A Return Visit to Biddenham

            A visit to Biddenham; the first on my part for some time and, although in the village itself, there were several groups and individuals, once I entered the woods, although I heard voices from elsewhere than the path I had chosen, I only occasionally came across others in my meander through the woods themselves. Early in my walk past the larger houses, I had encountered unusual choices of hedge vegetation species, found more commonly as individual trees; my assumption for the choice was the tall, dense privacy they offered.
            Every so often there were breaks in the enclosing boundaries to the paths, and I was puzzled in one of these gaps, by observing what appeared to be a concreted area that may have been the foundations of an earlier building, but with no indications of walls. Occasionally I would break out into more open areas, and another observation puzzled me — here there was an approximately circular grassy area, suggestive of a golf course’s green, but I spotted no indication of a hole for a flag. I returned to the taking of smaller subjects, such as a ladybirds, small berries, and poppies, then bright and healthy apples.
            In amongst the shafts of dappled sunshine, I found the enticing textures of fresh young leaves, and the early signs of ripening blackberries. I am always attracted to the rippled textures of fresh young leaves, and the symmetries and textures of differing leaf structures. The cast shadows on one hanging branch of leaves suggestive of a squirrel caught my eye, as did a bee on a white-petalled flower, which had been repeatedly damaged by an upturned sharp stick remnant piercing two of the petals numerous times in the breeze with the extra weight of visiting pollinators! I also liked another of the white blooms attempting to be seen beyond the spherical bloom of a Chrysanthemum-like pink flower like the rising sun.

            In the warmth of the sun, bees were making the most of the bonanza of fresh blooms, and I was doing the best to do my own capturing of textures and colours, such as the golden toffee of holly leaves and their rich red stems. If the abundance of red berries is accurate in foretelling harsh winters then I also found that strong message clinging to a mortared stone wall. I was amused by the determined ivy escaping from the fence to reach the life-giving warmth of the sunshine, and I soon spotted its cousin succeeding in its journey to the same life force, framed by the evidence of past adherence to the fence. I felt honoured by the generous lighting I was offered in the capture of the textures and sheen on nearby leaves.
            My observations were not confined to the natural world around me. I spotted a slip-up from a human in a spelling mistake by humans in the preparation of a map for this location — Greay! As I was about to leave this map a couple appeared to view the same notice, so I passed on my discovery; rather than simply keep it to myself! I closed the gallery with the high fair weather clouds, and blue sky, I hope the images encourage others to visit and enjoy this enticing park area.