some winter berries

Wild bullace – made into jams and jellies by country people in the past – and into bullace vodka in Russia – to warm the Siberian winters – made by soaking the fruit in the spirit with sugar for a year or more until the flavours of the fruit merge into the liquid

and sloes for sloe gin, made in much the same way – with the addition of some unpeeled almonds – until it turns a gorgeous magenta-pink – a traditional home-made liqueur for Christmas

and hawthorn berries for the birds….

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.
St John's Gospel 

fungi in the autumn woods

A damp afternoon near Ramsholt in Suffolk – parasol mushrooms everywhere – and late light filtering through the leaves

You come from some other forest
do you
little horse
think how long I have known these
deep dead leaves
without meeting you……

from Little Horse, by WSMerwin

studies of an oak tree in autumn mists

Along the edge of a field, the footpath leads past a lone oak into a small wood where I saw a pair of goldcrests one October afternoon

and inside the wood – leaves on fire

In the heart of this moment is eternity
Meister Eckhart

birdwatching on the last day in October

A day out in Norfolk with JP – to Roydon  first, where curlews flew startled out of the heathland scrub very close to us, calling their wistful call, giving us beautiful views of the downcurved beak and elegant wings and white back in flight – and a young shaggy inkcap fungus where new heather was sprouting

On to the coast, to Holme, where pink-footed geese were flying, and sea-purslane still in flower on the last day in October

we saw egrets, more curlews, grey plover, redshank, brent geese, a bar-tailed godwit, linnets – and a kestrel having a barny with a crow, and a variety of ducks –

 – and in the dunes, a sinister-looking agaric (?) mushroom

– and then the highlight of the day: a small flock of about 8 snow buntings flew in and landed on the shore, and started to feed –  one flew towards us and landed in the next dune – giving us a perfect close-up of its pearl-white front, white streak on the wings and handsome black and white primaries, the stubby beak – buntings are chubby little birds, always seem to be cheerful-looking

 Sea holly and sea buckthorn were growing in the dunes among the grasses

– and a late harebell shivering in the evening wind 

Our life, like a bird, has escaped the snare of the fowler

Psalm 123