Peppercombe Chronicles and one week in October. The leaves are still green and clinging to the trees down Peppercombe. Spotted a squirrel, darting across the track and scurrying up and along the tree branches. Little acorns are dropping on the verges amongst the rusty fallen leaves so it looks like that squirrel is in for a bountiful winter. Today there is a trickle of water in both streams in contrast to the thundering sound as huge waves crash on the pebbles down at the beach. Saw a few fungi and lichens on the way and as we arrived a Cormorant was coming in to land offshore. Swirling, rolling incoming tide on 17th October. A couple of days later the sun is out and a flock of gulls are bobbing offshore and a seal is popping his head up on the incoming blue tide. Took a photo of a lone Red Admiral sunning itself on the coast path. In the valley a hare made a sudden dash from the knotted roots of a tree then disappeared into the woodland above, three long tail tits were chirping happily in the beech canopy, a beetle was parked on the track and a pheasant was heard squawking in the undergrowth. It’s now quite a bit colder with fleeting sunlight. Lundy very low but clear. The blackberries and sloe berries which started to ripen in August are now joined by the vibrant display of hawthorne and holly. Occasional colour comes from the remaining Red Campion, Knapweed and Sheeps Bit. There is a huge clump of Hemp Agrimony in the meadows, its fading flowers now fluffy and white.
