Phenology - November

Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves go whirling past.

Well, I've really got to apologise for November here, folks. Whilst other places in the world were suffering 8ft of snow, flash floods, and hailstones the size of golfballs this month, here in Land of Mud we got mostly this:

Option 1: dank

And this:

Option 2: dull

It's actually been unseasonably mild in my opinion (I was expecting to capture the first frost of winter, but no - we've not even had that). Just dreary. The daylight is fading by 3pm and we're not even near the solstice! 

But the one good thing about November is that on that rare day when it's not cloudy for once, and the light comes in low and gold from a dying sun ... everything shines like a jewel. 

The grey squirrels come out in packs, stuffing their little faces:

The hawthorn berries on the leafless bushes look like Xmas decorations:

And the warm earth breathes Hammer-Horror-style ground mist into the chill air:

The zombies are coming! Run!!

It almost makes the rest of the month worthwhile :-)