Mists and mellow fruitfulness

There's little point in photographing mists, of which we've had quite a lot recently, but the mellow fruitfulness of autumn is well to the fore. Here are hawthorn and rowan berries waiting for the thrushes to arrive. But don't anyone dare try and say that they are forecasting a hard winter as some country 'lore' pretends. The berry crop is a reflection of past growing conditions going back a year or even more.
Malcolm

Hawthorn

Rowan

 

Springtime

The heady scent of gorse flowers pervades the air, while the delicate buds of hawthorn presage the flowers and berries to come.
Malcolm

Storm damage

Summer gales on Islay (and the wind reached over 70 mph in gusts last Monday) plus the salt they carry badly scorch young leaves at this time of year or, in the case of many sycamores and ash trees, strip them right off. The apple trees in my garden just make me want to weep! Here are three examples of wind damage from near Foreland.
Malcolm

Hawthorn bush

Oak, birch, sycamore and beech

Rowan tree

Two trees

Found on a walk this afternoon, both showing the effect of Islay's climate: the Hawthorn with its abundance of lichens (most if not all Ramalina farinacea) growing in our moist but very pure air (lichens don't grow well in polluted air), and a Birch shaped by the wind.
Malcolm