David

Two herons on the West Park lake island, directing their gazes so that each can ignore the presence of the other.

Virginia creeper on the wall of the former lock keeper’s house, Wightwick Lock. Bright red autumn leaves. Yellow of the remaining flowers and ripening seeds. In the background, green ivy leaves.

Red crab apples, yellow crab apples: two trees at the back of Compton Lock.

Definitely noticed a lot more of these than usual this year: green shield bug, this time resting on a yew bush.

Small cluster of deceiver mushrooms, just beginning to emerge,

Earth star fungi: these collared earth stars regularly appear under a hedge by the canal at Castlecroft in the autumn, getting easier to see as the vegetation dies down over winter.

It had been raining heavily earlier, but this female garden spider wasn’t moving from the centre of her water-decorated web.