Signs of Autumn

We've had a couple of days of soft rain with little wind and the rain has settled on everything meaning that we come back from our walks as wet from the knees down as if we'd been out in a downpour.

30th Sept09, around Howick, 8am

Shaggy Ink Caps, delicious when they're younger than this.

Hawthorn berries. Quite the most amazing crop of berries this year - the birds will be well fed.

Edible chestnuts. Not a native species but not uncommon this close to big houses.

Blue Monday

27th Sep09, Embleton bay, 06:30

Another early start after I had seen the sky out of the window at home. Lovely sunrise witnessed by me and one other photographer. Just a few days after equinox means the sun is pretty much due East.

28th Sep09, High Newton, 8am

Back to normal morning, still lovely light but the extreme orange of sunrise soon mellows to blue.

A Pair of Ones

26th Sep09, around Christon Bank, 8am

A quick walk around Christon Bank in the pleasant morning sun. The gates at either end of the woods.

The BBC's Clare Balding was on the radio this morning walking from Budle Bay to Seahouses so we decided to retrace her footsteps but we turned back at Bamburgh after an icecream! Still a fine, varied 4 hour walk on a cracking day.

So many ladybirds this year! A very colourful mini-plague.

Bamburgh Castle from an angle I'd never seen before

These two giant dice are WWII tank traps painted up. I love these. Anything that makes life a bit brighter and less po-faced has got to be good.

These kite surfers were plodding up and down on flat water for as long as we were out. Surely it gets a bit dull after a while? Very colourful in the sky though (see above)

Back Home

After a couple of fantastic days away in the Big City (Bristol) it was nice to be back home on the Big Empty Beach.

25th Sept09, High Newton, 8am

Still Here

Unfortunately, the business takes precedence over the blog but today I find myself with time to catch up with the last few days.

17th Sep09, Embleton Bay, 8pm

The clouds were extraordinary this evening. The light was grey and dull until the sun started to set and broke free of the overcast. The clouds were then lit from below and looked truly beautiful. I'm glad they were photographable.

19th Sep09, High newton, 8am

20th Sep09, from the back garden, 7am

A promising start to the morning but duller at the beach.

20th Sep09, Howick Coast, 5pm

A fantastic day all day - blue skies but with a wind at the coast that was whipping these grasses around.

21st Sep09, High Newton, 8am

Gannets in very close to the shore and too busy feeding to bother with me. This was like a Diving School for the (dark coloured) juveniles.

This juvenile (centre left) has obviously learned the diving technique pretty well.

21st Sep09, Football Hole, 4pm

Strangely calm sea - Ideal for Trooper to get a bit of swimming in.

one end to the other

The chilly, autumnal feel to the morning soon evaporated and I found myself dressed in far too much winter gear. By the other end of the day it was like summer again.

17th Sep09, Howick Coast, 8am

17th Sep09, Embleton, 5pm

How Now Brown Cow

15th Sep09, Howick coast 8am

Clouds and chilly N wind but the sun was trying its best to break through.

I found this cushion of moss clinging under an overhang on the cliff

Cullernose point is now bereft of fulmars having had a busy breeding season. The white guano marking the nest sites is still very obvious but will disappear with winter's storms.

The cow - amiable farm beast or lethal killing machine? Me and Trooper keep well clear unless there's a fence I can trust.

return of the jellys

14th September09,

A tour up to the Warden's Hut and back behind the dunes. This Lion's Mane jellyfish was amongst 3 0r 4 others. The beach has had no jellyfish until this week.

We've failed to identify this wee mushroom. Doesn't look like one you'd want to eat anyway!

Towers of Stone

13th September09, Low Newton, 7am

A beautiful morning until I reached the beach where there was a big bank of cloud coming (unusually) from the East. This couple were visiting and staying at Low Newton Square. They were obviously keen to make the most of their holiday by soaking up the atmosphere of an early morning too.

13th September09, Football Hole, 5pm

More towers of stone - Very impressively cantilevered - someone knew what they were doing with this one...

sun and flowers

10th Sep09, Embleton Bay, 8am

A fine morning around the back of Embleton Bay.

This is saddle rock. Layers of limestone buckled by a volcanic intrusion of dolerite. The hard dolerite must protect the limetone from erosion which is why it protrudes.

Back home and the sun was shining on our wee crop of sunflowers.