Willowherb

Back to my home patch at the edge of the moor, after a week of shots taken in the city. It was a balmy seven degrees, and what seemed an interminable snow has disappeared as quickly as it descended. The sun was shining, and I was able to pop out of the back gate for a few minutes to revel in the return of the autumn moor colours.

Baildon Moor will feature a lot in this blog, as my Twitter friends will already know. Often overlooked in favour of its better known neighbour, Ilkley Moor, to many Baildon Moor is just a place to drive through, to walk a dog, to play golf, to fly kites and gliders, to bike, to paraglide. At the northern edge of Greater Bradford, it's an intensively used recreational space.

It also has great history and pre-history, being dotted with bell-pits from centuries old coal workings, and cup marked rocks from megalithic times.

In terms of natural history, it is not as rich in biodiversity as a celebrated nature reserve, but compared to the city behind it is full of things to discover.

Today's blip is of a plant regarded by many as a weed, but I'm happy for it to have its place alongside the gorse, heather, bracken and bilberry. I had thought I'd share a wide view of the moor, revelling in the the return of the greens and browns after the snow. It was the small thickets of willowherb that caught my eye though, partly because the last bits of down were catching the low sun. It was a windy day, and the willowherb was bobbing and swaying, as I got up close the heads looked like nodding horses. The focused head has been caught still, but I think the tall stalks behind capture the movement of the plants and the weight of the wind.

willowherb ~ bears the weight ~ of the wind ~ then rebounds ~ supple