Wetter Still

After yet more rain last night, we set out this morning without much hope of staying dry for the whole walk.  Despite the sunshine when we stepped out of the door, the clouds soon gathered and a light drizzle fell, although not sufficient to spoil things.  Everywhere is saturated and large puddles cover the paths, making walking tricky in places.  It does provide some interesting reflections however.  Here, the tall Poplar trees of Shipley Woodside are reflected in a large puddle near the old pumping shed which is still in use (appropriately enough) pumping water out of the old mine workings below.

Looking more closely, the mud and mosses show up too.

Onward towards Osborne's Pond and the overflow channels are being kept well flushed out at the moment.

Back home and some wonderful little mosses are growing on the wall of our bin store.  Their bright green colour showing well in the weak sunshine.

The Capillary Thread-moss (Bryum capillare) is very common in the UK and is distinctive due to its drooping fruiting bodies which are held above the leaves on slender, red-tinted stems, about two inches tall.

The leafy stems twist into a corkscrew shape when they dry out, but there's no chance of that happening at the moment and they remain green and lush with water droplets adorning them. More rain due tomorrow - and stormy winds too!