Category: David

Brown roll-rims, a common mushroom which grows in association with many deciduous and coniferous trees. These were by the former level crossing at the end of the Smestow Valley Barley Field.

Fruit just starting to ripen on a blackthorn. Will they stay on the bush to feed birds over winter, or be bagged by someone to make sloe gin?

Bumble bees (and one honey bee) clambering over a series of thistle flowers, gathering as much nectar as possible.

The hairy body of one of the bees has been well sprinkled with pollen.

Glossy reds and yellows of ripening vibernum (guelder rose) berries on a sunny morning.

Goldfinch in full display mode recently, perched right on the top of a tree and singing at full volume.

Meadowsweet flowers: from a distance a frothy mass, and a magnet for bees and hoverflies.

In centuries gone by, meadowsweet was mixed in with the rushes used as floor covering, and as a flavouring for beer prior to the use of hops.