Wild flowers

[Loki]

Driving through northern Germany and Holland today the grass is scorched and large number of trees completely brown too. All trees looking very sad.

 

[Lankyman]

Out on one of my regular canal walks today. There's not a lot of flower colour at the moment. What's fairly obvious is that the water level is low - I saw someone out from an angling association checking water quality and leaks along the way. The high temperatures, low flow and few moving boats seems to have produced lots of weed growth in places

The swans seemed to be happy with it

The conditions seem to have caused an early leaf fall, particularly with sycamore

I was glad to see that the canal staff have mowed around the loosestrife and fleabane. The bees were glad too.

 

[spelfish]

Wild flowers and wildfires are incompatible. Currently we have a big fire on Black Hill (Clun) which threatens a large turbary that we've been nourishing for several years. Not to mention several houses and even a few villages....

 

[bagpuss]

Very similar photos to @Lankyman from this evenings walk. Normally caving on a Friday night, but preserving energy for caving tomorrow, so a flat walk on the Somerset levels.

Amphibious Bistort

Meadowsweet

Water forget me knot

Purple loosestrife and fleabane

Fleabane

River Yeo which I've swum in before but wouldn't fancy it with all the duck weed at the moment!

 

[Lankyman]

Wild flowers and wildfires are incompatible. Currently we have a big fire on Black Hill (Clun) which threatens a large turbary that we've been nourishing for several years. Not to mention several houses and even a few villages....

I haven't witnessed anything this time but in one of the preceding heatwaves a few years ago I saw multiple groups having barbecues beside the road over the Trough of Bowland. For anyone unfamiliar with it this is an area of heather and at Marshaw, beautiful Scots pines all underlain by peat. The wilful ignorance and stupidity of some people is profoundly depressing.

 

[Lankyman]

Visiting my mother yesterday. She lives near the Sefton shore where the soil is very sandy (or actual sand). Things are very parched there although it did actually drizzle for a few minutes. Out in the sand, things I don't usually see - sea holly

Common restharrow

I think this is lucerne

You can see how brown it all is.

 

[Lankyman]

The rain up here seems to have encouraged the heather. On a walk round the Orton area yesterday - beside the Coast to Coast path

Up on the limestone

Hart's tongue ferns in the grikes

 

[Lankyman]

Autumn

.... in August?

 

[Pegasus]

Indeed, I was also going to post that it feels autumnal. Crab apples in the hedge near us...

 

[spelfish]

Many of our deciduous trees are going a nasty, crispy, non-autumnal brown. Not sure how many will be healthy (if even alive) next year. Which may be worse.
Might have to plant a eucalyptus forest....

 

[bagpuss]

A few flowers still out around the shade of the woods, Backwell. Very nice to feel the rain on us this evening, its been a very long time..

Hemp Agrimony

Toadflax

Cheating my personal rule of only adding ones around a caving area, but there was a lime kiln.

 

[Lankyman]

Many of our deciduous trees are going a nasty, crispy, non-autumnal brown. Not sure how many will be healthy (if even alive) next year. Which may be worse.
Might have to plant a eucalyptus forest....

We've had more rain recently (more to come later?) and the temperature is much reduced. Some of the local trees have responded much more noticeably to the dry summer. Beech leaves fallen early

 

[Cantclimbtom]

"Hemp Agrimony" sounds like something you could be convicted of by a magistrate .

 

[Lankyman]

"Hemp Agrimony" sounds like something you could be convicted of by a magistrate .

You'd definitely do thyme

 

[bagpuss]

Common Agrimony, Mendip Hills. No change to the ground after the rain this week. Natural springs still flowing well though.

 

[Lankyman]

Spotted this down by the canal today. I haven't noticed it before and wasn't sure what it was. A bit of googling suggests it may be orange balsam

It seems to be an invasive species like Himalayan balsam

Orange balsam: The lesser of two evils? - Yorkshire Invasive Species Forum

We are all aware of Himalayan balsam but what about it's cousin Orange balsam? Should we be worried about a new kid on the block?

yisf.org.uk

Perhaps I should go back and pull it up before it gets going?

 

[flakey]

Yes destroy it.

 

[Lankyman]

Chicken of the woods looking a bit ropey - more like last turkey in the shop?

 

[kay]

I think you're probably right. I can't say I was that aware of cowberries - 'if it's not a bilberry or a cloudberry then it must be a cranberry'. Next time I'm on the moor I'll collect some for taste testing (although they do look a bit dry/waxy).

Just to make it more complicated, I now find out that "mountain cranberry" is another name for cowberry. But "mountain" to distinguish them from actual cranberries.

 

[pwhole]

More fireweed, up at Manor Lodge in Sheffield:



There'll be plenty more of this next year, as a large chunk of the nearby Manor Fields wildflower meadow was destroyed by a wildfire a fortnight ago, which is a real shame, as it took years to get it going. Unlike some others nearby, this one was not thought to have been started deliberately:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn7n06ekx8po