A Lovely Part Of The Country

 We live in a beautiful part of the country. I appreciate the views most places I walk and I have noticed this year that the wooded areas of the town and surrounds are getting more mature. Specifically, there are more paths with overhanging trees that create a tunnel effect as you walk through.

One of many tunnels through the trees in the area

We've had a couple of misty mornings this past week and they are reminiscent of autumn days - but it is just a tad early to be speaking of that season, even though today is the first day of autumn 😂

Mist and sun, a nice combination

The massive stacks of straw bales from the crop harvest were being collected by large lorries - I love it when a vehicle registration mirrors the role the vehicle performs!

Check out the reg number on the lorry 🤣

Not much wildlife to report from the highways and byways apart from the usual creatures. One bird that is under-appreciated is the Pied Wagtail. Black and white with shades of grey, it's quite lovely seen close up.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

Back home another large moth showed itself, one of several Large Yellow Underwings came out of the hedge as I was trimming it.

Large Yellow Underwing

 Also at home, a large diving beetle landed on the drive. Pity we don't have a pond yet. If it comes back next year it will have somewhere to feed.

Large Diving Beetle (Colymbetes fuscus)

I was surprised to see a late-flowering Hogweed along the road margin.

Hogweed

Finally, the Pink-footed Geese have started to fly through in the morning. A good sized skein passed over the Mere on Wednesday but they were too distant to count so a photo was the best way to get a near accurate count.

Pink-footed Geese over the Mere