Wolves Wild

Small white butterfly feeding on a ragwort flower in the Barley Field last month.

Heron on the prowl at the edge of Little Bracebridge Pool, Sutton Park. I’ve no idea what could be the cause of what appears to be a line of bubbles behind it.

Unripe acorns in a picture which seems to consist of different shades of green.

When the new pool at Compton Park became accessible last month, there were three species of dragonfly using it. The only ones being cooperative enough to be identifiable in photos were common darters.

A couple of the common darters kept resting on the decking by the bridge over the pool.

Other favoured resting spots were on vegetation at the side of the pool.

Scarletina boletes growing with distorted shapes on the grass by the Finchfield shops. A pair growing together …

and one with a lobed cap.

Other mushrooms from the same group have featured here.

Bumblebee making an early morning foraging visit to a dahlia flower.

Hoverfly,peacock butterfly (in two pictures), bumblebee and large white butterfly all feeding on the flowers of the same old man’s beard plant.

The pictures were all taken at the same time, on a sunny day about a month ago when the plant’s flowers were at their height.

Sloes darkening as they begin to ripen. If the weather continues to be favourable there should be a good crop this year.

European hop-hornbeam: a hornbeam whose ripening fruit do look remarkably like hops.

Growing on a mature tree planted at the side of the West Park tearooms.

Small sample of the rich variety of colours in Japanese acer leaves as they begin to turn colour for the autumn.

The first picture is from one of the several acers in West Park; the other from a front garden a few minutes walk from there.

Rosebay willowherbs, at different stages of loosing their feathery seeds.

Drying seed-pods of a yellow rattle. This is the stage in the plant’s life-cycle when it rattles as the seeds are shaken around in the loose pods.