Well here we are now well into autumn, and surprisingly most of the trees still have their leaves.

Gone are the greens of summer to be replaced with the golden colours of autumn.

This is due to the leaves losing the chlorophyll that gives them their green colours.

The chlorophyll absorbs light in the red and blue parts of the spectrum to provide energy for the process of photosynthesis the green light that it does not use is reflected and this gives the leaf its green colour.

The colours of autumn are produce by pigments called Carotenoids which are similar to those that give carrots their orange colour.

No, this is not an egg, it is a fungi known as a Stink Horn. The mature fungi is shown on the right.

As its name suggests this particular fungi smells er, somewhat unpleasant when you get close to it.

In the immature "egg" stage it is supposedly edible, although I have never tried one.

This is a new one for me. Its cap was of a reddish velvety appearance with thick yellow gills and a reddish stem.

I am not 100% but I think that this particular fungi could be one known as a Golden Gilled Bolete.

(Warning: I am not an expert when it comes to fungi. ALWAYS obtain EXPERT ADVICE before you pick and eat ANY fungi that you may find).

A distinct honking sound above distracts me from the fungi and I manage to refocus my camera lens just in time to snap this photograph of a pair of Canada Geese.

There is a small body of water a couple of hundred meters/yards away across the river which is quite popular with wild fowl and that's where these geese were heading.

Still down by the river band back on this side a movement in a bush brings my attention to this Fieldfare.

It is another indication that autumn is once again with us.

A little higher and there was this Goldfinch helping itself to the abundant berries that are around at this time of year.

While I was down by the river I went to have a look at the site of the archaeology that I found.

However the river level was too high for me to see anything of the structure. It has become an object of frustration for me as I still do not know what the structure is or how old it is. Investigations are still ongoing but understandably the archaeologists are very busy and are limited in their time and resouces.

Finally as I left the bank of the river I disturbed a rabbit that took off at high speed.

I managed to snap this photograph just before it dived headlong into the ground shouting that it was late.

So, I let my imagination loose every now and then. Charles Dodgson aka. Lewis Carol became famous with his account of a white rabbit with a watch. Must go I'm late :-)

More next month Andy

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