early this morning the fields were all a little misty, as the sun came up through an opalescent mass of clouds low in the east. I took the camera out later, in the middle of the afternoon; low sun and damp air make the light soft and golden. a few plants have already reabsorbed most of their chlorophyll  pigment and are blazing colours out amongst the green.

a whitebeam already gone yellowy orange hangs over the stubble field

the cloud of pigeons took off as we appeared from under the trees. I love this field. it reflects light when it has a pale crop like barley, and this is the bleached remnant, the stubble.

what elegant curves and delicate colours – just a sycamore leaf in the road.

this hazel has already lost its leaves, maybe it has a problem

not a native tree this, a turkey oak , its strong colours and shapes glowing in the sunshine.

and more hog weed  – it’s still going strong. we have had a mild october; my japonica, a spring flowering shrub, has started flowering again.

elder does some interesting colour changes at this time of year; some of the leaves and stems lose almost all their colour, and some turn this dark red.

the winter wheat has been growing like mad; looking north across to Clip Street Farm.

dangly bunches of hornbeam seeds

bright in the sunshine

the holly trees are packed with berries; the birds will start the winter fat, at least.

beautiful colours on wild cherry suckers

and field maple – some are bright yellow, but these leaves look like becoming completely red soon.

a dog rose stem with almost fluorescent pink thorns

soft afternoon sunlight across the lane

and the last of the red admirals sunning himself. I have seen more of these butterflies this year than I remember for a long time.