Wolves Wild

A patch of ivy growing near Compton Mill lock must have been in a favourable position. It had already started flowering earlier than the rest, over a week ago, so there were wasps all over it, feeding.

The recent strong winds brought down a lot of acorns and conkers before they had ripened. I had taken this picture a couple of days earlier.

From the same visit to Wightwick Manor gardens as the previous post. This mushroom is, as its name implies, associated with birch trees, as are several other fungi. Perhaps it is a harbinger of the fungi flush, the autumn period which marks peak visibility.

Last weekend was Heritage Open Day, and the chance to see the garden at Wightwick Manor without the usual entrance charge. Pictured here are some of the trees whose leaves were beginning to take on autumnal colours.

As the name implies, this is an introduced species. It’s very common along the local canals – these particular plants were growing at the edge of the lowest pool by Bratch locks in Wombourne.

An imaginative floral decoration in the Castle Grounds Park, Tamworth, placed to guard the start of the path up to the castle itself.