Leaf

After yesterday's rain, this morning was clear and sunny, with a low mist rising over our neighbour's lawn. I was itching to go down to the river, but as I was off to a meeting I had to restrain myself. Instead I found a small shaft of low sunlight at the bottom of our garden and spent five minutes or so photographing leaves, including this field maple, which is beautifully patterned with autumnal decay.

Amazingly the sun was still shining when the meeting ended, and this afternoon Pete and I took the dogs to Bedford Purlieus, where I took many more autumnal shots. The leaves are quite stunning at the moment, particularly the wild service leaves , which have turned a vivid shade of coppery red. And following the rain the first few fungi have started appearing - shaggy and common inkcaps.

On one of the rides we found a large pool of blood, almost certainly from a deer cull that would have taken place early in the morning. Culling deer is an emotive subject. They are such beautiful and graceful creatures, but without any natural predators their numbers increase to a point where they start to damage the woodlands they frequent, preventing coppice re-growth and recruitment of new saplings, and changing the ground flora. A red kite was waiting in a nearby tree, quick to take advantage of any scraps that might have been left behind.