Until July 2017, documenting the seasons of coastal Dorset. I'm a complete amateur so don't trust I'm always right. If ever you see I'm wrong - whether with identifications or in anything else - do say! Meanwhile . . . I've now moved to Halifax in West Yorkshire. Click on the link below to collect the new URL. Don't forget to follow there!

Sunday 19 August 2012

WHEN THE MIST CLEARED

First - slug alert. If you don't want to see a slug, don't go down the page.

. . . Let's pause a moment . . . while the squeamish leave . . .

Hello brave remaining souls! Here we go!

This morning, when I woke, there was a mist and the world turned out to be a mass of webs; all of them dripping with silver and and festooned with drops. Some plants were layered with gossamer so thick it was not entirely pleasant. Others were simple and pretty; not an advert for the omni-presence of spiders, but keeping hold of the mist until the sun could steal it.

Another pause while the mist lifts enough to make sense of going out with a camera . . .

Fluffy seed-head in front of blue garage door



Mostly, this is a hedgerow blog but, sometimes, I go for a walk in the streets to see what's there. Autumn. That's what's there. In the sense that autumn is when fruit ripens, autumn runs parallel with much of the summer. Seeds are forming and ripening all the time. This morning, they were dotted with drops left by the mist.


Wall Barley ripening under Park Railings

Remember the park where we found the scarlet pimpernel and clover and barley grass? As you see, the main area has been mown but there are sprigs of wall barley ripening round the edges

and . . .

Small plants under park railings.

. . . also along the edges, under protection of railings - little plants thrive.


Along the pavements, this being early morning, an army of ground-hugging street cleaners are at work eating sick and poo - and each other.

Snail and rubbish in privet hedge




Some creatures prefer fresh vegetation. Snails are rarely welcome in gardens but, on the street side of a privet hedge they will do little or no harm. A creature has to eat!

Plant in un-planted planter

Closer


Need cereal for breakfast . . . There are planters outside one of the shops. (One of the shops which is next to an empty shop.) The plants here haven't been planted in a formal way. Their seeds arrived on the wind.

White Lichen on a Tree
The white lichen in the middle is probably Diploicia canescens

And, beside the traffic, trees the council planted grow lichen. There's something very restful about this. You hardly see it arrive. You hardly see it grow.

It's a mixed bag, a mixed world, a world chugging along mostly unnoticed on a Sunday morning.

But it's there.
* * *

Logo for Tree Following
ABOUT TREES

I've been away on holiday, busy, distracted, lazy, inefficient . . . and have lost track of where we are with tree following. If you have recent posts ('recent' defined rather loosely - say, sometime in the last six weeks!) let me know and I'll put links to them here next week.

12 comments:

Janet said...

Oh dear, is Autumn so near? Mists and mellow fruitfulness and all that.

Aren't slugs the horriblest of things?

Anonymous said...

An interesting post, and photos, as always.
Unfortunately I've never seen so many slugs and snails as I have this year!
Thanks for the tree following reminder as I keep forgetting to do a post about mine. Flighty xx

Lucy Corrander Now in Halifax! said...

Hi, Janet. Maybe nature is feeling stressed. Lots of leaves turning brown. Re. slugs. I used to find them completely and utterly unbearable - so much so they terrified me. I had to teach myself to cope. It has taken nearly a whole lifetime to do this. I was pleased I have come far enough now that I was able to take the photo. Having said which - the glossy blackness and bright orange, stripy frill of this particular slug - well, make it, in a way, quite beautiful.

Lucy Corrander Now in Halifax! said...

Hi Flightplot. There were so many slugs this morning, it nearly turned into a post about the different kinds!

Bridget said...

Just love that photo of the lichen.

Catherine said...

Lucy, I like it when you get close up, nice shots! And by the way everyone deserves their holidays, kind of a healthy distraction...hope you are also refreshed:~))

RURAL said...

Wonderful Lucy, I love the different angles, the misty covered foliage, well maybe the sluggy...not so much.

But different perspectives are certainly making me see things differently.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Wildgardener said...

We've got a slug plague here in Pembs. I've never seen so many, they're everywhere. They're even getting into the house, coming under the front door and raiding the cat dish.

Anonymous said...

Those Lichens are amazing! Such a good shot.

Janet said...

Once, my friend went to take a sip from her cup of tea and found a slug in it. Luckily she saw it before drinking.

Unknown said...

I really love the close-up shots..hmm, I haven't seen any slugs but not to say they aren't there ! I guess I better take a look ! Thank you for sharing your beautiful shots !

Kranky Granny said...

Lucy, you have such a knack for taking photos of such simple things and turning them into wonderful works of art.

Love the shots in this post. The dew adds a whole new dimension to the plants.

Heck even the slugs shot is full of texture.