Heather on Stanton Moor
The day was sunny with blue skies…the forecast for the next two days was dire…..the headline was ” A months rain to fall in a two day deluge”.
We tend to take these warnings with a pinch of salt as rarely have they lived up to the threats. But best not to take a chance so we headed of to the moors to see if the August Heather carpet had arrived.
Indeed it had a lush purple carpet of Heather flowers
It is a sign that late summer is now upon us (where was summer some may ask?). The meadows around the moor are green and the trees in full leaf but the grasses and pasture have turned to that golden yellow/brown colour. In the Oak woods that surround the moor Bracken is reaching new heights, green fronds casting a shadow over the ground….but once out onto the open moor the colour of the Heather has pushed its way up through the Bracken and Bilberry giving cushions of its distinctive Purple colour all accompanied by a rich scent so attractive to bees.
July was a strange month. We had the hottest day on record, they say we had record rainfall for July….yet everywhere is dry. Up here on the moors the trails are sandy and just like walking along a beach, the vegetation is lush – full bodied, yet has that distinctive brittle tinder dry smell. The rocks are lost in the undergrowth, even Earl Grey’s Reform Tower, normally a striking landmark is swamped by its surrounds.
A perfect late summers day….as for tomorrow we wait and see.
13th August
(C) David Oakes 2015
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 