Wild Carrot

Final delivery of all the maps this morning, before a stimulating and wide ranging meeting with my co-artist-in-residence at Langdyke Trust's Torpel Manor Field, sitting outside in the cool, grey autumnal weather, while young kestrels hunted around us. 

The summer's been so busy for me that I've had little time for creativity, but after our chat I feel more inspired and am looking forward to a creative autumn, working towards a small joint exhibition next September. Photography and cyanotypes will feature, but I'm also planning to experiment with other media in response to the particular character of the reserves we're working on.

After our meeting was over I walked across to one of the old oak trees at Torpel, as I'd been told there were two large bracket fungi at the base. They were Oak Brackets which characteristically have drops of brownish liquid oozing from the edges which gives rise to one of their alternative names - Weeping Conk. The larger of the two was absolutely humungous.

On my way home I dropped in to Swaddywell Pit, to see if the Autumn Lady's-tresses were flowering.  They were, and a found about a dozen or so in a rather quick sweep of the area. But I was equally entranced by the amazing show of Yellow-wort, Blue Fleabane and Wild Carrot, particularly my featured bloom which was unusually intensely coloured. I also gathered seed of Wood Small-reed which I'll use in one of my non-photographic art projects.