Nature's jewels

It's amazing how often you can walk somewhere and simply not notice something that has been there all the time. This is how I felt this morning. I thought all the elderberries had been demolished by the numerous hungry birds but then today I spotted an elder with several clumps of berries still intact. Nature's black jewels!

The ground was still very damp and although waterproofs were not required, strong walking shoes or boots were essential to plough through the mud on the paths and amongst the decaying leaves. A couple of times I heard the raucous sound of the jay and also the more cheerful twitter of smaller birds as they flew about their business through the trees. We met several people out on the walk this morning also taking advantage of the slightly dryer weather - the sun, however, still remained elusive.