Monday 8 October 2018

Autumn Colour


Autumn is marching on apace, and the surrounding landscape is quickly turning an array of russet and gold as the trees prepare for the winter months. It is the season at it's best and Mother Nature certainly knows how to put on a wonderful display.  Last weekend saw a sudden drop in temperature here, but following an early morning frost, the days were mainly bright and clear, if a bit breezy.
Naturally, the woods were calling to us, so we put on our wellies and made our way through the open fields towards the sheltered canopy of the trees.





Besides the wind rustling up above, it was so quiet in there, any sounds muffled by the damp carpet of leaves and moss on the woodland floor. Every now and again we stopped to look at some weird looking fungi, a particularly attractive leaf - me, or stick - Lily. And we were also on the lookout for some Hazelnuts, which we did manage to find and will plant soon. In previous year's we have gathered conkers and acorns on our autumn walks, which have since grown well in the garden. We might even have our own little forest before long.



The following day we headed into the Lakes, to Brothers Water. The strong wind saw clouds race across the sky, with leaves showering down upon us like confetti. We were relieved to be wrapped up well against the cold, and after a short walk along the length of the shore, soon returned to the shelter of the van for a picnic lunch, but not before we had passed two very brave ladies who had just returned from a swim in the lake! At this point my hands were beginning to feel very cold, as I had removed my gloves, which had been left smelling less than sweet after a meeting with a very persistent and friendly  farm dog.
Thankfully, our return home took us right by the National Trust cafe at Aira Force, where instead of taking any more photographs, I happily warmed my hands around a mug of delicious hot chocolate.
J. X

50 comments:

  1. I saw some beautiful fungi on a tree. It reminded me if a kace collar in deep shadescof yellow. Isn't nature wonderful. As always your photography is great.

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    1. Thank you Tania. Nature is wonderful. X

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  2. I swear Lily has grown every time you post a photograph of her!
    The leaves are turning in your neck of the woods, as they were as we headed to Skipton today, but in my little piece of Lancashire the trees seem very slow to change colour.

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    1. I think Lily grows a little every time my back is turned. She is quite tall for her age.
      The trees are looking beautiful just now, and I'm sure they will be even more glorious in the next few weeks. X

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  3. Mother Nature certainly looks amazing close to your home.

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  4. I remember visiting Aira Force many years ago with my boys. A beautiful place. Not quite so cold here and our leaves haven’t turned quite so much. Glad it was dry enough to get out and enjoy the woods. Have a good week. B x

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    1. We visited Aira Force during the Summer and really enjoyed it. It is beautiful there. A little too cold for a paddle this time, however. X

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  5. Hot chocolate sounds good. A beautiful walk, always a joy to walk at this time of year and see Mother nature at here finest with the beautiful array of colour.

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    1. After a busy week at work, we try to make the most of our weekends and it is lovely to get out into the woods at this time of year. The hot chocolate was an added bonus. X

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  6. What absolutely beautiful photos of autumn displaying her finest!
    Thank you for a lovely visit today.
    Have a cozy evening!

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    1. Thank you Billie Jo. Here's to many cosy evenings. X

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  7. Such lovely photos full of autumns beautiful colours xx

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    1. Thank you Cheryl. It's a beautiful time of year. X

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  8. Beautiful autumn colours, it's wonderful walking through crunchy fallen leaves. To be honest it's not that cold here, chillier but not cold but then I live on the coast. I envy your forest walks, meeting a friendly farm dog to stroke and I actually look forward to warming my hands around a mug hot chocolate :)

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    1. It was very cold here at the weekend, but the temperatures have since picked up again.
      Unusually for a farm dog, this one was so friendly. It appeared to be quite old and almost tripped me up as it kept walking in front of me and insisted on being petted. The gloves have had a good wash :) X

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  9. We're made of stern stuff up north, but some definitely more than others. I wouldn't fancy a swim in a lake at this time of year. Autumn has certainly got a grip now, the mornings are much cooler, though the temperature is set to rise again from tomorrow. Lovely photos.

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    1. I haven't been swimming in a lake for many years now, and definitely not at this time of year. Those ladies are definitely made of stronger stuff than me. X

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  10. it's such a beautiful time of year! x

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  11. I love this part of Autumn when the trees change colour just before the leaves fall. It has been breezy here this week but the sky is quite blue today with sunshine too. I could not go for a swim even with the sun out.
    Gorgeous photos. x

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    1. It's good to get chance to appreciate the colour of the leaves, the branches will be bare before long.
      I can't think how cold the water must have been. I will stick with enjoying it from the shore. X

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  12. Our Autumn colours aren't quite that spectacular yet but we're getting there.
    How very brave of those ladies to go swimming in the lake. It made me shiver just thinking about it.
    Today would have been a perfect day to walk in our woods but I can't get up there unless there is someone here to take me. If it's nice at the weekend I'll see if Andy fancies going up there.
    Hugs-x-

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    1. I couldn't imagine lake swimming at this time of year. It must have been bitterly cold that morning, but they didn't look any worse for it.
      I hope you get to go to the woods at the weekend. X

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  13. Mother Nature is such a talented artist, and you captured her work beautifully.

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  14. Your beautiful photos sum up Autumn perfectly, you are a very good photographer Jules. xx

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    1. Thank you Marlene. That's very kind of you to say, but I feel it has much more to do with the subject matter than any possible photography skills :) X

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  15. I love Autumn colors. We don't see color changes in this area. Weather is too warm here.
    Hot chocolate on a cold day sounds perfect. :)

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    1. What a shame you don't experience the Autumn colour, but I'm sure your area has different beautiful things to offer. X

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  16. Such beautiful colours...you've got to love a fusty old farm dog! x

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    1. I couldn't not love it, Jackie. It didn't give me any choice! :)

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  17. Such lovely photos! They are all beautiful, but the last one is my favorite! No fall colors, here! There are one or two types of trees where the color does change, but that happens more towards December and January!

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    1. Thank you Bless. The last photograph was my favourite too and also proved quite popular on Instagram. X

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    1. The Autumn colours are showing it at it's best. X

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  19. Autumn is further along with you I think. Lovely colours. The hot choc sounded just the job! X

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    1. The hot chocolate was very welcome CT. X

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  20. Gorgeous photos as ever. I have enjoyed seeing lots of people collecting conkers and examining leaves over the past couple of weeks - often the dads showing more interest than the children but everyone's happy!

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    1. Thank you TD. I'm sad to see you've disappeared, I do hope it's only temporary and your blogging mojo will return. There are fewer single bananas on our supermarket shelf courtesy of your 'not much to say'. 😆

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  21. What a lovely day, so lovely walking and seeing all the colours smells Autumn has to offer. Your photos are great.
    Amanda xx

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    1. Thanks you Amanda. It's good to get wrapped up and enjoy this time of year. X

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  22. Wonderful, wonderful colours in your photographs.
    I just love this time of year :)

    I do hope you've had a great week, enjoy the up-coming weekend.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you Jan. It is a beautiful season. And to think I've only really learned to appreciate it in recent years, previously always having been mourning the loss of Summer. X

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  23. What a beautiful area to go walking, surrounded by such gorgeous Autumn colours. A nice way to finish too with a warm hot chocolate! Meg:)

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    1. We are very fortunate in that there are some beautiful places to walk here, both close to home and further afield. The Autumn colours just show it at it's best. X

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  24. Autumn is definitely showing off where you live! It's just gorgeous! We are finally starting to see a bit of color where I live. Enjoy these beautiful days and cozy evenings!

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    1. The Autumn shades are stunning, but following the storm last weekend, there are many more leaves on the ground now. X

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  25. How absolutely beautiful! The blue sky, the golden trees, the scenery, so beautiful. And may I say your blog photos are just gorgeous. I've been looking back at some of your older posts, as I only began following your blog recently, and I'm so inspired. I'm not a great writer so my posts have very few words LOL Reading yours, and other blogs I follow I hope to become a more proficient writer. I look forward to your next post. Regards Jane :)

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    1. Thank you for your kind words Jane. They are very much appreciated, especially as writing does not come easy to me. X

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