Helmshore: the arrival of Autumn!

This is my absolute favourite time of year. Some trivia for you, from the University of Texas! In the UK, we use the term “Autumn” which derive from the Latin “Autumnus”, or season of abundance, harvest & growth. The US term “fall” comes from the phrase “Fall of the leaf”, a 16th century British phrase, when American English was diverging from traditional British English. I love language trivia 😊.

Ive been embracing the changes, I’ve got all the summer clothes back in storage, and the jumpers and winter dresses are back hanging in the wardrobe. My nails are a nice seasonal berry colour, and I’m lusting over the range of squashes and mushrooms in the farm shop!

You can feel the change in the season. The mists are prevalent on the hills in the morning, and the weather feels colder and damp. On Friday morning, the sky was a fantastic shade of blue as the stormy weather battled with the morning sun. Fortunately, the sun won and I was saved from a soaking (I had no coat on!).

The geese have been flying in to winter on the reservoirs and surrounding fields.

The garden birds are back to eating me out of house and home, after a lull in the summer when the feeders would last several days.

The bullfinches have been slightly more regular visitors; they seem to operate to a very specific timed schedule and come at 11am. Though, I can’t see either of them wearing a watch!

Photographing birds is much easier when the leaves start to drop; less foliage to hide behind makes spotting them a lot easier! However, I was treated to the rare site of a great spotted woodpecker out in the open. She was exploring a row of fence posts which allowed me to take some nice snaps of her in various poses.

Each morning, there is a buzzard hanging around the valley, calling constantly. I wonder if it’s a juvenile whose parents have kicked it out of home to survive on its own!

The reed buntings and stone chats are clearly more attentive parents; they still hanging around in large family groups, gathering on the reeds and fences along the footpaths.

The building work is continuing on the old stouts car park. I spied this building inspector reviewing the new houses. No doubt waiting for new residents and bird feeders to raid!

I’m coming across a large number of Roe Deer around the valley. I’m still patiently waiting for the sound of barking and clash of antlers when the bucks start the rut. So far, they have all seen quite placid, so I shall have to bide my time for now!