By this time of year, the 'green' aspect of our 'green and pleasant land'* is looking a little faded, as was evident when Gail took me around the grounds of the Dunecht Estate on Wednesday afternoon this week.
The broadleaved trees have lost their foliage, and the untended roadside grasses are dull and tired.
The grand estate house is grey and austere in the dimming afternoon light.
The newly sown winter crops provide splashes of green,
as does the Estate's well-groomed nine hole golf course.
But best of all, check out the mosses and ferns, still putting on a fine show despite the avalanche of newly fallen beech leaves.
*Gail says: lest any Scottish Nationalist pedants object to Bertie's 'Jerusalem' reference, yes he does know that Blake's poem actually refers to 'England's green and pleasant land'!
I hope you enjoyed today's Nature Friday walk. Do go and visit the other posts in the LLB Gang's weekly blog hop - maybe nature will be more colourful just now in other parts of the world!
