pleasing effect from PaintShop pro, making this fearsome pony look much more benign. He chased us out of his patch!

sauron looks on

perched on the top of this ruined mine stack is a very large vulture, watching the little furry hobbits (that's Frodo Lilly and Harriet) and thinking about having a late lunch