Autumn Leaves 2016

Poplar Leaves - 2 November 2016
When on the tree, the yellow and red leaves would have been admired;
on the ground, the range of colours is actually increased.

We all admire the brilliantly coloured leaves of autumn while they are still on the tree. But when they fall off the tree, onto the ground, our attitude changes; their beauty is forgotten and we see them only as a nuisance. They make our streets and gardens untidy; they block the drains; and, they form a slippery layer on the railway lines, stopping the trains running to time. All that is left is to collect them up, and either burn them or put them in the rubbish; except for gardeners, who use the dead leaves for compost.

Contrasting Leaves - 8 November 2016
The maple leaf contrasts strongly with the surrounding oak leaves
in colour, shape and texture.

But there is still plenty of visual interest in the leaves as they rot away on the ground.  While the vibrant colours remain for a few days at least after the leaves have fallen, the range of colours is increased, not only by browns, dark purples, and blacks of the decomposing leaves, but also by different coloured leaves from adjacent trees.  Similarly, there are strong contrasts in shape and texture when a leaf from one tree falls on the leaves from a different type of tree.

Why Leaves Turn Red and Yellow

Fallen Leaves - 8 November 2016
Most of the colour of dead leaves derives from the breakdown of chlorophyll
unmasking yellow and orange pigments already present.

The process by which a living green leaf, producing sugar and oxygen from sunlight and air, turns bright red or yellow, and eventually falls to earth and rots away, starts when the length of the night exceeds a certain value. The tree then builds a barrier between the leaf and the rest of the tree, cutting the leaf off from nutrients absorbed through the roots, and tree from the sugar created in the leaf. As a result the green chlorophyll pigment decays, and exposes the yellow and orange colours of the xanthophylls and carotenoids normally present in the leaf. 
 

Maple Leaves - 8 November 2016
Red pigmentation develops after the leaf is already dying.
What is the advantage to the tree?

Interestingly, the red colours come from a third group of pigments, the anthocyanins, which are only synthesised when the leaf is dying. It is not entirely clear what the advantage to the tree is to have red leaves in autumn. Theories include: to warn off aphids which might want to use the tree as an overwinter host; to undermine the camouflage of herbivores; or, to attract birds to the tree to eat berries which may otherwise be overlooked. The anthocyanins in maple leaves have been shown to stunt the growth of any nearby saplings.

The Weather For It

The best display of autumn colour is produced when a moist growing season is followed by a dry autumn with sunny days and cool, but not frosty nights. Heavy rain, gales and frost are all likely to bring a premature end to the display.

Folklore, Legend and Medicine

Oak Leaves - 8 November 2016
With a mass of leaves like this, it is easy to see why the Lakota believed
they had been dropped as a protective blanket.

Fallen leaves, though such a prominent feature of the countryside in their season, do not feature greatly in folklore. They have been associated with fairies, with a swirl of leaves believed to be evidence of fairies dancing. Catching a falling leaf, particularly at the beginning of autumn, is said to protect the catcher from illness, or, more specifically, colds, throughout the winter.

But, perhaps, the most charming legend is that of the Lakota American Indians. The god who looks after living creatures saw the suffering of the plants and flowers as they shivered in the increasing cold of Autumn. Feeling sorry for them, the deity ordained that the trees should shed their leaves over the earth as a blanket to keep the plants warm. In return, the trees were allowed one great last blaze of glory.

I could find no reference to any medicinal use of fallen leaves.  However,  a Finnish company is developing the technology to extract natural pigments from the leaves for use in the clothing and cosmetic industries. The residual biomass is high in nutrients with possible uses as a fertiliser.

Next: More Autumn 

Autumn 2016

The Golden Season - 8 November 2016
Autumn in golden in Milton Country Park
Here the trees in Remembrance Meadow are all turning yellow

Autumn is nature's siren, using its beauty to lure us into the misery of winter.  It is living proof that you can say anything with a smile on your face: this attractive season of reds and yellows presages nothing but wind, rain, snow, ice and darkness.  Yet we love it!  It is a beautiful woman with a dagger behind her back.

Poplar Trees Catch the Morning Sun - 2 November 2016
Poplars are one of the first trees to change colour
Here a group shine gold in the morning sun.

And why are we so keen to see the back of green leaves?  Admittedly, by October the green has become rather dull and tired, the flowers, except for a few stragglers, have gone, and the countryside is generally untidy.  But the green is the green of chlorophyll, and without chlorophyll there would be no oxygen, and with no oxygen, we could not live.  

• 'Copper' Oak - 18 November 2016
• This oak catches the eye with its copper coloured leaves
• In mid-November, the oaks are perhaps the most colourful trees in the park

Autumn is famously the season of 'mists and mellow fruitfulness'.  It may be climate change, but mists have been very few and far between in the eighteen of so months I have been writing this blog. Similarly, by mid-autumn most of the apples, plums and pears have disappeared from the trees and bushes.  Though, in a mild autumn like this one, there are still a lot of hawthorn berries on the bushes.  Presumably, the birds have been able to find plenty of food elsewhere.  

A Winter Larder - 18 November 2016
With a mild autumn, there are still plenty of berries of the bushes for the birds when they need them

The photographs for this post have all been taken in the first half of November.  At this time, while the poplars and the sycamores have turned yellow, there are still some trees and bushes that have barely changed colour at all: the willows and brambles are still quite green.  In contrast, one oak tree in Remembrance Meadow has lost all but a couple of its leaves; an early reminder of what is to come.

Goodbye to Summer - 8 November 2016
Last few leaves left hanging on this oak tree, yet still only early November 

In contrast, these willow trees on the banks of Todd's Pit were taken just two days earlier:

• Willow Bank - 6 November 2016
• Still plenty of green leaves on these willow trees on the bank of Todd's Pit

Next: Autumn Leaves 2016


 

Reeds

Deep Pool - 3 July 2016
Single reeds have a simple elegance.

This project to document Milton Country Park through the year is based on three assumptions. 

Firstly, I believe that any natural, or semi natural environment, not matter how ordinary, banal, or familiar it may seem, is worthy of attention.  

Secondly, any semi natural environment (there are very few truly natural environments left in England) is to be valued for what it offers, and not dismissed because of its lack of dramatic scenery, or noteworthy and endangered plants and animals.  For most people, more exotic and dramatic locations bring excitement for perhaps a fortnight a year; it is in the local neighbourhood that one can enjoy nature for the other 300 odd days a year.

Thirdly, that a photographer with sufficient skill and imagination, and given the right conditions, should be able to produce interesting, if not beautiful images of such places.  Edward Weston's pictures of Port Lobos and Eliot Porter's intimate landscapes of New England have been particularly inspirational to me.

Wetlands - 11 September 2016
Flower heads of the common reed shine in the early morning sun

This brings me to the subject of this week's post: reeds (I use the word loosely for any plant that that has lanceolate leaves and grows by the water).  I admit that I find these plants neither interesting nor visually  appealing.  A search on the net did not unearth any particularly interesting facts: no witches, fairies, goblins, spells or miracle cures; just practical uses in thatching, water cleansing and floor covering for churches.  So, in many ways, to write a post on the subject of reeds illustrated with interesting photographs is a good test of the ideas I outlined above.

Dickerson's Pit - 3 August 2016
Reeds are important to the appearance of the park

But reeds are important both to the ecology and to the appearance of the park. With over 2000 metres of water's edge to colonise, plus the majority of the wetland area, there are a lot of reeds in Milton Country Park. 

Soft Rush - 26 June 2016

Visually, isolated plants have a certain elegance as shown in the image at the top of this post.  With back lighting, the flower heads of the common reed are a dramatic sight.  And in the fading evening light, I found the semi-circle of circle of rushes in shallow water just away from the bank made an attractive scene.  

Branched Bur Weed - 7 July 2016

As mentioned above, I have used the term 'reed' very loosely.  I now recognise there are at least five different plants involved. The commonest of which are the common reed, Phragmites australis; the soft rush, Juncus effusus; and yellow irises, Iris pseudocaris.  The latter is definitely not a reed, but included here because of the shape of its leaves.

Greater Spearwort - 7 Jully 2016

In one small inlet off Dickerson's Pit, I found two other plants.  One was branched bur-reed, Spharganium erectum, which looks like a model of a chemical formula found in a schools science laboratory.  In the same short stretch, I was surprised by some large yellow flowers among the reeds, which on investigation proved to be greater spearwort, Ranunculus lingua.

I certainly have not unearthed any earth shattering facts or created world beating photographs, but what I have found and the images I have made do nothing to dissuade me that even the most unpromising material is worth close attention. 

Clematis and Hawthorn

This is the second post about fruits and berries in Milton Country Park.

Clematis 

 

Clematis vitalba - 21 September 2016
Its similarity to an old man's beard is striking

Clematis vitalba has colonised a number of the trees and bushes in the north of the park.  In many cases, the climber has completely swamped its host, and, as in this picture, very little of the supporting tree or bush is visible, behind a bank of the invader.  The appropriateness of its common name, old man's beard, is very obvious when a mass of its seed heads like this are seen.

Flowering clematis - 31 July 2016
Tree completely covered in clematis flowers.

This plant is also commonly known as traveller's joy. This name, that has been in use since at least the 16th Century, refers to the bright and cheerful display its seeds make during the sombre autumn months.  Although small greeny white flowers are quite showy, they do not have the impact of later fruit.  

Clematis flowers - 24 July 2016
The flowers are unusual in that they have no petals.

The most unusual feature of the flowers is that they have no petals; the petal like structure that can be seen in this picture are sepals.  Maybe not that surprising in the wild plants, but, far more so in the cultivated plants with their huge multicoloured sepals.

Clematis and brambles - 12 September 2016
Like scavengers fighting over a corpse, brambles and clematis vie for dominance

One of the things I have become increasingly interested in is plant communities and how plants compete for space and light.  In this picture, it is hard to know what is buried below the smothering mass of brambles and clematis.

Hawthorn

 

Clematis and hawthorn - 11 September 2016
Contrasting seeds of hawthorn and clematis

Given the number of hawthorn bushes in the park, it is not surprising that some have been invaded by clematis.  I found the contrast of the small dense berries of the hawthorn and the fluffy white seeds of the clematis quite striking.

Hawthorn - 12 September 2016
Hawthorn bush with a good crop of berries

What a difference a year makes!  Last year, I worked hard to find any hawthorn bush with more than a few berries.  This year, every bush, like the one in this picture, was laden with them.

Rose Hips

 

Rose Hips - 12 September 2016
Easily missed amongst the mass of hawthorn berries

Almost totally lost amongst all the millions of hawthorn berries in the park are few dog roses with their bright orange red hips. I spotted these on a bush at the north of the park.

I was surprised how little folk lore and herbal medicine is attached to this plant. Its medicinal use seems to be confined to use as a source of vitamins, particularly vitamin C, when a syrup is made from the hips.

Perhaps, the most intriguing bit of folk lore I came across is the Indian belief that if fairies ate rose hips and turned three times counter clockwise, they became invisible. Eat the rose hips again, and turn three times clockwise, and, hey presto, the fairies become visible again.

The rose has also been a symbol of silence since the early Egyptians. Any matters discussed under a rose were in strict confidence. This led to the custom of carving roses on the ceiling of banquetting halls to remind guests that any conversations were not to be repeated outside of the hall.

Next: Reeds

Trees From Tip To Toe

Walking around Milton Country Park inevitably involves walking along tree lined paths.  I wanted to capture the trees in the park while the green of their leaves had the freshness of spring, before  turning the tired dusty bluish hue of later in the summer.

Path at Western Edge of Todd's Pit 17 June 2015

The path along the western side of Todd's Pit is typical of many paths in the park.  The path is turned  almost into a tunnel by the interlocking branches above, from which the bluey green foliage of the willow rises like a plume of smoke.  Below there are extremes of light and shade where the sunlight breaks through between the trees. 

In the Canopy

The first image in this post emphasises how much vegetation there is above head height along the paths.  Yet, very seldom does anybody look up at the canopy where the foliage looks very different from that at lower levels.  

Canopy by Hall's Pond 12 June 2015

One aspect of this that I had not fully appreciated until recently, is that each tree has it own bit of sky that is not invaded by the leaves and branches of the surrounding trees. This image, which clearly shows the rivers of sky between the trees, is an image of the personal space of a tree!

Middle Path 6 June 2015

In this photograph the silvery green of willow leaves catching the sunlight contrasts in both colour and shape with the oak and maple leaves of nearer trees that are in the shade.

Going Down

Scroll down this image to follow these trees from the canopy to ground level.

Path at Eastern Edge of Dickerson's Pit 17 June 2015

I think the most impressive, and probably the tallest, trees in the park line the path alongside the eastern edge of Dickerson's Pit.  This photograph of that path just north of the 13th Public Drain at least begins to give some sense of the height of these trees and how they dwarf everything and everybody below.   The only way I could get the full length of these trees into a single image was by taking a series of images at different heights and stitching them together.

At Ground Level

By Dickerson's Pit 30 June 2015

Much, much, shorter are these old, ivy encrusted, willow trees bent over an earth bank on the western edge of Dickerson's Pit.

In the Woods

North of Todd's Pit 30 June 2015

 

Finally, in the woods, the ivy clad tree trunks, some leaning slightly to the right, are like an army trampling over the undergrowth.  Totally dominant.  It is images like this that remind me why I find  something sinister in so many woods.

Next Post

When I started this blog, my major concern was whether or not I could find enough images to populate a post twice a month with at least four images.  So far, my fears have been proved totally groundless.  Groundless, to the point that at the end of July I still have not finished with spring.  Just so that this blog is not so far behind what is happening on the ground, I am going put an extra post of more spring flowers next Saturday.  The post after that will then deal with the late June blossoming of elderflower and wild roses, and bring spring to a close.

NEXT: AFTER THE MAY FLOWER

Using New Eyes

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes

Marcel Proust

Proust's thought lies at the very heart of my project.  It runs through my work like 'Blackpool' in a stick of rock.  For whatever else, I am on a journey of discovery taking fresh eyes to a very familiar landscape.  It is a journey filled with pleasure, as there is always a great sense of satisfaction in finding something new in ones own backyard.

But what does it actually mean to 'have new eyes'? What practical steps should I take to see the world, or at least Milton Country Park, in a way I have never seen it before?

South Side of Dickerson's Pit 23 April 2015

One school of thought proposes that I need that I need to shed all preconceptions about the world and look at it as a child.  I find this advice impossible to follow.  I cannot by conscious effort forget everything I remember, or unlearn everything I have learnt.  However hard I try, when I see a tree like the one shown above, I see a tree complete with a lifetimes worth of associations.  I will name that tree and with the name will come ideas on the shape of the tree and its leaves, the insect life that may live on it, and the birds that may nest in it.  Involuntarily, my view of the tree will be affected by great paintings or photographs I have seen of trees.  Can I ever look at a conifer and not think of Vincent Van Gogh?  Or more up to date, having seen Hockney's masterpieces, can I ever look at a tree the same again?

But I do not think that preconceptions are the problem in making images of our own neighbourhood.  I think of far more relevance is that unless something changes, any familiar environment simply does not register on the brain.  How many times have you walked around your local streets to find some building has been demolished, and realise that for the life of you, you cannot remember what was there before?  It is the proverbial 'part of the furniture'.

Path West of Todd's Pit 15 May 2015

In my case, it means I have got to see Milton Country Park beyond tree lined paths around water filled gravel pits.  It is symptomatic of my inattention to my surroundings that before I started  I wanted to reassure myself that I had enough material to maintain this blog.  To that end, I listed all the things I thought worth photographing in the park.  This initial list had just twelve items.  What is perhaps even more pertinent, that the twelve items on the list were things I had photographed in the past.  If I hadn't photographed it, either I hadn't noticed it, or had forgotten it.  

Hawthorn by Fen Road Entrance 15 May 2015

I remembered the yellow irises but not the ground ivy; the purple loosestrife (now gone) but not the comfrey; the hawthorn but not the horse chestnut. I have never before noticed the green alkanet, yet the amount of this plant in the park suggests it has been there for some years. I took interest in the bridges, but not the tree lined paths, which all look just the same, and are devoid of any interest!
 

Green Alkanet By Childrens' Play Area 30 April 2015

    

So far as this project is concerned, first and foremost, I simply need to really look at what is there.  I need to use my camera as Dorothea Lange implied when she said: ' a camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera'.

Path North of Todd's Pit 5 April 2015

It is precisely this that I have been doing very productively for the last five months. The bush shown above is a good illustration: not only have I not seen the bush before, I had never walked that particular path before.  I am finding that the more I look the more I find.  I have a 'shooting list'  a lot longer than 12 items, with   whole areas, like the wetlands, or Tomkins Mead still to explore in any detail.

It is one of my fundamental aims to show that the 'ordinary' English countryside, as typified by Milton Country Park, contains a great  deal of interest and beauty for those prepared to look.

In the next part of this short series, I will look at how our mental library of archetypal good photographs can restrict our imagination.

NEXT: TREES FROM TIP TO TOE

 

May

It is May, and, once again, Milton Country Park turns white.  This time with hawthorn blossom.

By Hall's Pond 20 May 2015

In the centre of the country park, between Hall's Pond and Todd's Pit, the lower branches of this hawthorn bush are almost silhouetted against the sun drenched blossom behind.

By Hall's Pond 20 May 2015

Just a few yards from the previous image, is a typical country park scene in hawthorn blossom time.  The path is overhung with branches weighed down by the blossom.

Although these two pictures were taken just a few yards apart,  similar scenes could have been found almost anywhere in the park.

Todd's Pit 15 May 2015

For instance, this close up of the blossom was taken of a bush growing through the fence that lines the western side of Todd's Pit.

The Weather Changes Everything

By Hall's Pond 19 May 2015

As impressive as the previous images are, the blossom had been even more dazzling just a couple of days before.  This scene was shot in the same central area, but this time nearer Dickerson's Pit.  Heavy rain showers the previous day had damaged the flowers, whose petals now covered the ground in this clearing like confetti.

Cow Parsley Too

By Fen Road Entrance 19 May 2015

Hawthorn blossom is not the only blossom turning the park white. A field besides the path leading to Fen Road is a sea of cow parsley, which out shines the hawthorn in the background.

In The Woods

North End of Park 20 May 2015

Neither is the cow parsley confined to the open spaces.  There is plenty growing beneath the trees in the woody area at the north end of the park.

Additional Posts

Up until now I have updated this blog twice a month.  From now on, I intend to publish occasional extra posts.  These extra posts will be notes on issues I have come up against in making this blog.  Initially, I plan to write a series of posts on the difficulties of photographing in a familiar environment and the need for 'using new eyes'.

So the next  post, on 18 July 2015, will be the first of the above mentioned series on using new eyes.  Then, on 25 July 2015, I will publish a post continuing the story of the park through the year.  This latter post will look at trees in the park in summer. 

Correction

 In my previous post, I identified the flower in this picture as borage.  It is, in fact, green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens).




NEXT: USING NEW EYES