Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness

I really look forward to the colours and smells of autumn and to those quiet days when the early morning mist hangs above the River Glaslyn.

The Afon Glaslyn looking north towards Moel Hebog 

The mists had lifted when I took this photo but just out of view and to the right,Snowdon was still wearing it's cap of cloud.

On the left bank of the river, I could see patches of Michaelmas Daises  mauve against the seasonal browns and ochre.

The flowers of Red Campion still linger along the roadsides at least until the first heavy frost. Red Admiral,Tortoiseshell and Comma butterflies are still on the wing and feeding on Sedum spectabile in my garden.

I mentioned in my last blog that 2013 has proved to be a 'Mast' year where bumper crops of fruit and nuts have been produced. Millions of acorns have been raining down from the oak trees bouncing off car windscreens and making walking and riding a bike a bit tricky as they act rather like marbles......and have you ever tried walking on marbles! At least there is plenty of food for the squirrels, mice, pigeons, jays, pigs and deer to name a few. Acorns do however contain toxins which can kill cattle if too many are eaten.

The species of oak tree that grow in Dol-y-Moch woodland, and in north and west Britain, is the Sessile Oak,(Quercus petraea).In Warwickshire and lowland Britain the dominant species is the English Oak (Quercus robur).How do you tell the difference?

Look at the photo above of Sessile Oak acorns and note that they are attached directly to the twig. Acorns of the English Oak have a little stalk 4-6 cm long.Go and check out the oaks in the Memorial Park!

Earlier this year while biking through deepest Shropshire I came across a most magnificent ancient English Oak shown below.

I was keen to find out the age of this massive living thing.There is a method of estimating a tree's age by measuring the circumference of the trunk about one metre above the ground.By using a scale of 1 inch = 1 year an estimate of the tree's age can be derived.Unfortunately we did not have a measuring tape so we used our arms instead and arrived at a circumference of 240 inches which is equivalent to 240 years! So our oak tree was an acorn in the year 1775..........wow! What was happening in 1775? Magnificent trees like this one are part of our heritage and we must look after them.

I can't finish this autumnal blog without a few words about seasonal smells. Of late I have been enjoying kicking through piles of fallen leaves heaped about the woodland paths and tracks.I remember doing just this as a child and I still feel the same pleasure. Autumn scents are so evocative of childhood memories, especially the smell of a bonfire of dried leaves. Of course it is much more environmentally friendly to make a compost heap rather than a bonfire.

However, kicking through the autumn leaves releases lots of lovely scents into the air and this got me thinking about trying to describe the various smells that make up the scents of Autumn. If  the fragrance could be bottled like wine, how would it be described on the label.............................'handcrafted by mother nature over millenia to create a mellow fruitfulness.........with hints of over-ripe apples and crisp dry leaves.........overtones of mushrooms and wood smoke with a long damp earthy finish. Best enjoyed in season and an excellent accompaniment to a brisk walk before breakfast'.

                                    Carpe Diem