eye beech hurricane

 An eye on The Eye which watches over London.

Weather warnings have been issued of gales of 80 mph in Scotland and the North of England, vestiges of Hurricane Katya, which devastated much of the East coast of the USA last week.  Down here, meanwhile it is windy, no more than windy. In the windscreen of a car I fancy I see skeins of smoke unfurling. Only it isn't smoke. It is the reflection of a white cloud breezing across this afternoon's blue sky.

Underfoot in The Grove, the beech mast crunches and crackles. It is dry and  brittle. Not a nut remains in the opened shells. I remember as a child enjoying these slight and delicate packets. As usual round here,  the squirrels get there first.