Turning Leaves

The colours of autumn are building nicely. A few very chilly nights have made the trees think it's time to prepare for bed for the winter and many are looking absolutely gorgeous in their new and colourful get-up. We passed these beauties yesterday while walking through a rather cloudy and dull Shipley Park.

As always, the Maples are showing just how it should be done - even in drab weather.

Elsewhere, those other markers of Autumn the fungi, are also putting on a show of their own.

Winter wildfowl are appearing on our waterways too. Already we've seen Gadwall on Shipley Lake and there are reports of Widgeon and Teal as well. On Mapperley Reservoir, a small, but brilliantly coloured group of Mandarin have taken up residence and although we didn't get to see them yesterday as we passed by, we did manage to get a distant glimpse of some of them a few days ago.

They almost seem too good to be true when viewed at close quarters, like this little chap which I 'snapped' some time ago on Osborne's Pond.

 Magnificent!

The Autumn colours are also in evidence around Straw's Bridge and here too, the Maples are leading the way.

A little digital manipulation adds a bit of 'bloom'.

As it's only the beginning of October, we look forward to much more to come.