November in Treherbert woods.

 The 1st of November fell on a Sunday, so perfect for a stroll. Unfortunately the weather still hadn't improved, so I dug out my boots and waterproofs and rushed over between the showers.

The trees in the ancient woodland were definitely looking quite bare now.

And the area around the Welcome to our woods campsite was looking a bit bedraggled after all the rain.

It did ease off enough for me to make a short video though as I wandered around.

The old yew tree that's been camouflaged by all the other trees over the summer is beginning to stand out again now that the trees all around are turning colour and losing their leaves. Have I mentioned before that a yew tree has to be at least 900 years old before it's considered ancient? I'd love to know how old this one is.

One of the things I've been most looking forward too is the arrival of all the amazing fungus. and this was the first one I spotted on this particular visit, one of my favourites, the Bleeding  Crust. It turns red, or "bleeds" when you hold your thumb on it for a while.

                     I also love all the jelly fungus appearing now, especially these 

                                                              jelly ear fungus

I've spent a lot of time in lockdown this spring and summer learning to identify lots of the wild flowers and plants growing here, I think next I'll have to learn more about all these incredible fungus.

The paths are pretty muddy now but still more than passible

And there are enough of the autumn colours around to make it a beautiful walk, even in the rain.

                                            The colours on this cotoneaster are glorious now.

And the ivy climbing up this tree was a very unusual shade, but incredibly beautiful

And there are still plenty of ferns around now too.

And here's something you don't see every day, a train running through the woods 😀 They run every hour, and when you catch a glimpse of them they look like something out of Harry Potter!

And just as I'm ready to head home the rain stops, and the pale light catching the leaves really brings out the colours.

My first visit was a Sunday and so was my last, the last Sunday of the month I woke to thick fog, and as I'd been wanting to photograph the woods in the mist for a while I grabbed my camera and was in the woods before 8.30.

It was well worth the early start.

I mentioned Harry Potter earlier, and as I crossed the railway line in the thick fog I almost expected the Hogworts Express to come thundering out of the mist!

The woods were wonderfully atmospheric in the mist, The colours were beautifully muted. One thing I didn't expect was so much bird song, I thought I'd arrived too late to hear it at it's best, but as I walked further along the path I could see that Welcome To Our Woods  had put up some new bird feeders, and they were doing a brilliant job of attracting the birds.

Lots of blue tits, coal tits, a dunnock, a robin and too many long tailed tits flying around to count. It was amazing seeing them all. They were too far away to get any great shots as the light was still quite low, but it was great to see, and hear,  them. 

Lots more fungus around now too.

Occasionally the sun would try to break through the mist giving everything a beautiful but quite eerie glow.

And the soft light really brought out the colours of what leaves were left on the trees.

And if it wasn't for the chill in the air you could almost be fooled into thinking it was spring, not winter,

The camp site looked beautiful, it's been cleaned up recently and the effort has definitely payed off.

And the ancient woodland looked particularly beautiful.

But the mist was still swirling around the Pixie Bridge, 

And this dog walker couldn't have timed it better to walk over the bridge for me to get this shot.

It was quite  magical and for once I went home with the shots I was hoping for ( believe me it doesn't happen often 😀 )

It was even tougher than usual to drag myself away from the woods a few hours later, but even though the sun had almost burned off all the mist by the time I left I was beginning to feel the cold, and definitely in need of my breakfast!

October in Treherbert Woods.

September finished with a splash, and that's exactly how October started, wet and wild with lots of rain and wind. Hoping for a break in the weather I grabbed my camera and headed over to the woods in the hope of seeing some bugs, birds and whatever else happened to be around, and also to record a short video for Welcome To Our Woods. 

Not many bugs around, but at least the day started off slightly  damp rather than actually raining.

Everything was taking on a much more autumnal feel now with colours definitely starting to change.

Not all the trees are changing yet, the oaks are still green, but the sycamore sapling is definitely changing colour. 

Most of the summer flowers are gone now, but there's still some Nipplewort around.

And a few parches of Meadow Buttercups by the stream under the Pixie Bridge.

As always there were a few robins around watching my every move, but these two were engrossed in each other and didn't give me a second glance!

The stream isn't looking too full considering the amount of rain we've had

But the camp site is looking distinctly muddy.

The water droplets dripping off the Alder catkins after the rain were looking beautiful in the dappled light.

The leaves are looking beautiful now catching the afternoon light.

                                             And they look just as lovely lying on the floor.

The fairy trail has been cleared away now, it's great to see the woods looking clean and tidy again, although if you look closely there are still a few signs that the fairies haven't completely abandoned the woods  😉.

And it's not just the fairy folk enjoying the woods, these two dogs were having a great time chasing each other around in the mud and splashing about in the stream.

One of the joys of Autumn is definitely seeing all the fungus starting to emerge. 

I'd come out with the intention of photographing insects but there was very little around. I did see this gorgeous little aphid though.

Although there have been a few beautiful days this month with lovely light and bright sunshine, unfortunately they haven't coincided with days I've been able to visit the woods, and rain has pretty much been the order of the month.

But on the very last day of October the sun finally came bursting through. Only for an hour or so, but it was enough for me to grab my boots and camera and rush out!

 

                           It was great to see a bit of blue sky between the trees for a change.

The camp site is looking great again now that  all the debris has been cleared up after the Fairy Trail. The fairies are lucky they left when they did, they'd have been pretty water logged now!

After all that rain it wasn't surprising to see so much water flowing under the Pixie Bridge. 

The paths were pretty muddy after all the rain, but looking lovely with the carpet of fallen leaves.

And the leaves still clinging to the trees were even more lovely with the sunlight shining through them.

I had hoped to see more birds, and even a squirrel or two, but there wasn't much around, not even the usual robin, but it was still worth the visit for this gorgeous light.

So after all the dreadful weather October did finally go out in a blaze of sunshine. Let's hope November is a bit drier. I'm looking forward to much more fungus, some bright crisp days, and maybe even some frost and snow. And one or two of those elusive squirrels would be a welcome sight too 😀