July and August - Changing Flowers and Changing Scenes

 

Clump of black poplars silhouetted against the setting sun.  Houghton Brook in the foreground is so full of plants now the water is rarely visible except under bridges or where vegetation has been cleared for the works. 

 

Blows Down viewed from the Woodside Link (in May actually!).  The housing in these fields will mask this view.  The cycle ways flood in places, in one spot it has become permanent.

To the left of the bridge is a patch of weeds typical of those that grow on waste ground which are completely different from what was growing here before.  I have been able to recognise a few but these are not definitive identifications and were made from photos, not in the field:

Thistle (not sure which), sorrel, plantain, poppy, and members of the goosefoot family (possibly Fat Hen which is abundant on disturbed ground).

 

 

The little pink flower is called Redshank and grows on bare ground often near water.  The leaves have a dark spot which is clearest in the middle of the picture.

The brambles around the base of the pylon at the bottom of Parkside Drive have produced a bumper crop of large, sweet, juicy blackberries which are easy to pick. 













Don't miss this opportunity for free food!








 

Blue arrows on the fence mark the line of the hedge to be planted on the boundary of the Bellcross Homes site.

I had to include this one of marjoram on the Bellcross Homes land because of all the skippers, at least four of them, flying around and feeding on the fragrant flowers. 

Grasses seem to have taken over the verges of the stream path and embankments. 

Reed-mace often called Bulrush, suddenly appeared in the borrow pit this spring, by accident or planted?  But the water has disappeared!  I was told it would be refilled but apart from a few puddles due to the rain it is still empty while the smaller ponds are now full.  So there's nothing interesting to see on the water. 

I think this must be the contractor's logo because I see it everywhere! 

 

Back to Parkside Drive and another super sunset.