Park Life

More from our walk yesterday. I mentioned that we walked across Shipley Park and part of that, meant strolling across the wildflower meadows between Mapperley and Shipley. From here, we looked over the swaying grasses towards what was once, the Woodside Colliery.

Zooming in a bit, we could see the old pit-head building from the days of the Woodside Pit.

I always like playing with these images and this view became quite strange with a little digital manipulation.

The fields were filled with vast patches of yellow-flowered Vetchlings...

and the more colourful areas of Tufted Vetch.

These blue patches were formed by numerous spikes of beautiful flowers which rewarded closer inspection.

It all made me wonder at the number of members of the Pea family which fill the countryside right now. Just in this small area, almost all the colour came from peas of one form or another. We could see Common Vetch, Tufted Vetch, Meadow Vetchling, White Clover, Red Clover, Birds-foot Trefoil, Tall Melilot and White Melilot. All Peas! The White Melilot is less common than the Tall Melilot, but no less spectacular for that.

Bees love it too.