Frond of Ferns

I'm thrilled to have a native hart's tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium) in my garden. It's unique in having an entire, undivided leaf, unlike other ferns in the U.K. 

We've spotted it growing in a number of other places too. In this next photo, the transverse lines down the whole length of the strap-shaped leaves, where the spores develop, can easily be seen from below.

Photo: D. Schultz

Another fern of note, not growing in my garden, but visible nearby on the sides of the pilgrim track to the well above our property, is the deer fern (also called hard fern: Blechnum spicant). I was so excited to discover that it's an ancient-woodland-indicator plant hard-fern.

         

This lovely fern guide has been so helpful

Difficult Delivery

Our posts and timber for our planned retaining wall arrived at the beginning of last week, but the driver insisted he couldn't come any closer to our house than the chapel down the road. He claimed he wouldn't be able to turn the corner to get out, from the position he'd got himself in (thus blocking Brook Street and New Road). After much fussing, and bad attitude, we accepted our delivery at the roadside, with the driver carelessly chucking sleepers down onto the asphalt on their ends.

As Dale says, we've had bigger trucks come through and up our lane very successfully, so we're not sure what his problem was. Dale directed the driver out of his difficult, traffic snarling position so that he could be on his way back to Liverpool, then we loaded the back of our car with some of the load, doing 2 or 3 trips back and forth up the lane, with the trunk open. Not a single snarled car showed any sign of annoyance or irritation - people here are used to having to deal with tight spaces and delayed progress.

Waiting for the driver-tantrum to be over, I took the opportunity to admire the chapel entrance.

I photographed this Persicaria species along the way.

October Morn

 

Morning light adorns

Trees and shrubs with a fresh glow

In their autumn garb

Local Art

 I really love this piece of art by Judith Crozier-Banks displayed in a window on High Street - the technique is called dotting. Quite impressive.

Up close, it looks like this, almost reptilian.