It's A Funny Old Year

Is it August or is it Autumn? the seasons seem unsure. I went out to post a letter this afternoon and decided to carry on and walk through the woods before I went home. We have some lovely walks around our home but I must admit we don't go out and enjoy them as much as we ought to.

The first thing I notices was the rowan berries already ripe at the top of the Rowan trees. It doesn't seem to be a year for heavy fruit crops.

Along the pavement edge are some young Oak trees and I couldn't help noticing these strange shapes clustered among the leaves. Intrigued as I have never seen this deformity before and knowing quite a few of our indigenous trees are succumbing to disease I searched for the answer on the 'Net'.

Apparently its called Knopper Gall, and is cause by the tiny gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis. It can affect a high proportion of acorns in one year, and almost none the next. Apparently it is unlikely that it will pose any threat to the future of the oak, since most acorns are destined to be food for something rather than turning into trees. I hope it won't harm the squirrels! Further along the walk some of the older Oaks in the ancient tree belt are thankfully unaffected.

The Sloe bushes are looking distinctly poorly this year as well. The leaves are very small and shriveled. The cause is definitely not through lack of water we've had more than enough rain this year. The fruits are ripening but are very sparse. These bushes are usually loaded with fruits.

In the middle of August, these Hornbeam trees which were very late leafing up this spring are looking very stressed and have shed all these leaves prematurely. The path is looking like Autumn not August.