David

The rather odd appearance is of a young blackbird  just about to get its adult plumage (about six weeks ago).

Crab apples from a tree on the fringe of Barley Field, with just a hint of reddening in their mainly yellow skins.

This year has been a very poor one for many fruits and berries.

A few days ago, I went to the edge of the Barley Field in the Smestow Valley Nature Reserve. There’s a patch of blackthorn bushes there.

At this time of year they are usually covered in ripening sloes. This was the only one I could spot.

A pine cone and a sycamore leaf which had taken on autumn colours had fallen close together onto grass.

Unripe (yellowish) and riper berries on a St John’s wort bush glisten after yet another bout of rain.

A dandelion, moss and other plants force their way up through the mortar of a paved path. The plants look like they are the green of spring, but the picture was only taken a few days ago.