November, which began with an absolutely glorious day, has ended with three weeks of pretty sustained crap, weather-wise. With no light but grey, damp dullness, and a day spent almost entirely working at home, I’m having to work hard for these shots at the moment. Still, this one will do — there are lots of nice textures to explore.
Worked at home today, and tried to enjoy doing so as it’s my only chance this week. The weather relented, at least for today, and it was quite sunny and pleasant. I took a walk in the woods at lunchtime for the fresh air and while I did a most delicate rain shower came down, just for half a minute or so and backlit by wan November sunlight. This shot has probably turned out a bit too messy to be quite the capture I wanted it to be, but it was my best attempt in the moment.
And so the shot of it at dusk exactly seven months ago (14th April) becomes the last photographic hurrah of the tree on our allotment. I said then its days were numbered. It was not wasted… it needed to come down.
I feel these guys are lining up, ready to attack me a la Hitchcock. But they posed well enough for a photo this morning.
And a good move on the cat’s part, seeing as today was quite possibly the worst day of weather of 2015; a foul, foul day. Note the hands of the photographer reflected in the window; but I’m the one out in the cold, wind and rain.
I am sure the Muscovy duck gets as much pleasure from a good solid self-probing like this as we do a good shower. I know this picture could be sharper but this was a long zoom on a very gloomy day. A decent, stress-free weekend, but not at all a sunny one: we are heading for deepest November, the dullest period of the whole year.
This is a fairly stock Hebden Bridge shot, but get used to it — I have a (for me) relatively long period at home coming up. I like this shot because of the varied, yet limited palette. It’s nice because it’s both varied and limited.
I’m sure there are lots of things that could be better about this picture, but hey, it ain’t easy to capture wild red deer in England — there really aren’t very many of them, and they really don’t like people. This was my best attempt. I like the way the two bucks are clearly keeping an eye out for anyone who might be messin’ with their does, so to speak.
For all that it represents the time of the year’s decline into old age there is something fine about autumn. It permits us to see the ways the cycle of life keeps itself turning. Fungi come into their own, consuming what they can before the cold freezes things up entirely.
Always a pleasing event of the year. Not many blackberries around yet, but they will come. Plums… for us will, I hope, be just as much in glut as they were two years ago. Believe me, if you live in Hebden Bridge and want cheap plums, give us a couple of weeks, we will be overflowing.
Being 42 