Tonight's Stargazing has been cancelled by Wessex Astronomical Society due to unfavourable weather conditions.
The last day of the school holidays certainly had an Autumnal twist. Despite cloud, a strong breeze, and spots of rain it was still mild at 18.5 Celsius. Perhaps it would be rather stimulating for Park Yoga’s penultimate session! Yesterday saw the last run of the Durlston Bus, until further notice. It also saw an excellent evening performance of the Cabinet of Living Cinema Red Turtle. The audience enjoy play percussion instruments in contributing towards the sound effects and soundtrack. Worthwhile!
The wind was particularly evident as it passed through the leaves of the Small Copse Ash trees. The Hereford Cattle were content and had made in impact within their enclosure in Saxon. Their cow pats would become a habitat for insects’ larvae and fungi. Now that the holidays are over and the bales have been removed, we will begin grazed them upon each of the meadows, after much gate post reinstatement. Four stems of Autumns Ladies Tresses were seen at the hay rake quarr. The plants in flowers have been compared to braided hair. The Raven I heard I was eventually to seen as it passed over Ox Eye Meadow. The “snicket” at Holcombe despite its shelter a shade had a young stem of Blackthorn which strangely had fleshy but shrivelled leaves. The moss upon the dry-stone wall made me think of Cornish hedges. A hidden male Pheasant crowed. Soon a bounty of buds would open as Ivy flowers. Some Ivy, moved by the wind, had dislodged capping stones. In several places I saw indicators of a Roe Deer track, with bare patches on and about walls.
A Sparrowhawk playfully chased a small flock of small birds up the gully. Beside Lighthouse Road were clusters of Common Toadflax, upon the downs, several low lying (not dwarf) thistles rosettes we cover in their own seed down. A Pale Flax flower was seen in an uncut margin whilst passed over Horseshoe vetch within that cut. Over the wavelets and white crests offshore in looked like an immature Gannet flying east. Firm, deeply fissure bare clay would at some point become wet and slippery after rainfall. It was a Magpie that passe by before my reading the weather.