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David

Arils with protruding cones

Arils with protruding cones

This year, the yews seem to have lost almost all their seeds very early, with lots brought down by winds and birds earing up what remained. I did manage to find one tree with a few still on.

They look like berries, but the seeds are actually on tiny cones. The squishy red jackets are arils: tasty to some birds, poisonous for people.

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David

Web caught in sunlight

Web caught in sunlight

A spider’s web, visible as it caught the sunlight. I couldn’t see the spider itself, but is will have been lurking somewhere nearby, waiting for the web to catch something more substantial.

Web caught in sunlight
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David

Colours of autumn: maple starting to change

Colours of autumn: maple starting to change

Fruits and berries are ripening. Fungi are starting to get a little more frequent. And the first changes of colour of autumn leaves has begun, starting at the extremities of the affected trees.

These are on a tall maple, growing by the lake in West Park.

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David

Mushroom by a fence

Mushroom by a fence

Forcing its way up from under the concrete base of a garden fence, a mushroom of some kind. Probably not one of those which is good to eat.

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David

Pushme Pullyou swans

Pushme Pullyou swans

Two swans, likely a pair, by the West Park island, just visible through the overhanging tree branches. As they preened, they looked almost like a singe creature with long flexible necks at each end.

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David

Colours of autumn: blackberries ripening

Colours of autumn: blackberries ripening

Blackberries slowly getting darker and shinier as they ripen. Pick and eat to confirm they also get juicier and sweeter.

Colours of autumn: blackberries ripening

Quite a lot of the flowers were never fertilized this year. The weather this spring did not help bring the insects out.