The Small Things Spreading Joy in November

Posted on by Kizzia

Another month over and I would very much time to slow down for minute! I spent the first half of November in Northumberland, location hunting for the house move which, by hook or by crook, will be happening next year. The second half was mostly spent in the back of cupboards wondering when the Doctor had retrofitted all the storage spaces in my parents house to be a set of back up Tardises (tardises? tardisi? really feel there shouldn’t be a plural). How can each space hold so much stuff?

I’ve been doing my best to get a walk each day and I’m grateful that the weather has been very kind in terms of both the amount of sunshine provided in the few hours of daylight we’ve been getting and the temperature. I’ve already had to resort to thermals even though it’s been incredibly mild for the time of year and I dread to think how I’m going to manage when we get a proper cold snap but since I’m trying not to borrow trouble I shall assume future me will deal with whatever happens and get on with sharing the pictures, which is what this post is all about (if this is the first small things post you’ve seen from me, you can find the explanation of what I’m doing here).

Photo of a set of leaf covered wooden steps in a wood, leading directly up from the photographer, through trees on either side, up to the brow of the hill. The ground is russet and orange from the fallen leaves, the trees green and yellow and the shrubs deep-woods green. The angle is so steep that you cannot see the ground at the top, only the tree trunks, the leaves still on the branches and the patches of pale blue sky beyond.
Photo of a birch tree with all its leaves turned yellow gold. The tree appears to be glowing in the morning sun.
Photo of a young Monkey Puzzle Tree in the dawn sun. The money puzzle is a hardy evergreen coniferous tree made up of many tough, scale like, green triangular leaves (with sharp points and edges) all over the branches. The end of the branch, which is the focus of the photo, looks likes a short pineapple top as the leaves grow from the centre out. Behind the tree are shrubs, autumn leaves and a fence, through which the dawn sunlight is streaming.
Photo of a wooden sign post pointing to the right of the picture with Public Footpath written on it. The signpost is in a hedge and surrounded by hawthorn berries. Beyond you can see a field and blue sky.
Photo of a flower border full of bright Orange California poppies and some more muted lavender flowers. At the back of the border is a wooden bar fence and behind that the sky is almost glowing blue.
Close up of a pink pale geranium flower, hanging downwards so the inside of the flower is not visible. Each petal is covered with dew drops, glittering in the morning sun. In the background, out of focus, are the green leaves of the rest of the geranium plant and several more flowers.
Landscape photo of a walled garden, the fields and trees beyond, and a worn path curving around the left side of it. It is slightly dull thanks to the remains of the morning mist clinging to the tree line but the sky is blue where it is visible through the clouds and a sense of green vitality persists.
Photo taken at dusk of the main house on the Wallington estate, which is managed by the National Trust. The house is a large stone built Manor House in grey, with a slate roof and ivy climbing up the wings. The sky behind it is pale blue at the outer edges and streaked with golden pink cloud, the sun having set behind the house. In the sky just above the middle chimney are two crows, wings outstretched, flying so close together one looks like the shadow of the other.
Close up of a gorse bush, vivid yellow flowers glowing brightly amidst the thorns.
Photo of a Cotoneaster bush absolutely covered in vivid red berries which are glowing in the sunshine.
Photo of a hydrangea head in flower. Around the edge of the head the white flowers are fully open, with tiny bright pinkish-purple centres. In the middle of the head the flowers have not opened, there are just dozens of buds in a variety of shades from greenish white, through pastel pink and purple, to dark pink and purple. In the background are the reddish brown leaves of the hydrangea shrub and the green of other out of focus plants in the border.
Close up photo of a fully open flower with 5 petals. Each petal has a white tip, the rest of the petal a vivid egg yolk yellow. The stamens are yellow too, going greenish at the very centre of the flower. In the background, out of focus, are fallen leaves and the green leaves of the shrub the flower is blooming from.
Photo of the end of a branch of a Yew tree taken in bright sunlight. The individual twigs are covered in yellow green needles, red yew berries and, in some parts, grey and yellow lichen. In the background you can see out of focus tussocks of grass.
Photo of a dead tree in the middle of a wood, with vegetation growing around its base. It looks like a surreal sculpture but was probably struck by lightning.
Photo of a tree trunk that has been decorated with a circle of brown playdoh into which a green leaf has been pressed for a mouth, acorns for eyes and cheeks and two large yellow brown leaves for ears. It looks like a very rustic green man face or possibly a relative of Shrek.
Landscape photo of both banks of the River Tern, framed by branches of oak trees on the near bank and with several oaks visible on the far bank. The river is reflecting the colour of the sky which is a grubby bluish grey. On far bank, between the trees and the river, there is a swathe of grey blobs which, on closer inspection, can be seen to be a large amount of Canada Geese. There are well over one hundred of them in the section of bank captured in the picture.
Photo of a stone wall with a closed wooden door set into it. The stone is a warm pale honey colour, the wood old and weathered. The top and sides of the door are obscured by the yellow and green leaves of a climbing shrub and the bottom of the door is covered in fallen leaves.
Close up of a Japanese maple tree having turned the most vibrant red for autumn, glowing gloriously in the afternoon sunshine.
Photo of a moss covered tree stump with fallen leaves resting on it. The leaves are russet and brown and lit by the bright sunshine pouring through the trees behind.
A close up photo of a fern growing out of a crack in an old, weathered wall. Around the top of the fern fronds are patches of white-green lichen and below them is a patch of fluffy green moss.
Close up of a cluster of pale green hydrangea flowers. A few of the flower petals have pink splotches on them.
Close up of a branch of an apple tree which is being colonised by a variety of mosses and lichens. Closest to the camera is a white-green frond like moss, then some grey green lichen splotches and on the crook of a branch a grass green more traditional looking moss. The tree trunk, a path and some leaf covered grass are out of focus in the background.
Photo of a river with stepping stones placed across it. The far bank is steep, covered with grass, leaves and moderate tree cover. The sky is cloudy and grey with a merest hint of blue and the everywhere looks very autumnal.
Photo of an oak tree in the middle distance, its leaves all turned to gold. It is in a field, with a cloud dotted blue sky behind it and another tree, with yellow green leaves to its left. In the foreground there is a river and then, closest to the camera, branches from trees on the river bank which are creating a natural frame for the photo.
Close up of a marguerite daisy in bright sunshine. The many petals are a hot pink and the centre of the flower is made up of multiple stamen, yellow at the outer edge of the circle, changing to orange and then deep russet in the centre. The petals have drops of rain on them and the background is filled with the frilly pine green leaves of the plant.
Close up of a Christmas cactus flower with many over pink petals with white centres and a white stamen with a central pink section poking out so that it looks like a head of a dragon with big pink wings.
Photo of road running from the photographer’s feet straight off over a bridge and directly into the horizon. Either side of the road are green fields with trees in various stages of autumnal shedding and in the blue sky, directly above the road is a mass of grey-white cloud that looks slightly foreboding.

And these two are moving:

Photo of a wooden sign post pointing to the right of the picture with Public Footpath written on it. The signpost is in a hedge and surrounded by hawthorn berries. Beyond you can see a field and blue sky.

Now I’ve saved this one for last as it caused something of stir on twitter.

Photo of a leafless shrub with bright pink star shaped flowers. In the background is a lawn, trees and a very pale blue sky.

I took this photo in the walled garden of Wallington, a National Trust property in Northumberland, and when I tried to identify the flower myself I came up blank. So when I posted it I added a little note to say I thought it was beautiful but had no idea what it was and if anyone knew to tell me. As luck would have it, one of my mutuals on there is botanical expert and she happened to see the tweet. Only she wasn’t sure what it was either and retweeted asking for ideas. My mentions went a little crazy after that but I learnt a lot of new botany related words and realised that although there was a tentative consensus, no one was certain. Not expecting a reply since by that time it was about 9pm, I tagged the Wallington NT twitter team and asked them if they could ask the Wallington gardeners what it was. I got an immediate reply to say they’d check in the morning, which they duly did and ….

It was what my botanist friend had narrowed it down to: Clerodendrum trichotomum, known colloquially as a glorytree. The confusion was caused by the fact that mostly you see the flowers with large berries in their centre. I’d taken my photo after the berries had dropped but before the flowers had died. If you want to know more about this most delightful of shrubs, the wikipedia page is very informative.

Since I am more organised this month this post comes to you on 1st December and thus I can wish you all a Happy Month and offer a small blessing to help us make the most of the last month of 2022:

May we all find what we need, where and when we need it!

< October’s Small Things

December’s Small Things >

2 thoughts on “The Small Things Spreading Joy in November”

  1. Pingback: The Small Things Spreading Joy in October – Kizzia Mildmay
  2. Pingback: The Small Things Spreading Joy in December – Kizzia Mildmay

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