Hips Haws Berries – autumn is definitely on the way nowHimalayan Balsam (Policeman’s Helmet) – either a delight or a scourge, depending on point of view, but still, an elegant plantAlfalfa – the king of forage plants, which is what its name means in Arabic (apparently)Southern Hawker, a magnificent dragonfly of late summer and autumn. Banded Demoiselles and Common Blue Damselflies were still flying, tooRed Admiral, basking on the Wraysbury brambles
Fish and Chips to Take Away, with watchful Herring Gull Customer, HastingsFish Stall, netted against Herring Gulls, Hastings. The stallholder reported that they had lost a Dover Sole and a Plaice to gulls in the past few days, so the netting is anything but purely decorative. Customers choose through the netting, and then pay and collect through the quickly closed door!A fine Plaice … stainless steel sculpture, Hastings. The rainbow coloration is created by the heat of welding the spots on to the skin, forming thin layers of oxide which interfere with light (structural coloration).Rowan in leaf, flower and fruit, Wakehurst PlaceGolden-Ringed Dragonfly, Wakehurst PlaceWheatear, below Pett cliffs, which are inhabited by Fulmars; the gulls were accompanied by noisy Oystercatchers, and a Little EgretTiny hemispherical Jurassic shark tooth, Pett cliffs
Not illustrated are the family of three Spotted Flycatchers and the Redstart surprisingly seen in a Sussex hedge! At this time of year they could easily be migrants from somewhere further north, of course. The Peregrine falcon that had a go at a Rook, however, was probably a local.
The English seem unemotional … except for their passion for nature
