'The season of mellow mists and fruitfulness' Keats to autumn

Yup! All very lovely, but I wouldn't have minded a bit of 'sun, sun, sun here it comes' George Harrison - a Beatle, before it all goes brown.

The signs of ensuing mellowness have been evident in our garden, with a steady flow of chiffchaffs and willow warblers, flitting through the yellowing leaves of the silver birch. And a brief but welcome visit by a wheatear.

Elsewhere, autumn's growing hold on the countryside  has been clearly evident. We enjoyed watching a bundle of yellow wagtails, busily weaving among a group of cattle. Dashing and snapping at flies disturbed by nonchalant bovine munching. 

I love Beacon Hill and I particularly delight in it's colour and beauty at this time of year. But after an hours fruitless trundling up and down it's steep slopes in search of silver-spotted skippers, I was convinced that escalators would be a fine addition to the landscape.
The skippers were eventually tracked-down. The peculiar thing about them is, that although watching them is good value, their emergence, along with that of the brown hairstreak heralds the end of the butterfly season and as such the summer. This feeling was underlined by a steady stream of swallows and house martins passing overhead, enroute to warmer climes. A red kite drifted by as well, which reminds me!......

.......As is the way with books, the publication of the red kite book has drifted and should now be out for Christmas. The delay however, has given me the opportunity to add a couple more paintings to the book. So it should be a corker when it comes off the press. Or something like that!!!! We've also contributed a number of paintings to an insect book being written by Andrew Tyzack - director of The Land Gallery More of that later.

Other projects have been steaming away, we've been busy putting calendars together along with other new Tatty products and these will be going into the shop section of our site in the blink of a hare's eye.

Oh yes and if you have the chance, please come and see us at the Keyhaven - Lymington bird event on Sunday 16th. Details on the Hampshire Wildlife Trust website.