You may recall that last month I mentioned that despite the onset of autumn there were plants flowering when normally you would not be expecting them. Well this month there are even more examples.

These two photographs show, on the left, Dog Daisys while on the right the photograph is of a White Dead Nettle.

These next two are of on the right Bramble while the photograph on the left is of a plant known as Tansy.

All these plants were photographed mid to late October.

This year is a good year for game birds, in this case pheasants.

The number of them around at the moment would seem to indicate one of two things, firstly it has been a good breeding season or secondly there have been some lousy shots at the local shoots.

I have not seen so many at Greenheyes for some time, they seem to be everywhere at the moment. still it will give the gamekeeper something to do.

Another bird that seems to be having a good season at the moment is the wood pidgeon.

These birds are somewhat wary around here as they are not exactly Phil's favorite and he lets them know it.

I was a little surprised that they let me get this close.

A quick visit to the gully and I find an old friend, the squirrel preparing its larder for the winter season.

In this it can be seen with an acorn clasped in its paws and apparently about to eat it.

What it is doing is making a small hole in the shell of the acorn before biting off the tip of the acorn at the point where it would start to germinate.

By doing this the squirrel prevents the acorn from germinating when it is buried, thereby preserving the nutritional value of the acorn.

Having comleted the task, in this next photograph the squirrel is seen burying the acorn.

When the supply of fresh food dries up during the winter the squirrel will recover the individual acorns as it needs them. Pretty clever really, don't you think?

Finally a burst of colour to finish with.

This Red Admiral butterfly extends its wings as it basks in the deminishing light and heat of the autumn sun.

As the weather gets cooler it will look for a place to hibernate over the winter months.

See you next month.