The last of the year's evening light.

As the nights draw in there are fewer and fewer chances of taking successful nature photographs during my evening walks.  The moon is already just visible when I set out after work.  I am determined to enjoy what I can in these last days before the clock change finally puts an end to this year's evening light.

Weekends offer the best chance of photographs nowadays.  While walking in Burgess's wood the other Sunday, I sat down on a fallen oak tree to enjoy my sandwiches.  I was fortunate enough to have a charming little robin perch in the branches closest to me.  I put my sandwich down and got my camera out, though I did feel a little rude pointing my camera instead of just enjoying the company.

A charming little robin that came to say hello when I sat on a fallen oak to eat my sandwiches one Sunday.

I hope to see my little winged friend again though the robin may, like myself, have just been passing through.  I do seem to have made the friend of a tiny pony in the fields between Watermills Wood and High Lane.  I realised that the footpaths there had not been mapped for OpenStreetMap so decided to survey them.  The pony now comes over to say hello whenever I walk into the field.

My little pony friend.  I seem to have made friends with two more ponies from the next field now.

The path on the ground, at its eastern extremity, is not as shown on the current Ordinance Survey map.  Both the OS and definitive map show the path (Audley 97 Newcastle 50) continuing east past a small pool and running through trees on the western side of the car park.  There is no sign of the original right of way and the wooded area is fenced all round.  The waymarked path in fact turns north east before the small pool and joins the cycle path via a stile.  There are a few examples of this sort of thing in Apedale, while I do not know of any that prevent progress from one path to another, it must confuse walkers trying to navigate with an OS map.  This is one of the reasons that OpenStreetMap, with its local knowledge mapping and frequent updates, is so useful.

The waymarked paths added to OpenStreetMap, the airbrush yellow highlight illustrates the Right of Way as shown on the definitive map.

I have been surprised that since the fungus mentioned last time died away, I have made no new sightings.  All I have seen recently is Birch Polypore which is around all year anyway.  There is Turkey Tail fungus on some damaged oaks, but shrivelled remains rather than new growth.  While searching for fungi in Watermills my eye was caught by some very striking seeds on the common Hogweed growing at the side of the path.

Attractive seeds on this hogweed, still with some flowers left, growing at the side of the path in Watermills Wood.

The Apedale Road stile entrance to Watermills Wood is home to a Snowberry.  Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) is a species related to honeysuckle, introduced from North America and now naturalised in Britain.  The flowers are small, pink and bell like and can still be seen.  The fruit is round and as you may have guessed, white.

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), a naturalised foreign plant.  I had to go down to 1/6 second, even at ASA 800 for this shot taken at twenty past six in the evening.

There are still a few dragonfly, I now see only Common Darters and the Hawkers though I have not seen a Brown Hawker for a week.  There are a few birds around, I saw a Grey Wagtail on the sawmills track, a new spot for me.  The lack of light resulted in a photograph that is very grainy though clear enough to distinguish this pretty little bird.

The sun is so low that it is in my eyes as I set off down the Apedale Road in the evenings.  To make the best use of what light there is, I walk to a chosen destination as quickly as I can and then turn round, slow down and enjoy my surroundings with the sun behind me.  I choose my routes now to maximise the time I will not be in shadow.

The moon hangs low over the top of Apedale Road as I turn homeward as early as half past six.  Soon, it will be dark before I get home.