Sprautumn already and it's only January.

It is the end of January 2016 and the cherry plum blossom is out. I noticed this last weekend, the odd emergin flower, but then this week as I've cycled to work, more and more plum blossom has been emerging until whole trees are out. This can't bode well for a plum harvest this year can it? Fingers crossed for no frost/snow even though I like a good blizzard.

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@NationalTrust Wimpole Hall Estate in Autumn

With autumn upon us and unseasonably warm weather since getting back from Korea we headed out to Wimpole Hall (National Trust) to have a weekend walk around the estate with a friend of ours. I was in a t-shirt walking around, utterly splendid despite being Halloween (surprisingly similar to last year in fact). What's more there was an actual hill to climb which afforded an actual view. A view. In Cambridgeshire. What joy!

wimpole tree stitch

wimpole pond

branches stitch

light through the trees

autumnal leaves

yellow and orange

wimpole at sunset

last light through the trees

Autumn light on the some of the few trees in Histon, Cambridgeshire

I took the opportunity of being at home in the afternoon while it was actually sunny to nip out and enjoy the delicious sunlight sifting through the nearby beech trees. There's not many trees round these parts - we are the least wooded county in England, so you take what you can get. These beautiful trees used to have a companion, but the Council seem intent on deleting as many of the few remaining trees as possible (it's almost as if they fear the trees somehow, Ents perhaps?).

low sun in autumn

lighting up the beech trunks

shining through the leaves

silhouetting the leaf fallen

the village of Histon
2014-11-17

Trees on the Roman Road at Wandlebury, Cambridge

I too the opportunity of a warm sunny evening to explore somewhere that I had been alerted to on Twitter. The prospect of finding actual trees in Cambridgeshire was too strong to resist. Plus in the ludicrous Autumn warmth we're experiencing I would have been silly not to. I was pleasantly surprised by the Roman Road along the back edge of the Wandlebury manor (which itself looked worth a look had the sun not set). I nipped home via Waitrose, so good times all round.

tree lined avenue with delicious hints of autumn

as you might expect, it's quite a straight path

certainly one of the more attractive parts of Cambridgeshire

Wandlebury at sunset
2014-10-31

Late Autumn

Late autumn sunlight through a leaf
www.nickbailey.co.uk

Fireworks at the Red Lion

Last year was our first year in our new house and we were only really getting used to the area around bonfire night. We watched a rather impressive display from our lounge window, not sure where it was comming from. This year when a stragenly familier display started up we decided to get out and find out where it was all coming from.  Next year we'll be prepared and get ourselves down for a pint before hand.

 

 

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www.nickbailey.co.uk

Apples!

The apples this year have been abundant and glorious
(would have removed the washing line, but it’s a bit stuck atm) 

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www.nickbailey.co.uk

New Forest Autumn with Mum

Mum came down to visit me yesterday which was simply lovely. Apart from spoiling me with lots of little gifts, we went for a walk and meal in the New Forest. We drove along Boldrewood Ornamental Drive which was simply stunning and went for a walk around one of the parking spots doing a little bit of arty photography.

Some beautiful colours, though not all turned yet

Lovely woody openings with leaf litter carpeting the ground

Mum walking through the leaf litter

Sunset came along and enhanced all the colours

As we climbed a bank the setting sun streaked through the trees

We both enjoyed capturing the pink sunset sky

And after all that we went to the Green Dragon pub for dinner.

New Forest, Hampshire, autumn photography

My Precious

Many moons have I waited for this day. I remember seeing the rush of people buying the Fellowship DVD's when they first came out all those years ago. But I waited. Then I looked on at amused their dismayed faces when, just before the second film was released, the Fellowship extended edition box came out and they had to buy that. But I waited. Still further, as the Two Towers DVD appeared and went, I waited. And sure enough out came the exvended edition and yet again these poor hapless souls forked out for that too. By this time I was sure there would be an extended edition boxed set and so still I waited. The third film, third DVD and third extended edition came to pass, and still I bided my time. Then, finally the boxed set was released!

But at 60 odd quid I though it best to wait a little while longer. For a few months it harboured, festered almost, in my Amazon wish list, untill one day, as I loged in to my shopping basket I was presented with a notice saying that the boxed set had dropped in price by £7.

And so here I am, master of delayed gratification, finally with the boxed set sitting on my desk. It is a many splendid thing and I look forward to delving into it's depths (though I've caught glimpses here and there of the various bits (yet never actually seen The Return extended edition).

My geek status has been enhanced

Lord of the Rings, LOTR extended edition box set

ARG Photo Trip to the New Forest Arboretum

On friday our Astronautics Research Group decided to make the most of the most beautiful weather and potter out to the New Forest. Our target was the arboretum which proved a fantastic spot to shoot some autumnal scenes. I met some other photographers there doing exactly that who showed me to some of the local fungi.

The leaves on the trees were perhaps past their best and unfortunately we couldn't find a Canadian Maple Leaf but the results were still good. As the sun begun to sink we drove off to find a watery spot to shoot the sunset. The drive proved worthwhile with some great sunset shots despite it not being really that amazing. The abstract log in the water came out especially well.

Nick Bailey
www.nickbailey.co.uk

Low sunlight glowing through the trees on the path to the arboretum 

A typical autumn scene in the arboretum 

Light shining through the trees of the arboretum 

Not quite a maple leaf 

Macro on some knobbly mushrooms 

Mushroom umbrella

Mushroom umbrella 

Mushroom with film grain effect

Mushroom with film grain effect 

Autumn leaves 

Shadowy orange fungus