Early autumn bracken

I've always known bracken. As a child it was common on the hills on which I played. As an adult I have enjoyed watching the plant's life cycle - its slow uncoiling from the ground, through its expansive, arching greenness, to a slow subsidence through a palette of orange, gold, brown and black. One of the houses where we lived had bracken in the garden, under a willow by a stream. There are those who see bracken as an invasive pest that forces out more interesting plants. I can forgive its trespasses because of the year-round beauty it offers to the sharp-eyed observer. The plant above was growing under oaks in the Forest of Dean, the onset of autumn driving the green from its fronds and replacing them with brown.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Windfall apples

The past few days have been bright and sunny but with a hint of autumn chill in the air due to the wind speed increasing and some days coming from a northerly or easterly bearing. However, one day a strong south-westerly brought down leaves and some branches and a walk through the woods showed the results of the gusts. Below an apple tree were hundreds of small windfalls. Herefordshire is well known for its cider and we regularly see tractors pulling trailers heavily laden with the small cider apples. This particular tree must have been naturally created, by birds perhaps, at the bottom of a hillside wood by a footpath. It will provide food for small creatures and birds until the fruit turns to mush.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Perennial rudbeckia

One of our favourite garden flowers is the perennial rudbeckia (Rudbeckia fulgida), also known as the coneflower or Black-eyed Susan. They grow and spead to a height and width of 0.5m to 1m, and have large yellow flowers with dark, almost black, centres. What endears them to us is the ease with which they can be grown and controlled, the impact they have, and the fact that they flower for such a long time - from towards the end of summer through most of autumn. And they do it year after year with little maintenance other than cutting back at the end of the season.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Horses in the shade

An afternoon of sun and cloud that involved a little shopping, a cup of coffee and a visit to one medieval and two Victorian churches (the latter of the highest order) should have produced several photographs of which a couple might be suitable for the blog. Alas, we reckoned without the Diocese of Gloucester which, it appears, has a policy of churches remaining closed except for a brief couple of hours on one day. This contrasts with the Diocese of Hereford where, at least in our experience, most churches are once again open to visitors. All was not lost, however, and this view of horses sheltering in the shade was taken from a nearby graveyard.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The confluence of Monnow and Wye

The Welsh name of the Welsh town of Monmouth is Trefynwy which in English translates as "town on the River Monnow". The English name of the town derives from "Monnow mouth" and refers to the confluence of the smaller Monnow and the larger River Wye at the edge of the town. On a recent sunny day we walked down to this meeting of waters and reflected how benign it all looked; a strong contrast with the floods of earlier in the year. The Wye is on the left of the spit of land, the Monnow on the right. In the distance is the Duke of Beaufort Railway Bridge dating from 1874. It has been disused by rail since 1964 but now serves as part of a long distance footpath.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Hot cattle

It's not unusual for the temperature to reach 27℃ in September but it still surprises us when it does, and moreso when it is a run of three or four days with similarly high values. And, just as we humans seek shade and cooler spots at such times, so too do cattle. Those that graze in the fields next to the River Monnow at Monmouth have the luxury of paddling in the shallows or lazing on the damp sands. But, as I've remarked before, while that is understandable, doing in so in a tight bunch would seem to negate any benefits.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Norman Font, Eardisley, Herefordshire

One of the most magnificent church fonts in all England can be found in St Mary Magdalene, Eardisley, in Herefordshire. It was carved c1150 and depicts two knights fighting with sword and spear (the latter piercing a thigh), the Harrowing of Hell (including a lion), God the Father, and Christ. Weaving through the figure carving are sinuous tendrils. The top of the font has a plaited band. On the stem is rope moulding and an interlaced knot pattern. The quality and style of the work shows it to be a product of the Herefordshire School of stone carving. Some other nearby churches have carving of similar quality and style dating from the same period.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Small White butterfly - Take 2

I was reasonably pleased with my photograph of the Small White butterfly that I posted recently. But, this shot, taken as we walked by the River Wye, is much better. Both were taken in slight wind and required several shots taken at the most opportune moment. What distinguishes the more recent photograph is the background: it is less distracting and the colours complement those of the main subject much better. We are currently trying to identify the flower that the Small White is feeding on. It seems to be a wild or escaped cultivated aster of some sort.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Painted houses

Painted houses are not unusual in the UK. White, cream, pale blue, pink, ochre, green, primrose, dark red, and other muted colours are reasonably common. However, houses painted in what I consider strident colours are rare. So when I saw the acid yellow of this house in Abergavenny I went "Ouch!" Presumably it pleases the owner, although its not unusual to hear of people applying colour that looks different when on walls compared with how it looked in the can. The photograph shows the back of the terrace of houses that overlooks the fields adjoining the River Usk. The frontages are next to a road. The summit rearing up behind the houses is Sugar Loaf.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Patientes igitur estote fratres

I am ambivalent about the work of the stained glass artist, Christopher Whall (1849-1924). At his best his work is admirable: the beautifully coloured, well-drawn and composed windows match those of the best of the Arts and Craft Movement. However, he too often descends into windows that have the maudlin characteristics of Victorian childrens' story book illustrators. A piece that is otherwise fine in every respect can be spoiled by a group of child-angels with "cute" faces. The example above, a detail from a 1905 window in St Michael's, Ledbury, is an example of his better work. The inscription translates as, "Be patient then Brothers and Sisters".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Nave, Peterborough Cathedral

Peterborough Cathedral is, arguably, the UK's best, most overlooked, cathedral. Its eastern location, relatively remote from the main centres of population militate against it, as does its location in a city off the tourists' itineraries. But, at every turn, the building offers delights and treasures. It is a former monastery that, after successive rebuildings achieved, by 1238, essentially the structure that we see today. The nave is a fine piece of Norman construction. The bowl of the font dates from the C13 and was recovered in 1820 from a canon's nearby garden. After being combined with a purpose-made stem it became a permanent feature of the cathedral.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Monstera deliciosa

The Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera deliciosa) is a tropical plant widely grown as a houseplant in the northern hemisphere because it is very tolerant of our indoor conditions. Ours lives in the dining room in front of a roughly north facing window and so experiences hardly any direct sunlight and quite equable temperatures. It is flourishing to the point where, in a couple of years, it will need a new location if we are to keep it. Clearly the first part of the plant's name refers to the size that it can reach (c.30 metres) and it is is well named. But what about deliciosa? Does it taste of cheese? Apparently not. That refers to the holes in the leaves. The word, in fact, comes from the "fruit salad" taste of the fruits that it bears, and unfortunately our growing conditions are unlikely to be good enough for us to experience it.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Small White butterfly

When I was a child I knew this butterfly and the similar larger species as the Small Cabbage White and the Large Cabbage White. The word "cabbage" became associated with the butterflies because they were always found around cabbages and laid their eggs on the underside of the plants' leaves. They still do of course. Today I know the butterflies by their English zoological name - i.e. minus the cabbage. In our previous garden we were plagued by both White butterflies and members of the brassica family on our vegetable patch were not worth growing without small-mesh netting covers to prevent the caterpillars eating them. Our present garden has no cabbages but the buddleia and verbena flowers attract them with no apparent harm being done. In the photograph the butterfly is on the latter.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

County Hall, Abingdon

The prototype of the design of County Hall, Abingdon is the medieval market house (see examples here, here and here). However, in Abingdon it is on a much grander scale in a later architectural style. Its name and size derives from the time when the town vied with Reading to be the county town of Berkshire. The building was constructed in 1678 - 1682, possibly by Sir Christopher Wren. Its Baroque features include the giant Corinthian pilasters and archetypal windows. Today the town of Abingdon is in Oxfordshire and the building houses a museum.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The Old Market, Hereford

For over 150 years the site of the old market in Hereford was - a market! More specifically it was a cattle market, presumably principally trading in the Herefordshire breed of cattle. However, in 2014 the site was transformed into the Old Market shopping centre and its long-standing business involving livestock was moved elsewhere. At the time of its opening signage was designed for the centre, and an example is shown in my photograph. I like this cut-out style (see a similar example here). In the Old Market it appears in wood and metal, placed horizontally and rotated vertically. It was of its time and it's a style that will date, as all signs do. However, it could have been a lot worse and I'd be happy to see it for several more years.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2